James Noble Adam (March 1, 1842 – February 9, 1912) was a businessman and founder of the J. N. Adam & Co. as well as the 45th Mayor of Buffalo, New York, serving 1906–1909.

Early life

Adam was born in

Peebles, Scotland Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimate ...

on March 1, 1842, a son of Reverend Thomas Adam, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister.

Career

He began his business career in Scotland, where he lived until about 1872, when he moved to the United States upon the advice of his brother, Robert B. Adam, co-founder of Adam, Meldrum & Anderson. He initially settled at

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, where he began a successful retail operation. In 1881, he moved back to Buffalo and started a full-scale department store at Main and Eagle Streets, the J. N. Adam & Co. In 1905, he retired from the company. He served as President of the Idlewood Association, a summer resort colony in Lake View, NY, during the 1880s and 1890s. In 1901, he was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the 24th ward. He was elected mayor on November 7, 1905, as the Democratic candidate, serving from 1906 until 1909. He did not run for another term.

Personal life

On January 9, 1872, he married Margaret Linton Paterson of Edinburgh, she died in 1894. They did not have children. He died at Buffalo on February 9, 1912, and was buried in St. Cuthbert's Cemetery in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, next to his wife.

Philanthropy

Some time between 1910 and 1915, he purchased almost of land adjacent to the village of

Perrysburg, New York Perrysburg is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,515 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and is located in the northwest corner of the county. The town contains the c ...

using proceeds from his own personal fortune to establish a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

asylum.Buffalo's Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Perrysburg
Larry Behan, July, 2005 A hospital was opened known as the J. N. Adam Memorial Hospital for Tuberculosis; it later became the J. N. Adam State School for Severely Mentally Retarded.

References

External links

1842 births 1912 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians Burials in Scotland Mayors of Buffalo, New York People from Peebles Scottish emigrants to the United States {{BuffaloNY-stub