John Adams (c. 1746 – 1817) was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1774 and 1780. Adams was the son of John Adams of

Whitland Whitland (Welsh: , lit. "Old White House", or ''Hendy-gwyn ar Daf'', "Old White House on the River Tâf", from the medieval ''Ty Gwyn ar Daf'') is both a town and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Description The Whitland community is ...

, Carmarthenshire who was

High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilitie ...

in 1758. His mother was Elizabeth Lloyd, daughter of Walter Lloyd, M.P of Peterwell and sister of

Sir Herbert Lloyd, 1st Baronet Sir Herbert Lloyd, 1st Baronet (22 July 1720 – 19 August 1769) was a Welsh politician. Lloyd was born in Llanddewibrefi and educated at Jesus College, Oxford. His father, Walter Lloyd of Voelallt, Cardiganshire, was attorney-general for south ...

. He matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

on 23 January 1766, aged 19 and was created MA at Oxford in 1773. It also appears that entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1765 and was called to the bar in 1772. In 1769 he inherited the Peterwell and

Falcondale Falcondale ( cy, Glyn Hebog) is a hamlet in the community of Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales, and occupies a low bluff overlooking the Nant Creuddyn north-west of Lampeter. Falcondale is represented in the Senedd by Elin Jones (Plaid Cymru) and the ...

estates from his uncle Sir Herbert Lloyd, Bt who is said to have shot himself on account of his large debts. The estate was therefore already heavily mortgaged, and Adams amassed more debts and attempted to sell the estate. His father died before 1772. In 1776, a London attorney, who held the original mortgage, bought the Peterwell estate. Adams was appointed

High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire. Carmarthenshire was originally created by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. It became an administrative county in 1889 with a county council following the Local Government Act 1888. Under the Loca ...

in 1774. In

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...

he was returned as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for both

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

and

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

and decided to take his seat at Carmarthen. He had gained Carmarthen through the interest of

Griffith Philipps Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith R ...

but Philipps dropped him as candidate for Carmarthen in 1780. He considered standing at Cardigan, where his remaining estate gave him an interest, but decided not to enter the poll. Long before his death Lloyd had spent his inheritance. He died on 2 June 1817.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John 1740s births 1817 deaths People from Carmarthenshire Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 High Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire Year of birth uncertain