John Adams (1672 or 1673 – 1745) was an American-born Canadian merchant and member of the

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

. He was the father-in-law of Henry Newton.

Biography

Adams was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in either 1672 or 1673 to John and Avis Adams. Growing up as a petty merchant, Adams joined Sir

Charles Hobby Sir Charles Hobby (1665–1715) was a Boston merchant and militia colonel, commanding a provincial regiment during the siege of Port Royal 1710, and serving as its acting governor in 1711. He was knighted in 1705. Biography Hobby was the son ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

regiment, participating in the capture of

Port-Royal Port Royal is the former capital city of Jamaica. Port Royal or Port Royale may also refer to: Institutions * Port-Royal-des-Champs, an abbey near Paris, France, which spawned influential schools and writers of the 17th century ** Port-Royal Abb ...

in 1710. Shortly thereafter, Adams settled in

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, returning to civilian life. There, he traded manufactured goods with the province's

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

and Native Americans, and took up the role of a real estate agent and contractor. Adams joined the Executive Council of Nova Scotia on 28 April 1720, holding his position there for 20 years; the records show that few served as long as he did. He also held several other public positions in the province. Adams was appointed a notary public and deputy collector of customs for Annapolis Royal in 1725, and he was commissioned a justice of the peace in March 1727. Around the mid-1720s, Adams' poor eyesight began to fail, leading to his near-blindness in 1730. After this, he was less active in community activities and trade. Adams petitioned to the king for a pension several times, but failed. He blamed his disability on over-exposure to the sun during an Indian attack on Annapolis Royal in 1724. In December 1739, Lieutenant Governor

Lawrence Armstrong Lawrence Armstrong (1664 – 6 December 1739) was a lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia and acted as a replacement for the governor, Richard Philipps, during his long absences from the colony. Armstrong was born in 1664 in Ireland. According ...

died. With the absence of

Major Mascarene Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicator ...

to take Armstrong's place, Adams became the new president of the council and head of the civil government. (

Alexander Cosby Alexander Cosby ( c. 1685–1742) was born in Ireland and had a younger sister who married Richard Philipps, governor of Nova Scotia and a military man. Through this connection, Cosby was appointed major in the 40th regiment and was stationed in ...

was also vying for the position.) In a meeting on 22 March 1740, with the return of Mascarene, the councilors declared that he was the council's rightful president. This turn of events led Adams to retire to Boston in late August or early September 1740, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He died some time after 1745.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John British emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Canadian merchants 1670s births 1745 deaths Blind politicians People from colonial Boston People of Queen Anne's War Military personnel from colonial Massachusetts British blind people Canadian blind people