William Adams (Dedham)


William Adams was minister of the First Church and Parish in Dedham.

Early life

He was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts on May 27, 1650 and graduated from Harvard College in 1671. His parents, William Adams, Jr., and his wife, whose maiden name was likely Star, both died by the time Adams was nine years old. After that, he was raised by two uncles.

Ministry

After three calls, he finally accepted to be ordained as minister in Dedham on December 3, 1673. As there was no official parsonage, he rented the house of his predecessor, the late John Allen. He died August 17, 1685. Prayers at funerals were not customary in that day but one was offered at his, one of the first ever recorded in New England. He is buried in the Old Village Cemetery in the tomb of Timothy Dwight.
Two of his sermons survive, including one given before the Great and General Court and another given in Dedham on November 21, 1678.

Family

On October 21, 1674, Adams married Mary Manning of Cambridge. They had three children, Mary, Eliphalet, and William. Mary died on June 24, 1679. On March 29, 1680, he married Alice Bradford of Plymouth. They had four more children: Elizabeth, Alice, William, and Abiel, who was born after Adams' death. The first son named William died before his first birthday, as did daughter Mary. Eliphalet Adams served as a minister in New London, Connecticut.

Works cited