Samuel Adams

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Portrait of Benjamin Franklin dressed in 18th-century attire, standing beside a table with documents and a rolled-up parchment.

BORN – September 27, 1722, at the family mansion on Purchase street overlooking Boston harbor in Boston, MA.  Parents (English ancestry) - Samuel Adams, Sr. (b1689–d1748), and Mary Fifield Adams (b1694-d1748).  Twelve Children (three surviving to adulthood) – Richard Adams (b1716-d1717, age one), Mary Adams Allen (b1717-___), Hannah Adams (b1720-d1721, as infant), Samuel Adams (b1722-d1803), John Adams 1 (b1724-___), John Adams 2 (b1726-d1727, age three), Joseph Adams (b1728-___), Abigail Adams 1 (b1730-___), Thomas Adams (b1731-d1732, as infant), Sarah Adams (b1733-d1734, as infant), Abigail Adams 2 (b1735-d1736, age one), Mehitable Adams (b1740-d1741, as infant), .  Samuel Adams was a second cousin of fellow Signer and 2nd President of the U.S. - John Adams.

DIED – October 2, 1803 (age 82) in Cambridge MA, next to Boston.  Religion – Congregationalist (Puritan) / Calvinist.  Buried - Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA.

APPEARANCE – The picture above is the portrait of Samuel Adams (age 50) painted by John Singleton Copley in 1772.  Adams is pointing at the Massachusetts Charter, which he viewed as a constitution that protected the peoples’ rights.  His personal appearance was described by biographer W.V. Wells in “Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams” - "His stature was a little above the medium height. He wore a tie-wig, cocked hat, buckled shoes, knee breeches, and a red cloak, and held himself very erect, with the ease and address of a polite gentleman. On stopping to speak with any person in the street his salutation was formal yet cordial. His gestures were animated, and in conversation there was a slight tremulous motion of the head. His complexion was florid, and his eyes dark blue. The eyebrows were heavy, almost to bushiness, and contrasted remarkably with the clear forehead, which, at the age of seventy, had but few wrinkles. The face had a benignant but careworn expression, blended with a native dignity (some have said majesty) of countenance which never failed to impress strangers."  

FAMILY – Married – Elizabeth Checkley (b1725-d1757) in 1749.  Six Children (two living to adulthood) – Samuel Adams 1 (b1750-d1750, after 18 days), Samuel Adams 2, Jr. (b1751-d1788), Joseph Adams (b1753-d1753, after 1 day), Mary Adams (b1754-d1754, after 3 months), Samantha Adams (b1756-d1773, age 17), Unnamed son Adams (b1757-d1757, stillborn).  First wife Elizabeth died from childbirth in 1757. Married – Elizabeth Wells (1735-1808) in 1764.  No Children.

OCCUPATION – BREWER, TAX COLLECTOR, LEGISLATOR, GOVERNOR.  Known as The Father of the American Revolution.  Graduated from Harvard College (now Harvard University) in 1740.  Helped organize the Boston Tea Party.  Member of the Continental Congress representing Massachusetts from 1774 to 1781.  Member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  Governor of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1797. 

AT SIGNING – Age 54 at signing.  First to sign the Declaration of the five member delegation from Massachusetts.   

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve Congress in Philadelphia until 1781.

HISTORIC SITE

College – Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (1720).  Located at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, Phone 617-495-1000, Website www.harvard.edu.   

Gravesite – Old Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA (1660).  Located at 100 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111, next to the Park Street Church and near the site of the Boston Massacre, Phone 617-635-4505, Website cityofboston.gov.  

Boston Home – The plaque reads – “SAMUEL ADAMS HOUSE SITE - The patriot and propagandist Samuel Adams (1722-2803) lived in a house on this site from 1784 until his death. A cousin of John Adams, Samuel Adams wrote many criticisms of the British government, advocated separation from Great Britain, and was instrumental in the organization of the Boston Tea Party. Adams was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and served as governor of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1797. He was born on nearby Purchase Street."

Church – Old South Meeting House, Boston, MA (1729).  Located at 310 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108, Phone 617-482-6439, Website www.oldsouthmeetinghouse.org.  Samuel Adam’s Church and located of mass meetings too large for Faneuil Hall.

State House - Old State House, Boston, MA (1713).  Located at 206 Washington Street Boston, MA 02109, Phone 617-720-1713, Website www.bostonhistory.org.  Seat of the Massachusetts legislature from 1713 to 1798.

Statue – Statue of Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA.  Located at One Faneuil Hall Square, Boston, MA 02109, Phone 617-635-3105, Website www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com.  The Hall was the home of the Boston Town Meeting.

A large red brick building with four floors, white-framed windows, and a steep roof with dormer windows and multiple chimneys. There are leafless trees in front and a grassy area.

Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (1720). 

Located at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, Phone 617-495-1000, Website www.harvard.edu.   

Founded in 1636, Harvard University in the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S. Massachusetts Hall is the oldest surviving building at Harvard and the second oldest academic building in the U.S. after the Wren Building at the College of William & Mary.  It was originally a dormitory containing 32 chambers and 64 small private studies for the 64 students it was designed to house.  Founding fathers who lived in Massachusetts Hall include Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, Elbridge Gerry, and James Otis.

 The colonial colleges founded before the Revolutionary War are – Harvard (1636), William & Mary (1693), Yale (1701), Princeton (1746), Pennsylvania (1740), Columbia (1754), Brown (1764), Rutgers (1766), Dartmouth (1769).