Adam (Quinnipiac), - 1770

Also known as Thomas Adams, Jacob Adams, or Henry Adams, the man also known simply as Adam was a leader of the Quinnipiac of East Haven, who emerged as the spokesman for the tribe after the death of the Quinnipiacs’ sachem, John Sauk. In that capacity, he was a signatory to the arrangement to move the East Haven band of Quinnipiacs to Waterbury and landowner in the East Haven reservation.  Adam and his wife Mary had three children, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Abigail Adams Way.  A second spouse was the mother of Sarah Adams Deliverance.  Adam’s name variants suggest the possibility that he may have been the Indian Henry who sold land at Totoket in 1744, or related to Jacob (the son of Katherine), Thomas Indian, or Rum Tom.   

 

In 1747, Adam purchased land in Farmington, Connecticut from an Indian woman and subsequently divided it among his sons Samuel and John on November 3, 1756.  He was the lead plaintiff in Adam v. Joseph and Timothy Tuttle, Jr., a lawsuit filed against two local farmers who deprived the tribe of their planting fields. Ten years later in October 1766, he was a signatory on a petition showing that the proprietors of New Haven reserved thirty acres for his tribe and that it was agreed that a colonist, John Morris, would keep it in proper condition for them to plant.  However, Morris failed to do so and refused to allow the Indians to use the property.  On behalf of the Quinnipiacs, he subsequently petitioned the General Assembly for liberty to sell their land in East Haven in 1768 and 1769. 

 

Because of age and illness, Adam empowered his son Samuel to negotiate with town authorities in selling the rights to the tribe’s East Haven property and exchanging the parcels for land in Farmington among the Tunxis.  According to William DeLoss Love, by 1770 Adam was old and infirm and died soon thereafter.  His children were strong supporters of the Brothertown migration.

 

Menta, The Quinnipiac, 174-179.  Love, Sampson Occom and the Christian Indians of new England, 202, 335.  Additional sources for this biography come from the Related Digital Heritage Items listed below.