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Start Over Collection John Adams Family Papers 1842-1943 Names Adams family
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.

John Adams Family Papers 1842-1943

This collection, 1,265 items, 1842 (1872-1912) 1943 (one Hollinger box), consists of the papers of the family of John Adams(ca. 1816/1825-1873), a prosperous Richmond free black contractor and plasterer, described by one historian as the owner of "the largest number of separate pieces of property held by a free [antebellum] Negro in the entire state." Some of these items offer glimpses of his civic and familial experiences as a free black in a slave society. However, the bulk of the collection consists of miscellaneous canceled checks, promissory notes and receipts (1873-1912) generated by Adams' eldest son Joseph Adams(b. 1845) as executor of his father's estate. Also present are photocopies (obtained by the previous owner of this collection) of John Adams's last will and death certificate, and a partial typescript the 1850 federal census enumeration of the Adams family.

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John Adams Family Papers 1842-1943

This collection, 1,265 items, 1842 (1872-1912) 1943 (one Hollinger box), consists of the papers of the family of John Adams(ca. 1816/1825-1873), a prosperous Richmond free black contractor and plasterer, described by one historian as the owner of "the largest number of separate pieces of property held by a free [antebellum] Negro in the entire state." Some of these items offer glimpses of his civic and familial experiences as a free black in a slave society. However, the bulk of the collection consists of miscellaneous canceled checks, promissory notes and receipts (1873-1912) generated by Adams' eldest son Joseph Adams(b. 1845) as executor of his father's estate. Also present are photocopies (obtained by the previous owner of this collection) of John Adams's last will and death certificate, and a partial typescript the 1850 federal census enumeration of the Adams family.

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