This is another set of my 2x-great-grandparents - their daughter Lizzie is my great-grandmother through her son Alfred Prater. The Adams family is interwoven into my paternal tree at multiple points, making them one of the contributors to pedigree collapse (along with the Holbrooks, Praters, and Caudills, among others).
John Adams was born in May 1863 in Kentucky to Daniel Adams and Matilda (Kilgore) Adams. His mother has been quite the interesting genealogical lead to pin down.
John, who was a Reverend, married Sarah Amanda “Mandy” Williams about 1885. She was born September 29, 1868, in Bonanza, Kentucky, to Harrison Williams and Quintilia Ann (Cox) Williams. They attended Chestnut Grove United Baptist Church in Floyd Co., Kentucky, from about 1893.
They had at least 12 children, among whom the following survived:
1. Cleveland (Grover Cleveland Adams in some documentation) born July 11, 1885, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. He married Poppy Patrick (1882-1971) about 1900, presumably in Kentucky. He died January 15, 1967, in Floyd Co., Kentucky.
2. Lizzie born June 11, 1889, in Kentucky. She married Dave Prater (1891-1966) July 31, 1913. She died May 3, 1975, and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery, Silver Lake, Indiana.
3. Eva born October 18, 1892, in Kentucky. She married (1st) Millard Prater (1887-1943, son of Preston Prater and Susanna Holbrook) about 1910. She married (2nd) Charles Milton “Milt” Holbrook (1885-1971, son of Thomas Green Holbrook) after 1958. She died January 11, 1977, in Indiana, and is buried in Adams Cemetery in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, as Eva Holbrook.
4. Stephen “Stevie” born January 22, 1896, in Brainard, Kentucky. He appears to have married Kate Patrick (~1898-1986) July 8, 1914, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. He was living in Michigan at the time of his mother’s death.
5. Emma Jane born May 19, 1898, in Kentucky. She married James Risner (1896-1973) about 1916. She died in June 1970 and is buried next to her husband in Albion Memory Gardens, Albion, Michigan, as Emma J. Risner.
6. Malisa “Malissie” (mistranscribed in Kentucky birth record database as Malina) born December 17, 1901, Floyd Co., Kentucky. She married Wade Frazier (1900-1981) by 1923. She died in 1966 and is buried next to her husband in Cooks Prairie Cemetery, Clarendon, Michigan, as Malissie Frazier.
7. Ida born August 16, 1903, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. She married Harmon “High” Robinson (1899-1971) November 3, 1920, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. She died July 22, 1984, and is buried next to her husband in Clarence Center Cemetery, Calhoun Co., Michigan, as Ida Robinson.
8. Archie born May 27, 1906, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. He married Gracie Holbrook (1909-1991, daughter of Handy Holbrook and Jane Miller) January 16, 1928, in Magoffin Co., Kentucky. He died June 18, 1963, and is buried next to his wife in Rosehill Cemetery, Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
9. Shelly born April 29, 1909, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. He married Norma Stambough (1908-1994) about 1927, presumably in Kentucky. He died December 14, 1977, and is buried in Chestnut Grove (Adams/Holbrook) Cemetery, Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
10. Josephine “Josie” born April 8, 1912, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. She married (1st) Tom Sparks (1904-1976) about 1931. The family moved to Michigan in 1952. She married (2nd) George Preston “Georgie P.” Adams (1912-1993, son of Johnny Adams and Violet Prater, Salyersville, Kentucky) November 12, 1980, in Dickenson, Virginia. She died April 28, 1983, in Floyd Co., Kentucky, and is buried next to her first husband in Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Prestonsburg, Kentucky, as Josie Sparks.
11. Clara born June 25, 1916, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. She married (1st) Albert Holbrook (1915-1959, son of Handy Holbrook and Jane Miller) by 1935, presumably in Kentucky where their two eldest children were born. (She had seven children of her own and gained step children in her 2nd marriage). They relocated to Michigan by 1940. She married (2nd) Julius Frederick Schmidt (1911-1981) in 1960. She died July 23, 2000, and is buried in Litchfield, Michigan.
John died October 21, 1923, and is buried in Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Mandy died March 10, 1949, and is buried in Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Prestonsburg, Kentucky, as Mandy Adams.
For a full listing of references and additional family, see My Lineage from the Roots Up, vol. 2 (Aliconia Publishing, 2023).
I located Bonanza and Chestnut Grove on the map to visualize where this family lived. Eastern Kentucky has such beautiful scenery. I try to imagine this growing family traveling from home to Chestnut Grove Church and back 100+ years ago.