Adams Family

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Five Generations of Texans

Charles Augustus Adams (b. 1870, d. 1957) traveled widely and settled in several places. His father was from Greensburg, Louisiana, and his grandfather was born in Massachussetts around 1813.  Charles Augustus often stopped in Longview, Texas where he had a sibling (possibly a sister), and settled for a time in Robert Lee, Texas. But mainly, he lived in and around Alpine, Texas for many years. He had six children: Almer, Dom, Ruel, John Quincy, Annie, and the youngest, Ruth, who died at aged 13.
 
John Quincy was the youngest son.  His was the first recorded birth in Robert Lee, Texas, where his father owned the mercantile and the water works.  After the family moved to Alpine, his older brothers often left him "a good saddle" so that he could do the work when they left for town.   He attended school in Alpine, which was about a day's ride from Study Butte (pronounced Stoodie Bute).  Later, he went to college at Sul Ross on an athletic scholarship.  John Quincy Adams, Jr., my dad, set a West Texas regional record in the 220 (21.8 seconds) in Odessa in 1960 that stood for more than 20 years.  In that same heat, he beat Ted Nelson, then holding the U.S. record in the 440, and later track coach at Texas A&M University.
 
Almer, John Quincy's oldest brother, died in 1919, after serving in World War I.  He may have had a son.  His niece said that there was a rumor that his ex-wife left for New Mexico, so there may be a "lost Adams" out there somewhere.
 
Dom, another of my great uncles, became a successful merchant in Alpine, and my grandfather, John Quincy became a teacher, principal, and rancher. Annie Babbs, his sister, ran a boarding house in Terlingua for some time.   Alpine is also the home of Sul Ross State University, where my grandfather went to college and my parents met.

John Quincy and Vera Louis Adams

John Quincy and Vera Louise Adams, circa 1930.
 

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John Q. Adams, Jr. Retirement Video

The service of Charles Benton Adams '40 is included in this book.