John B Adams
John B Adams was born in Germany about 1825, possibly in what is now Baden-Baden, Germany. He was married to Anna and came here with his brother about 1860 or earlier. He is found in the 1860 US Federal Census in Cohoes, Albany, New York, USA, (Online index and images, Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com, page 121 (stamped 815), lines 1-10, enumerated on 20 July 1860 by HB Segue, accessed 6 February 2014), along with his presumed wife Anna and brother Bernard.
He's listed in the census as Jn. B Adams, age 35, a white male factory worker from Baden, Germany. The family listed below are all born in Baden, Germany unless otherwise listed. His presumed wife, based on placement in census, is Anna Adams, age 36, is a white female. His presumed brother is Bernard Adams, age 28, a white male factory worker. Bernard's presumed wife is Rosa Adams, age 20, a white female factory worker. There are two non-Adams residents in dwelling # 471 and family # 976 - Frank Brown, age 36, a white male factory worker and Theodore Smith, age 24, a white male factory worker. A presumed sister, Margaret Adams, age 22, is also present. She is a white female factory worker. There are also three children living in this household that says they are born in New York - Maggie Adams, age 10, a white female factory worker, John Adams, age 8, a white male, and Rosa Adams, age 2, a white female.
The next thing I went looking for was the 1870 Census (p. 13 (stamped 552 in upper right hand corner), enumerated on 23 August 1870 by WJ Grant, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 6 February 2014)). I found John B in Guilderland, Albany, New York, USA this time.
He was in Dwelling # 101, Family # 106, preceded by Family # 105 which is Bernard's family.
Family # 106 Line # 34 - John Adams, age 46, a white male Cotton Batt Factory worker, with real estate worth $2000 and estate worth $1000 He was born in Prussia to foreign-born parents.Ok. John is now 46 and was aged 35, ten years ago. The census was taken in July in 1860 and August in 1870, so he may or may not have had a birthday during this time, but the age is close. Parts of Germany were part of the Prussian Empire, and Baden-Baden on some historical Prussian maps looks like it may have been part of it. It also looks like John B is the owner of the house in 1870, as his brother has no real estate value listed.
Line # 35 - Annie Adams, age 48, a white female keeping house, born in Prussia to foreign-born parents.Anna or Annie is even more likely to be John's wife, as the two families are now separated into independent family units in 1870, but relationship to head of household is still not listed in the 1870 census. There is an age difference between the censuses. Differences of a year or two are not uncommon in census records, but we'll need more information.
Line # 36 - John Adams, age 17, a white male Cotton Batt Factory worker who was born in Prussia to foreign-born parents.John the son is 8 in 1860 but only 17 in 1870. The biggest discrepancy is the place of birth. This matches all of my other information on John, that he was born in Germany (at this point in time part of Prussia). It also fits the family legend.
Line # 37 - Margaret Adams, age 19, a white female born in Prussia to foreign-born parents.Maggie was 10 in 1860 and 19 in 1870. Again, she is born in New York in 1860, but in Prussia in 1870.
The missing people are Frank Brown and Theodore Smith, who may or may not be related. Also missing is Rosa Adams, who would have been about 12 in 1870, so not likely on her own and a presumed sister Margaret Adams, who would be 32 in 1870.
Research Notes: Need to find Frank and Theodore in the 1870 Census, and see what records may or may not be available around Guilderland, Albany, New York, USA for deaths,burials and marriages.
Family # 105 Line # 29 - Bernard Adams, age 38, a white male Cotton Batt Factory worker, with $0 in real estate, but $2000 in estate, born in Prussia to foreign-born parents.Bernard is found with his presumed brother John in 1870. He is exactly 10 years older and still working in a factory. He is now born in Prussia instead of Germany. He has an estate but doesn't seem to own real estate.
Line # 30 - Rose Adams, age 29, a white female keeping house, born in Wirtenburg to foreign-born parents.Rose was 20 in 1860. She is still presumably Bernard's wife. Wirtenburg is most likely the misspelling of Baden-Württemberg. See link. Baden was renamed Baden-Baden, because it was often referred to as Baden in Baden. Baden-Württemberg is a state in which Baden resides. (from Wikipedia) She seems to refer to her home place by it's state name, which may have confused Mr. Grant, so he did not record it as Prussia.
Line # 31 - George, age 8, a white male born in New York to foreign born parents, is attending school.George was born after the 1860 census.
Line # 32 - (Burbay?) Adams, age 4, a white female born in New York to foreign-born parents is not yet attending school.Burbay is what the name appears to be.
Line # 33 - John Adams, age 1, a white male born in New York to foreign-born parents.He is definitely not the John Adams from 1860.
Research Notes: Need to find Bernard and family in the 1880 census. Also, I need to search for any Lutheran, Catholic or Episcopal church records for the three births. Judaism is not likely, as John, the son of John B, was a member of the Episcopal Church in North Adams. Lutheranism and Catholicism are the two most prevalent religions in Germany, and there is an Anglican church (the name used for the same church outside of the United States) in Baden-Baden
