George Washington Adams was born about 1840 in St. Clair Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania the son of Solomon and Ann (Shrader) Adams.

Joanna Barnes was born on May 1, 1846 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Tobias and Elizabeth (Custer) Barnes.

George grew up on a farm.  His maternal grandparents Philip and Ann Shrader lived nearby, and so did other relatives, many who were farmers. He was the third of eleven children.

Joanna, too, grew up on a farm in Paint Township, Somerset County. She had three brothers and two sisters. It is thought that she moved with her parents to Bedford County sometime in the 1860s, and that is how she met George.|

George worked on his father’s farm. As a young man he become a carpenter like his brothers William, John, and Alex. Later in life he was a shoemaker.

George and his brothers, Philip and William, fought for the Pennsylvania volunteers during the Civil War. Sadly Philip died during the war.

George’s uncle and namesake, George W., fought for the Ohio Volunteers. George W. had so far lived a varied life, at times driving a stage coach, working for the old Portage Railroad, and having also served in the Mexican War of 1845-6.

On March 1, 1866 George and Joanna were married in Schellsburg, Bedford County.

George and Joanna were the parents of six children: John Harvey Adams, Amanda Clara (Adams) Meck, Joseph Keith Adams, Ann (Adams) Meck, Catherine Adams (died in infancy), and Ervin Adams.

By 1870 they resided in St. Clair Township.

By 1880 George and his growing family were residing a few miles away in Portage of neighboring Cambria County.  Joanna’s parents, Tobias and Elizabeth Barnes were living  in Portage as well, as were her sisters Catherine Sparks and Barbara Troxell.

In 1882 Joanna gave birth to their youngest child, Ervin.

On August 9, 1888 Joanna died at the age of 42. She was buried in the Wilmore United Brethen Cemetery.

In 1889 daughter Clara married Solomon E. “Sol” Meck, a coalminer from Broad Top, Bedford County, PA. She was 4 months pregnant with their daughter Emma. Clara and Sol made their home in Broad Top, and her little brother Ervin came to live with them. Thereafter, Ervin considered his sister and brother-in-law his parents, and his relationship with his father remained distant.

In January 1891 Ann married Clara’s brother-in-law, William G. Meck, and in September Harvey married Mary “Mollie” McCabe.

In October of that year George filed a marriage application in Bedford County to remarry to Margaret Detwiler, who at 24 was half his age. It is not known whether or not they were ever married.

In December 1895 daughter Ann died of complications from childbirth. Her newborn daughter Bertha was raised by Clara. Her two-year-old son Harry was raised by his father and step-mother until about the age of 13, then he too went to live with Clara and Sol.

In 1898, son Keith married Savannah Griffith of Ryot. Savannah had just given birth to a son, whom they named Richard Dewey. Savannah’s paternal grandparents Daniel and Hannah (Blackburn) Griffith lived for a time next to the Adams farm near Ryot. Daniel was a blacksmith who sadly died in 1862 of diptheria along with two infant children.

George resided in Hopewell, Bedford County, Pa in 1896. In 1900 George lived alone in Portage, but his sons Harvey and Keith lived nearby with their growing families.

Around 1901, George remarried to a woman named Delilah, who was about 19 years his junior. By 1906 they resided in Wells Tannery, Fulton County, PA. They were still residing in Wells Tannery in 1913.

In 1912 son Ervin married Dorothy FitzPatrick. Despite being illiterate, Ervin had become a successful electrician and inventor. Although he made little money, his inventions greatly aided the coalmining industry. Harvey was a coalminer, and Keith worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The invention bug was in Keith's blood, too, for he invented the ballast cleaner, which was used by the railroad for many years.

George died about 1919. He was about 79. It is not known if he died in Wells Tannery, nor is it known where he is buried.

George and Joanna’s 5 adult children produced 27 adult grandchildren, and many great-, great-great, and great-great-great-grandchildren. Because Joanna died so young, she never knew any of her grandchilren. George maintained a strained and distant relationship with his children, and few of his grandchildren had much of a relationship with him.