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Charles Alexander Adams (1873 - 1922)
Charles Alexander Adams was born on March 10, 1873 in Napier Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the son of William and Rebecca (Hiner) Adams.
Charles grew up on a farm in Napier Township. His father was a carpenter and a chairmaker, and he taught his three sons his trades.
Charle's father served during the Civil War for the Pennslvania infantry. He returned home a shell of his former self. Intense physical exertion and unsanitary drinking water contributed to a number of physical ailments, and he was no longer able to perform much physical labor without pain. He would come to rely on his sons to contribute much of the physical labor on the farm. It is thought that William became a chairmaker because he was not able to do the same carpentry work that he did before the war.
William made and sold hickory rocking chairs. He taught his three sons Harry, Solomon, and Charles the craft, and Charles taught his son Willard. Three generations of Adamses were chairmakers in Bedford County.
On October 10, 1895 Charles married Harriet G. Wolfe in St. Clairsville, Bedford County. She was born on January 23, 1874 in Fishertown, Bedford County, the daughter of Richard and Margaret Ann (Croyle) Wolf.
Charles and Harriet resied in New Paris, Napier Township.
Charles and Harriet had ten children, five of whom died in infancy or childhood. Their ten children were: Willard Wolfe Adams, Ethel Faye Ferguson, unknown name (died in infancy), Abigail Adams, unknown name (stillborn), William Richard Adams, Harry Ellsworth Adams (died in infancy), Henry Harold Adams (died in infancy), Evelyn (Adams) Daniels-Merrill, and M. Veron (Adams) Beutman.
After giving birth to Willard in 1897 and Ethel in 1898, Harriet's next three children did not survive infancy or early childhood. She then gave birth to William Richard in 1904 followed by another two children who died in infancy. In 1911 at the age of 38 she gave birth to a girl, Evelyn, and in 1915 at the age of 41 she gave birth to their last child, Veron.
Charles and Harriet set up Harriet's sister Mary Ellen with Charle's first cousin, Elmer E. Gordon, who was recently widowed. Elmer and Mary Ellen were married in 1906 and resided in Streetsboro, Ohio.
On April 18, 1919 Harriet died at their home in New Paris. She was 45. Evelyn was 7, and Veron was just 3 years old.
On April 30, 1921 Charles remarried to Margaret B. "Maggie" Shaffer. Like Charles, Maggie was 48 years old and a widow. She had two grown sons and a grown daughter by her first husband, Charles W. Ickes.
Sadly, Charles died on February 27, 1922 at home. It is thought that he had a bad heart. He was 48.
Charles and Maggie had been married less than one year. Maggie did not wish to raise Charles' two young daughters. Willard and his young wife Vinie raised his baby sister Veron with their five children. Ethel and her husband Harry raised her younger sister Evelyn with their two sons. Richard was 17 when his father died. it is not known who he lived with.
Charles and Harriet are buried in New Paris Cemetery, New Paris beside their four deceased infant children and deceased young dauther, Abigail.
Maggie remarried eight years after Charles's death to another widower, Francis S. Bender, whose first wife had given birth to upwards of 12 children. Maggie passed away in 1937, 11 years before Francis died.
Charles and Harriet had 19 grandchildren (10 of them were born by their youngest daughter Veron.) Harriet only lived to see their first grandchild, and Charles only saw their first 3 grandchildren. |
Adams 
