John Adams (New York)

John Adams (August 26, 1778 Oak Hill, New York – September 25, 1854 Catskill, New York) was a United States Congressman from New York.

Life

He studied law, and taught school in Durham. He was admitted to the bar in 1805, and began to practice in Durham. He was Surrogate of Greene County, New York from 1810 to 1811. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1812–13.

In April 1814, he ran as a Federalist for the 14th United States Congress, and was declared elected due to a mistake made by the deputy county clerk who had transcribed the returns. Credentials were issued by the Secretary of State of New York, but Adams did not take or claim the seat. His Democratic-Republican opponent Erastus Root contested Adams's election and was seated on December 26, 1815.

Adams was elected as a Jacksonian to the 23rd Congress, and served from March 4, 1833 to March 3, 1835. Afterwards he resumed his law practice in Catskill. He also became a director of the Canajoharie and Catskill Railroad in 1835.

He was buried at the Thomson Street Cemetery in Catskill.

State Senator Platt Adams (1792–1887) was his brother.

References

• Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.
• Find-A-Grave site
• Congress Bio
• Political Graveyard
• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 72, 187, 255 and 414; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)