John Adamson was a mason at the time of his marriage in Yorkshire, and he is described as a mason or bricklayer in city directories of Toronto in the 1830s and early 1840s. He immigrated to Canada in 1833 with his wife’s family. Starting in 1834, he began acquiring land in Pickering township, in what was then Ontario County, but he doesn’t seem to have moved there until 1844. In the 1830s, he is said to have been involved in the construction of Toronto’s first sewer system, and he is also known to have built houses. The 1842 census shows he had seven employees. He was partners with George Harbron, who was married to his wife’s sister. John was a volunteer fireman. In Pickering township, he set up a brickmaking operation, and also farmed. Although an Anglican, in the late 1840s he built a Methodist church on property he donated for the purpose. (His wife’s family were Methodists). He carved the pulpit from wood. (It has since been stolen, as has been a reportedly beautiful dining room set which he also made himself.) He is buried in the cemetery attached to the church he built.
He is said to have had dark brown hair and dark eyes.
Events
Date of Birth: about 1804 to 1807
Place of Birth: Yorkshire
John Adamson’s age at death (52) and place of birth are given on his gravestone, and his age at his next birthday (probably in 1852) is given in the 1851 census as 46.
Date of Baptism: uncertain.
Place of Baptism: uncertain.
See the Commentary section.
Date of Death: 31 July 1856
Place of Death: Presumably Salem Corner, Pickering Township, Ontario County, Canada West.
The date is given on his gravestone, and in Our Family History (p. 120): "He died July 31st, 1856. They were hauling in their wheat that day."
Place of Burial: Salem Cemetery, Pickering township, Pickering County, Ontario.
His gravestone exists.
Relationships
Father: uncertain.
Mother: uncertain.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Elizabeth Sadler (11 August 1808 - 14 April 1901). Married 1 June 1828 in Thornton Dale, Yorkshire.
The date and place are given in the parish register.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project. Sources include Yorkshire parish registers, Canadian censuses, Ontario birth, death, and marriage registrations, gravestones, and Our Family History.)
Mary Adamson (25 October 1828, baptized 26 October 1828 in Thornton Dale - died 8 February 1830, buried 9 February 1830 in Thornton Dale)
Samuel Adamson (born 19 December 1830, baptized 22 December 1830 in Thornton Dale - died 3 September 1900 in Rosedale, Manitoba, Canada) married Mary Ann Wilson.
Mary Adamson (born 28 January 1833, baptized 3 February 1833 in Thornton Dale - died 28 August 1833 in York (Toronto), Upper Canada)
John Maw Adamson (born 8 September 1835 in York (Toronto) - died 4 December 1836, buried 6 December 1836 in Potter's Field Cemetery, Toronto)
Thomas Adamson (born 1 February 1837 - died 3 September 1900 in Rosedale, Manitoba) married Rachel Bowers.
Robert Adamson (born 8 April 1839 in Toronto - died 5 February 1918 in Toronto) married Margaret Maria Gibson on 16 May 1872 in Brooklin, Ontario.
Sarah Ann Adamson (born 5 September 1841 - died 26 April 1923) married Robert Graham 14 May 1859 in Ontario County, Canada West.
William Wilfrid Adamson (born 10 February 1843 - died 4 May 1912 in Tay township, Simcoe County, Ontario) married Margaret Moody.
John Maw Adamson (born 28 February 1847 - died 8 February 1928 in Greenwood, Ontario) married Adelaide Victoria Harvey.
Henry Gamble Adamson (born 14 July 1849 - died 26 April 1935 in Bracebridge, Ontario) married Elizabeth Beatrice Cooke on 6 June 1876 in Toronto, Ontario.
Evidence
Thornton Dale parish register:
John Adamson and Elizabeth Sadler both of this Parish were married in this Church by Banns with Consent of those required this First Day of June in the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty eight By me R:B:Scholefield Curate
This Marriage was solemnized between us John Adamson Elizabeth Sadler
In the Presence of George Beal Adah Maw William Sadler George Skelton Clerk
[John had been a witness at the 1824 marriage of Elizabeth Sadler's brother John.]
[Baptisms]:
When Baptized: October 26th [1828]
Child’s Christian Name: Mary Daughter of
Parents Name. Christian: John and Elizabeth
Surname: Adamson
Abode: Thornton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Mason
By whom the ceremony was performed: R:B: Scholefield Curate
When Baptized: 1830 December 22nd
Child’s Christian Name: Samuel son of
Parents Name. Christian: John and Elizabeth
Surname: Adamson
Abode: Thornton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Mason
By whom the ceremony was performed: R:B: Scholefield Curate
When Baptized: Feby 3rd [1833]
Child’s Christian Name: Mary Daughter of
Parents Name. Christian: John and Elizabeth
Surname: Adamson
Abode: Thornton
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Mason
By whom the ceremony was performed: R:B: Scholefield Curate
[Burials]:
Mary Adamson Thornton Feb.y 9th [1830] year 1 R:B:Scholelfield Curate
1842 census information (not an exact transcript):
Head of Household: John Adamson
Owner of dwelling: John Adamson
Entitled to vote: John Adamson
Occupation: Bricklayer
Number of natives of England in family: 4
Number of natives of Canada in family: 3 [This number seems to have been written in error in the French Canadian column.]
Number of years in Canada: 9
Number of males under 5: 1
Number of females under 5: 1
Number of males aged 6 to 13: 2
Number of females aged 6 to 13: 1
Number of members of the Church of England: 1
Number of Canadian Wesleyan Methodists: 1
Number of male servants (presumably meaning “employees”): 7
[The census was taken shortly before 1 February 1842.]
1851 Census of Canada West, Ontario County, Pickering
http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002363000.jpg
[The census was actually taken in early 1852.]
John Adamson Brick Layer [Place of Birth] England [Religion] Methodist W [Age next birth day] 46
Elizth Adamson [England] [Methodist W] 44
Saml Adamon [England] [Methodist W] 22
Thos Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 15
Robert Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 13
Ann Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 11
Wm Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 8
John Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 5
Henry Adamson [Canada] [Methodist W] 3
John Adamson's will:
This Indenture Witness that I John Adamson of the Township of Pickering in the County of Ontario and Province of Canada West: Yeoman, do hereby make my last Will and Testament, it being uncertain the time of my departure; and being now in my perfect memory and Powers of Mind:-- to prevent any Confusion in my Family after my decease. I do arrange my Worldly affairs as follows. that is to say,
First: My Will is That my funeral charges and just debts shall be paid by my executrix and executors hereinafter named: -- The residue of my Estate and property which shall not be required for the payment of my just debts, funeral charges, and expences attending the execution of This my last Will, and the administration of my Estate, I Give, Devise, and Dispose thereof as follows, namely:
I Give and Bequeath to my beloved Wife Elizabeth Adamson all my real estate, personal property, goods, and chattells, household furniture, beds and bedding: for her use and support during her natural life, and the maintaining and educating my children who are under the age of twenty one years: -- Also I Will and Request that in case my Wife Elizabeth Adamson should die before the time that one or more of my youngest children shall come to the age of twenty one years, my Executors shall apply the profits or interests that may arise from my said real Estate, personal property, goods, and Chattels for the maintaining and educating either one or more of my said youngest children shall come to the Age of twenty one years as the case may be.
I Will and Request that all my Children (seven in number) shall have an equal share of all my Estate real and personal which said equal shares shall not be received until my Wife Elizabeth Adamson’s death -- but if the death of my Wife Elizabeth Adamson should take place before my youngest son(?) Henry Adamson shall come of Age then the said equal shares shall not be received until my said son Henry Adamson shall come to the age of twenty one years, subject to the following arrangement, (that is to say:)
I Will and Bequeath to my Eldest son Samuel Adamson his heirs and assigns the north fifty acres of Lot number seven in the fifth concession of the Township of Pickering. [pencilled note: Samuel was killed at Manitoba on 3rd Nov 1900 He had not disposed of this parcel]
I Give and Bequeath to my youngest son Henry Adamson his heirs and assigns the south fifty acres of the north hundred of Lot number seven in the fifth concession of the Township of Pickering aforesaid. [pencilled note: Henry sold this to Cawthra of Toronto][pencilled note: Henry cut and sold a lot of(?) wood off this place & depreciated the value]
I Give and Bequeath to my son Thomas Adamson his heirs or assigns the north east quarter of number eight (fifty acres) in the fifth concession of the Township of Pickering Aforesaid. [pencilled note: Thos sold this to Mulcock][pencilled note: Thomas was killed at the same time as Samuel -- He left no will -- Had nothing to will -- His widow Rachel Adamson lives in Toronto -- He left a family all grown up.]
I Give and Bequeath to my son Robert Adamson his heirs and assigns the east half of Lot number three in the Township of Tecumseth. [pencilled note: Robert sold this to Wm Train of Tecumseth now lives in Flos]
I Give and Bequeath to my son William Adamson, his heirs and assigns the north half of Lot number eighty in the first concession, east of the Penetangueshine Road in the Township of Tay. [pencilled note: Wm has not parted with this His P.O. is Waverley.]
I Give and Bequeath to my son John Adamson his heirs my west house situate on Richmond Street in the City of Toronto. [pencilled note: John has not parted with his Greenwood]
I Give and Bequeath to my daughter Sarah Ann Adamson her heirs my East House situate on Richmond street in the city of Toronto. [pencilled note: Sarah Ann Graham Minnedosa]
I Will and Request that as soon as the death of my beloved wife Elizabeth Adamson shall take place my real Estate and personal property to me belonging shall be valued by three honest and disinterested persons to be then appointed by Executors herein after named to ascertain the amount of the value of my said estate real and personal and then to be divided in such a manner that each child may have an equal share. Also I Will and request that in case my said beloved Wife Elizabeth Adamson shall die before my youngest son Henry Adamson shall come of age the valuation of my said Estate real and personal shall not take place and the division made untill my said youngest son Henry Adamson shall come to the age of twenty one years. [pencilled note: E A died in Apr 1901]
I Will and Request that as soon as the amount of the value of each of my said children’s share is ascertained in the way and manner before mentioned if the bequest by me made to each of my children as mentioned in another part of this my last Will and Testament shall amount to more than each child’s share then my said children whose bequest shall amount in value to more than each of my children’s share shall pay the balance to each of my children whose bequest comes short in value to each of my children’s equal share.
Also I Will and request that should any of my children die under age and without heirs that child’s share shall be divided equally among my surviving children.
Lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint my beloved Wife Elizabeth Adamson the Executrix and my (faithful -- crossed out) oldest son Samuel Adamson and my faithful and true friend William Bower Executors of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former Wills and Testaments by me made. [pencilled note: Executors all dead]
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal [rest missing?]
Attached note:
S ½ & N ½ of lot 7 5 Con Pick’g
Rel. Es. R. 22 Nov. 1898 rec’d 28 Nov 98 Hy Adamson of Pick’g yeoman P’P’ -- Charlotte Elizabeth Cawthra of Toronto widow Hy Cawthra of same place Esquire & Wm Mulock Esq. Trustees under will of Joseph Cawthra deceased [?]
&
Elizabeth Beatrice Adamson wife of H [?]
NE ¼ 8 5 Con -
5276 B(?) Jan’y 16/84 Jany 25/84 Thos Adamson & wife to Wm Mulock
Attached note:
Write to Sam’ls widow
Attached note:
Write to Wm result of negotiations
There is no personal estate now outstanding
Samuel, Henry, Thomas, Robert, William & John were the only sons of Testator, and Sarah Ann the only daughter of Testator
John & Wm are willing to stand by the will & expr agreement waiving any claim to valuation --
Write Mulock and Cawthra as to this
In Train’s case all parties quit claimed
Also write to Sarah Ann & see what she will do
Attached note:
Values according to John Adamson
Henry’s 50 acres $1000
Thos 50 acres $1500
Sam’l’s 50 acres $1500
Wm’s said to be worth about $1500
Gravestone (Salem United Church Cemetery, Pickering, Ontario):
In memory of John Adamson A native of Yorkshire who died July 31, 1856 aged 52 years
Transcriptions from Our Family History:
A description (or descriptions) of the house John Adamson built in Pickering township (Our Family History, pp. 107-108):
In the summer kitchen with its brick floor and cherry table set with the complete set of willow pattern china dishes was a large window like our picture windows now a days. Outside, every year, by my choice, grew little red dahlias and coloured morning glorys, and in front of another window was a large round bed of annuals. This house was surrounded by flag stone walks and flag stone porches. The house was furnished with beautiful furniture and an extension table of cherry with twelve chairs of cherry, the backs of which were twisted limbs. Also a cherry tea table to match. A beautiful chest of walnut and a beautiful walnut serving table graced the living room. In the early days walnut trees grew in great numbers around Toronto.
The first acre of land for the Salem Cemetery was given by John Adamson in 1844 and services are held every last Sunday in June as decoration day. More land has been added and it is very attractive.
The yellow house near the sixth concession, one might call it Greenwood, has flagstone walks and large patches of flag stones on which one can walk in front of the doors. There is a little picket gate with some irons on a chain to make it stay closed and a pump near the corner of the house with a dipper hung with which to have a drink. Everyone, after taking a drink, threw the remains into a red radish bed. Oh, what radishes were ready in two weeks!
A short distance away was a sunflower path fifty feet square with a path leading to the privy which was white-washed inside and out and which could not be seen for the tall sunflowers.
from page 120:
Elizabeth Maw Sadler and John Adamson came to Canada from Thornton Pickering Yorkshire, England, in 1832 to “little Muddy York”, Toronto.
In partnership with John Adamson was George Harbron and his wife Mary Sadler, Elizabeth’s sister.
They were stone masons and built some of the first fine houses in Toronto. They had forty men working for them and went to Hamilton to bring back stones for sills, etc. They built the first seven in Toronto.
They built four lovely brick houses, two for John and two for George. When George died Mary lived in one and had the rent of the other on which she and her son, William (Bill) lived.
John Adamson and family moved to Greenwood, Pickering, Ontario, in 1844. He died July 31st, 1856. They were hauling in their wheat that day.
When a mason he went to work in a clean white suit with blackened boots with heels well polished.
from page 143:
Elizabeth Sadler Adamson’s orchard had a hawthorne hedge a quarter of a mile along the sixth concession of Pickering. Entering the big gate to a long lane, one arrived at the house with a huge fireplace in it into which a team of oxen drew the logs. A hawthorne hedge went along the south and east of the orchard in which grew a beautiful apple striped inside and out with red, Strawberry Pepper. Near it stood an old brass pan filled with pansies. One could lay on one’s back and eat the Snow apples which grew in front of the living room.
from page 146:
Grandma’s Well
Near the house was a platform with about twelve heavy timbers. In the middle was a box two feet square covering a hole. A well pail hung on the pole. This was put into the well and, hand over hand, was pulled out. The well was thirty-five feet deep and the water came to fifteen feet from the top. The water was cool and clear. Grass grew around the platform. At the edge grew a perennial flower of pink and mauve, light and rich. It came up every year.
Commentary
On John’s parents:
I do not have direct evidence for John’s parents. However, there is some indirect evidence to connect him to a Jane Adamson married in Londesborough, Yorkshire, in 1774. I share 63 cM of DNA across 4 segments with a paper-trail descendant of this Jane Adamson. This is a fairly large amount of DNA – I would have expected an even closer relationship with this amount of DNA, but a closer relationship does not appear in our paper trail trees, which are reasonably complete this far back.
Another possibilty with some indirect evidence to support it is that John’s parents were George Adamson and Elizabeth Tiplady of Loftus.
George and Elizabeth had a son John baptized 2 February 1807 in Loftus, Yorkshire. The date is consistent with the best evidence for John’s age. John’s gravestone states that he was a native of Yorkshire and aged 52 at his death in 1856. However, it is not clear who was responsible for the gravestone, or when it was erected. Better evidence is recorded in the 1851 census of Canada West, which was actually taken in early 1852. John’s age at his next birthday is given as 46, implying a birth date in 1806 or early 1807. I regard this census as better evidence, as the informant was likely John himself, and the age of John’s wife was exactly correct, indicating the informant was making an effort to be accurate.
Another piece of evidence connecting John to the Loftus baptism is his close relationship with his business partner, stone mason George Harbron. George Harbron and John Adamson were both stone masons and both married daughters of Wilfrid Sadler in Thornton Dale in 1828. They were business partners in Canada, and were likely working together already in Yorkshire. George Harbron was from Danby, not far from Loftus. His family seems to have had an association with the Loftus Adamsons: George Adamson’s executor was his nephew Thomas Adamson, and Thomas’s executor was a George Hebron of Loftus, gentleman.
This leads into another piece of evidence which arguably could support the conjecture. George Adamson in his 1847 will names the his son John Adamson, as well as the children of his deceased son Thomas and deceased daughter Ann. He appoints his nephew Thomas Adamson as executor, and instructs him to sell all his real estate, invest the money, and pay the dividends to his widow Elizabeth for as long as she lives. On Elizabeth’s death, Thomas is then to divide the principal equally between his son John and the children of his deceased son and daughter. One might have expected that George would have left the responsibility of taking care of his widow to his son John, if he were on the scene. An explanation for why he did not could be that John had emigrated.
Finally, I have looked at the other baptisms of John Adamsons within the relevant area (in Yorkshire not very far from Thornton Dale or Loftus) and time period (between 1800 and 1813). These baptisms are either much less likely or can be completely ruled out (See below).
However, there is some evidence inconsistent with the conjecture that John Adamson’s parents were George and Elizabeth that I have not been able to explain (at least, not yet).
In the 1841 census, a John Adamson, shoemaker, age 30, appears living in Baxtergate Street in Whitby, Yorkshire. He is married to Ann, age 35, and has a son George, age 5. One of his four apprentices is William Adamson, age 15.
This John Adamson was married to Ann Smith in Whitby in 1832 (both were “of this parish”), and George was baptized in Whitby 26 September 1835. It seems to me that this John Adamson might be the son of George Adamson and Elizabeth Tiplady. The apprentice William Adamson, from other sources, can be identified as the son of the elder George Adamson’s nephew Elisha Adamson, and was baptized in Hinderwell 12 January 1822. The 1851 census states that he was born in Loftus. In 1841, census takers were instructed to round ages down to a multiple of five. This census taker appears to have been giving exact ages where possible, but for this family, all ages were multiples of five. William’s baptism in 1822 shows that he would have been 19 at the time of the census, and so his age was clearly rounded down. Perhaps an apprentice who was unsure of the exact ages was the informant for this family. The connection to the Loftus Adamsons, and the facts that John’s age of 30 may well have been rounded down and that his only son was named George, make it seem plausible that this John is the son of George Adamson of Loftus.
Also, one of the witnesses to the 1835 marriage of Thomas Adamson (son of George Adamson of Loftus), was a John Adamson.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to trace the John, Ann, or George Adamson of the Whitby 1841 census in later records with any certainty. There is a John Adamson, bootmaker, aged 49 and born in Loftus, in the 1861 census living at 18 Blanket Row in Kingston upon Hull. If this is the same John, the age would tend to rule him out as a son of George. However, it is difficult to be sure, since his wife and son do not appear. (A wife actually does appear, but is presumably some kind of error: she is given as Sarah Walker, age 30, occupation whitesmith’s wife. Since John was a bootmaker and surnamed Adamson, something has gone wrong. Perhaps Sarah’s husband was absent, and the census taker was thinking “married” when he wrote “wife” in the relationship column.)
To sum up, I think some relationship to the Danby family which I cannot find a paper trail for is most likely, although the Loftus baptism has perhaps not been quite ruled out.
Mistaken parentage
Some online trees give John’s parents as John Adamson and Hannah Ruddock of Norton, Yorkshire. This suggestion is appealing because John Adamson was a brickmaker, as was the John Adamson of this page. Unfortunately, it is impossible. John and Hannah’s son John, baptized in 1806, was buried later the same year.
Probably mistaken parentage
John Adamson of Norton had an elder brother Samuel, who married Sarah Sanderson in Burythorpe in 1781 and had a son John baptized in Norton in either 1795 or 1799. The hypothesis that this son is the John Adamson of this page preserves some connection to brickmaking, and has the added attraction that the John Adamson of this page named his eldest son Samuel. However, 1799 seems a little early for John’s baptism: the age recorded on his gravestone places his birth in about 1804, whereas the age given, probably by John himself, in the 1851 census (actually taken in 1852) places his birth in about 1806.
For more information, see below.
Additional information on my research
In investigating John Adamson in Yorkshire, I used these indexes:
Ancestry.com. North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
Original data: Parish Registers for the modern archdeaconries of Richmond, Craven and Cleveland. North Yorkshire, England: North Yorkshire County Record Office.
Ancestry.com. North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
Original data: Parish Registers for the modern archdeaconries of Richmond, Craven and Cleveland. North Yorkshire, England: North Yorkshire County Record Office.
Ancestry.com. North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
Original data: Parish Registers for the modern archdeaconries of Richmond, Craven and Cleveland. North Yorkshire, England: North Yorkshire County Record Office.
Ancestry.com. North Yorkshire, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
Original data: Parish Registers for the modern archdeaconries of Richmond, Craven and Cleveland. North Yorkshire, England: North Yorkshire County Record Office.
Ancestry.com. Teesside, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1923 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Parish Registers for the area covered by Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England: Teesside Archives.
Ancestry.com. Teesside, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Parish Registers for the area covered by Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England: Teesside Archives.
Ancestry.com. Teesside, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Parish Registers for the area covered by Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England: Teesside Archives.
Ancestry.com. Teesside, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2024.
Original data: Parish Registers for the area covered by Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England: Teesside Archives.
Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
Original data:
General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Registrar General (RG) 4. The National Archives, Kew, England.
General Register Office: Birth Certificates from the Presbyterian, Independent and Baptist Registry and from the Wesleyan Methodist Metropolitan Registry. Digitized images. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Registrar General (RG) 5. The National Archives, Kew, England.
General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non Parochial Registers Commission of 1857, and other registers and church records in the Protectorates of Africa and Asia. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Registrar General (RG) 8. The National Archives, Kew, England.
Ancestry.com. 1841 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1841.
Ancestry.com. 1851 England Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851.
Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861.
Ancestry.com. 1871 England Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871.
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. 1851 Wales Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851.
Ancestry.com. 1861 Wales Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861.
Ancestry.com. 1871 Wales Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871.
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 Wales Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
1881 British Isles Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 10 December 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
"England Marriages, 1538–1973." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 10 December 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
"England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1538-2016", Database. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : 19 July 2024.
I also scrolled through digital images of several parish registers in the period, including Thornton Dale, Norton, Loftus, Danby, Hinderwell, Whitby, and Malton.
These are the plausible baptisms of a John Adamson that I found, and checked in digital images of the original registers, or censuses, with my comments in blue:
As stated above, the 1851 census of Canada West, taken in early 1852, is good evidence that John was born in 1806 or early 1807. The (less reliable) gravestone gives an implied date of 1803 or 1804. I investigated baptisms either close (within about 20 miles) to Thornton Dale, where John was married, or to Danby/Loftus, where John’s business partner George Harbron, who married John’s sister in law and whose family had ties to the Loftus Adamsons, was from.
5 January 1800 Hinderwell
John the Son of Luke and Sarah Adamson [abode] Hinderwell
This baptism, and earlier ones, are too early to be considered.
Born 9 October, baptized 18 October 1800 Whitby
John [son of Adam and Dorothy Adamson]
His gravestone [image on Findagrave.com] shows that this John was a shipwright who was buried in 1832, and thus is ruled out.
6 May 1803 Loftus
John Son of W.m & Elisabeth Adamson.
This John was buried 10 May 1803 in Loftus.
19 February 1806 Norton
John son of John & Hannah Adamson
The father John here was a brickmaker, as was “our” John, and the date is probably close enough. But this John was buried 30 May 1806 in Norton.
2 February 1807 Loftus
John Son of George Adamson
See the Commentary section for discussion.
18 October 1807 Selby
John Adamson son of James Adamson Sailor of Selby
This John appears in the 1841 census as a mariner in Selby, and thus is ruled out.
7 May 1809 Whitby [St Hilda’s Catholic]
…baptizatus fuit Joannes Adamson filius Joannis et Margarite Adamson (olim Stanforth) conjugum….
This John is said to have emigrated to the USA, but I have not yet been able to verify this.
6 May 1810 (born 27 April) Bugthorpe
John son of William & Christiana Adamson of the Parish of Nunbornholme…
I think this is the John Adamson who appears in Pocklington in the 1871 census (born in Pocklington, age 60), and who was buried in Pocklington in 1872, age 62.
20 January 1811 Scarborough
[son of David and Betty Adamson]
This John appears in Scarborough in the 1851 to 1881 censuses, and thus is ruled out.
1 April 1812 Hinderwell
John the son of George and Alice Adamson [abode] Seaton Hall
This John appears in Borrowby, Yorkshire, in the 1851, 1861, and 1881 censuses, and thus can be ruled out.
16 April 1813 Cropton
John son of John and Sarah Adamson Laberer of Cropton
This baptism, and later ones, are too late to be considered.
15 August 1813 Ganton
John son of Matthius and Sarah Adamson
This John was a brickmaker in Scarborough, Yorkshire, in 1851. He married Ann Widd in 1842 in Brompton, Yorkshire. This, and the late date, is enough to rule him out.
References
John Adamson household, 1842 census of Canada West, Toronto (City), St. Georges, Volume 1, Reference MG 31 C1 (item number 11172); digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx : accessed 9 March 2014),citing LAC microfilm C-1344
A digital image may be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/1842/uc/jpg/004569584_00487.jpg
John Adamson household, 1851 census of Canada West, Ontario (district 26),Pickering Township (subdistrict 245), ED 12, stamped page 139, line 15; digital image, Library and Archives Canada, Censuses (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/Pages/census.aspx : accessed 9 March 2014),citing LAC microfilm C-11742
A digital image may be viewed here: http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e095/e002363000.jpg
John Adamson: Last Will and Testament, Pickering-Ajax Digital Archive (Canada). Digital images may be viewed here: http://www.pada.ca/books/page/?id=2110&view=image&
John Adamson - Elizabeth Sadler marriage, Thornton Dale, Yorkshire (Bishop’s Transcripts); FHL microfilm 990864, item 2 (Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).
A transcription of the gravestone of John Adamson is available in the Pickering-Ajax Digital Archive. URL: http://www.pada.ca/cemeteries/results/?name=9417
“In memory of John Adamson A native of Yorkshire who died July 31, 1856 aged 52 years”
Marker: J.A.
Hawn, Elizabeth Beatrice Adamson. Our Family History. (Gravenhurst, Ontario: Baxter Press Ltd., October 1969).
[Elizabeth Beatrice Adamson Hawn, the compiler, was a granddaughter of John Adamson.]
McLean, Beatrice, and Mrs. Irven McLean. Greenwood Through the Years (Greenwood Farm Forum, 1960). Digital images: Pickering-Ajax Digital Archive
URL: http://www.pada.ca/books/details/?id=89
See in particular page 13 (the construction of the church at Salem), and pages 42 and 43 (a description of the brickyard at Salem.)
Parish register, Thornton Dale, Yorkshire. Digital images on Findmypast.co.uk accessed 24 February 2018.
Will of George Adamson. Proved 1849 in the Exchequer Court of York, volume 221, folio 1068.
Will of Thomas Adamson of Lofthouse. Proved 1854 in the Prerogative Court of York, volume 234 folio 226.
Wood, William R. Past Years in Pickering. (Toronto, 1911).