I've just joined your mail list and bring a mystery! I have a brick wall that seems to extend into Lawrence County and I'm looking for any help, suggestions, etc. as I've had no previous reason to research in this county. I hope someone on the list can suggest possible substitutes for the 1890 census. I do know from the mail list archives that there seem to be a few researchers of the ADAMSON surname in the county. My father's birth certificate says that his father was Ray Weymouth Adamson, born in Pierce City, Missouri, in 1884. Occupation said to be "Bridgeman". I am trying to identify Ray Adamson's parents. Here is what I've found so far. In the 1910 US Census for Crawford Co, Arkansas. Mary E. Adamson, widow, age 58 & born in Indiana, is head of household with sons Ray W. age 25, born in Missouri, and Clair D. (I think "Clair" as it's very difficult to read) age 17, born in Arkansas. Ray is listed as a carpenter. They live in the same household with the family of Elisha S. & Edith J. Harrison in the town of Chester. Elisha is 59 and Edith 55 - no relationship to them is stated but I thought at first perhaps Mary E. could be sister to one of them. Research has identified the families of both Elisha S. Harrison and Edith J. Irwin and she is not a sister to either although both were from large complex families and there could be a multitude of cousins. It would appear Mary E. and Mr. ??? Adamson had moved to Arkansas sometime between 1884 when Ray was born and 1893 when Clair was born. Mary E. stated she had given birth to 7 children, but only 4 were living - 2 of these identified as above. There are no other Adamsons in the county that could be additional sons. Ten years later in 1920, living in the household of Elisha & Edith Harrison is Ray W. Adamson, son-in-law, age 35, born in Missouri. Now a Rig Builder, Oil Field. His wife is Mary Mae, the youngest daughter of Elisha & Edith, and they have a daughter and two sons, the middle child of which is a son, Weymouth, age 4 1/2. The birth certificate of my father reveals this is he - his name was Weymouth Donald Adamson, but was unexplainably called "Ernie" as a grown man. No Mary E. Adamson, or Clair Adamson in the county in 1920. No cemetery or death record for Mary E. Adamson to be found. In 1900, this Adamson family was not found in Crawford County. There was a George Adamson living in a distant township throughout this time period from 1900-1920 but there's no clue of relationship. Too old to be another son of Mary E. Too young to be a father-in-law. Going back to Pierce City, Lawrence Co MO in hopes of finding clues to the family of Ray Weymouth Adamson, I've found the following. In 1880 there was an Adamson family in the Census in Ozark Township: Ed, age 55, and Elender, age 50. Their child bearing days could be assumed to be over. Among their children are Sterling, age 30 (b.1850), and Lemuel, age 19 (b.1861) - both single but of an age to be married and be a father to Ray Weymouth Adamson by 1884. There was also in Pierce Township, a family with the surname Weymoth. Of course neither of Ray Weymouth's parents were born yet in 1880. You'll agree "Weymouth" is not your everyday given name. A visit to the mail list archives revealed a few Adamson marriages but none listed were between 1880-1885 except for one that appears to be Lemuel Adamson to Alice Harshbarger in 1883 & their graves listed in Hopewell Cemetery. Since he married an Alice this seems to eliminate the above Lemuel. In Gum cemetery were listed a Sturlen Adamson and a son's grave listing the wife & mother as Sarah A. So apparently Sterling Adamson marred a Sarah A, thereby eliminating both of the boys listed with Ed & Ellender Adamson in 1880 unless there's additional information. I also found an abstract of the family of Ed & Elender from the 1870 Census - at that time there was a son Charles W. age 11 (b. 1859). I found a cemetery record in Gum cemetery - born Oct 1858 & died Mar 1875, so he died too young to be a father candidate for Ray Weymouth Adamson. There wasn't another Adamson that I can find in 1880 in Lawrence Co. The listing of Ed & Elender's children from 1870 doesn't suggest any other possible father candidates. Brick Wall - unless I'm missing something. I have no family stories or traditions to help out here. I was adopted by my stepfather before age 6 and have only recently had enough information to begin to ferret out my birth father's family. If you read through this, you have my appreciation! Thanks for any clues. Kay Haden mailto:khaden@mindspring.com

I understand your frustration, Kay, but I'm afraid I can't punch any holes in your Lawrence Co., MO, brick wall. You may get some ideas from the following, though. Ed and Elender Adamson were my ggrandparents, and all of your deductions about them are correct. There were actually nine male offspring, five of whom lived to adulthood (Sturlen, Lemuel, Judson, John and Edward), and none fathered Ray Weymouth Adamson. Additionally, I know of no one in my line who lived in either Pierce City or Arkansas, and no Ray Weymouth, George, Mary E. or Clair. Going back a generation--Ed was one of nine children of Simon Wells Adamson, and came to near Brighton, Polk Co., MO in the early 1840s from near Liberty, TN (then in Wilson Co., but now in Dekalb Co.). He and Elender came to Lawrence Co. in October 1849. Of Ed's eight siblings, four (Cynthia [Adams], William, Lemuel, and Olivia [Hancock]) migrated to Freestone and Limestone Co., TX. William had two sons and Lemuel one--all born and died in Texas. One of Ed's siblings (Nancy Melissa [Walker]) settled near Ozark, MO; one (Thomas Bethel) lived in Iowa after the Civil War, died in Billings, Greene Co., MO in 1893 at the age of 56, and to my knowledge had no children; and two (Joseph Harrison, b. 1831, and Sarah Ann, b. 1833) are unaccounted for after 1840 in my records. I believe that covers everyone in Ed's family who might have fathered Ray Weymouth Adamson. But let's go back to the American beginning, and perhaps give you some ideas as to where to look. Our Adamsons were Quakers who settled in Haddonfield, NJ and Bucks Co., PA in the late 1600s-early 1700s. John Adamson, my ggggggrandfather, married Ann Skuce in 1716 at the Haddonfield Meeting. John may have been Welsh, because I understand that the Haddonfield Meeting was predominately Welsh Quakers, and Ann may have been Swedish--the granddaughter of Sven Skute, who was granted land in the 1650s in what is now south Philadelphia by Queen Christina of Sweden. John and Ann had seven children. The eldest was Thomas and the youngest Simon. Ann died in childbirth having Simon in 1733. I believe many present-day Adamson lines in the northern part of the U.S. come from Thomas, whose descendants went to western PA, OH, IN, IL, IA, NE, and the Pacific Northwest. I have, in fact, made connections with Adamsons in Idaho, Kansas and Nebraska who were my seventh and eighth cousins--descendants of Thomas. Simon migrated to North Carolina, where there was a large Quaker population. I believe he may have had as many as seven sons. The eldest, Jesse T. Adamson, was born in 1758/59. He married Mary Wells in the late 1770s; through Quaker meeting records, we can trace their migration from North Carolina westward to what is now Middle Tennessee, as well as note the birth of their seven (?) children--five of whom were male. Simon Wells, Ed Adamson's father, was one of these. I have not done much work on the Adamsons before Ed, so I don't know where Simon Wells' male siblings went--if anywhere--from Middle Tennessee. (By the way--the Quaker aspect of my ancestors seems to have ended with Jesse T.'s generation, inasmuch as Simon Wells owned slaves when he died in the late 1830s.) But maybe you and I are not related at all. A contemporary of John's was John Baldwin Adamson, who was granted land in Maryland by Lord Baltimore in the late 1600s-early 1700s. John Baldwin had a brother? son? named Basil, one of whose sons was Greenberry Adamson (I love that name!), who went down south--South Carolina?--and whose descendents populate the Deep South--Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, some into Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, maybe Arkansas--with Adamsons whom I believe are not related to my line. I haven't been at this for very long, so I don't have any grand schemes to offer you--just keep on digging into (for example) Pierce City land and tax records for both Adamsons and Weymouths; tell your story on the Adamson, Weymouth, Crawford Co., AR and Lawrence Co., MO web sites; and don't get discouraged! (Others more experienced than I will also offer good suggestions, I'm sure.)