William Adams (30 September 1752 – 21 September 1811)[1] was a British merchant and Tory[2] politician.
He was the eldest son of William Adams of Totnes, Devon. He was made Mayor of Totnes for 1780–81, 1788–89 and 1797–98 and served as town Recorder from 1807 to 1811.[3]
He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plympton Erle in 1796. He resigned that seat to be elected MP for Totnes in Devon, his native town, at a by-election in June 1801,[2] and was returned unopposed to the House of Commons at the next three general elections, holding the seat until his death in 1811 at the age of 58.[2][4]
He married Anna Maria Dacres in 1774. She was a daughter of Richard Dacres of Leatherhead, Surrey and wet nurse to Princess Amelia, and by her he had two sons and two daughters. In 1810[5] he was living in Bowden House, Ashprington, near Totnes, which he had purchased from the Trist family in about 1800.[6]
References
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
- ^ a b c Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 80. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- ^ "ADAMS, William (1752-1811), of Bowden, nr. Totnes, Devon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ The House of Commons, 1790-1820, Volume 1 by R. G. Thorne, p. 38.]
- ^ Risdon, Tristram (died 1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.380
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.195
External links
- 1752 births
- 1811 deaths
- 18th-century English merchants
- UK MPs 1801–1802
- UK MPs 1802–1806
- UK MPs 1806–1807
- UK MPs 1807–1812
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Totnes
- Tory MPs (pre-1834)
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plympton Erle
- British MPs 1796–1800
- Mayors of Totnes
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
- Tory members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
- UK MP for England stubs