He was born in County Antrim and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1793.
One of his ships, the USS James Adger, was later pressed into service in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
Adger married Sarah Elizabeth Ellison and they had nine children, including John, who became a missionary, and Margaret, who married Thomas Smyth, minister of the Second Presbyterian Church.
Adger himself served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1826 to 1828.
[1] At one time he was reckoned to be the fourth wealthiest man in the United States.