[2] He initially settled at New Haven, Connecticut, where he began a successful retail operation.

In 1881, he moved back to Buffalo and started a full-scale department store at Main and Eagle Streets, the J. N. Adam & Co.

[3] He served as President of the Idlewood Association, a summer resort colony in Lake View, NY, during the 1880s and 1890s.

[1] He died at Buffalo on February 9, 1912, and was buried in St. Cuthbert's Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland, next to his wife.

[3] Some time between 1910 and 1915, he purchased almost 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land adjacent to the village of Perrysburg, New York using proceeds from his own personal fortune to establish a tuberculosis asylum.