January 21, 1744] in Worcester, then part of Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Captain Thomas Adams and Lydia Chadwick.

After her death in 1822, Adams married Lucy Simonds Munroe, who was the widow of his first wife's half-brother.

On July 6, 1780, Adams received a commission as a lieutenant in the 8th Worcester County Militia, where he served in Captain Francis Lane's company.

On the occasion of his 100th birthday, Adams returned to Ashburnham and posed for a daguerreotype portrait, making him possibly the earliest-born person to have been photographed alive.

[1] According to local accounts, Adams' hearing was perfect until two years before his death and he could read without glasses.