James Adair has always been the cornerstone of many of the family lore and legends. During the years of my research, the jury has been out on our connection to James. My first exposure to our family history was with Mrs. Esther Pitts Adair/Holland booklet. Mrs. Pitts had always listed James, Joseph and William as brothers. James Adair, author of The History of the American Indians, has long been an enigma. Untangling all the contemporary James Adairs has befuddled many – myself included.
In 2003, a group of researchers corresponded about the Adairs, and a nice gentleman named Shawn Potter shared some information with me on both Hollands and Adairs. All of our ancestors were in the same general area of Duncan Creek, in upstate South Carolina. Shawn’s ancestor Thomas Potter is coincidentally in the Holland Cemetery we are working to restore. (Please, donate here!)
We are all connected.
New Research and Research Parallels
Last week I got an email from Shawn and Lois Potter regarding their new book, The Family of Indian Trader and Author James Adair. We picked up where we left off, twenty years ago. I immediately purchased and downloaded the Kindle edition, and read with intense interest.
The book is well-researched, well documented, explains how and why and where and when, and backs up theories with data. An intense DNA study is detailed.
Independently – these items, part of my research, line up with and are further confirmed by the additional research done by Shawn and Lois Potter for the book.
The importance, and validity of Mildred Brownlee’s research.
The Williams Petition – there is a brilliant use of information contained in the Williams Petition in confirming James Adair’s identity connection. I’m not going to give it away, you’ll have to read the book.
About the Book
This book provides important new insights into The Family of Indian Trader and Author James Adair. Present-day historians, sociologists, and anthropologists describe Adair’s 1775 publication, The History of the American Indians, as “one of the most valuable primary accounts of the southeastern Indians.” Yet, after the publication of his work, Adair disappeared from public view.
Scholars frequently ask: Did the historian settle in upstate South Carolina? Was he the same person as James Adair of Duncan Creek? Was he a brother of Joseph Adair of Duncan Creek? Was he a brother of William Adair of Fishing Creek? Was he related to brothers John Adair and Edward Adair of upstate South Carolina who married Cherokee wives? Biographers have speculated about potential answers to these questions; but persuasive evidence has been lacking – until now.
The authors discovered the answers to these, and other, questions through a careful review of Adair’s book, his correspondence, accounts by Chickasaw and Cherokee eye witnesses, archival records, DNA analysis, and handwriting comparisons; and they present their findings in the context of the cultures of southeastern Native Americans, customary practice among Indian traders, British settlement patterns, and contemporary historical events.
— Publisher’s description, Amazon
I have read this meticulously researched book, with a special interest in the data and evidence used to sort out the many contemporary James Adairs. The Williams Petition plays a role; the use of the handwritten signatures in the document is fascinating in the application. Everything fits.
As I shared with Shawn, I cannot believe there hasn’t been a movie made about the life of James Adair, Indian Trader and Author. Adair’s History of the American Indians was originally published in 1775. The Family of Indian Trader and Author James Adair is not only a documentation of research – it is a fitting tribute to a larger-than-life character, one who helped establish and settle the South Carolina backcountry.
As far as Adair ancestors goes – we really are all connected. For any researchers of the South Carolina Adair families, this new book is a must read.
So, is Adairsville GA named after your ancestors? The same family? Acquaintance to: Elias Boudnoit and Chief Vann, Chief Penn of North Georgia. Oothcalooga community