William Smyth Adams House

The William Smyth Adams house is among the oldest extant farmhouses in Rochester Hills, believed to date from the pioneer era of Avon Township, the predecessor of the city of Rochester Hills. William Smyth Adams purchased this property on the southwest corner of what would become Livernois and Hamlin Roads in 1827, only ten years after the first European-American settlers had come to Oakland County. Adams resided on the 80-acre parcel until his death in 1878, so the house was likely built in the early years of his tenure there.

William Smyth Adams was born in New York State in 1801. He came to Michigan in approximately 1827 and became one of the pioneer settlers of Avon Township. He was elected as an overseer of highways for a part of that township when Avon Township was formally organized in 1835. Adams was active in freemasonry and was a charter member of Stoney Creek Lodge.

Adams bought this property in the northeast corner of Section 28 in 1827. He purchased it from Benjamin Horton, who had taken up the original land patent on the property from the U.S. government in 1823. The house is presumed to have been built early in the W.S. Adams ownership. An obituary of Adams' son, John Q. Adams, written in 1909, notes that the son was born on this property in 1838:

"John Q. Adams, fourth son of the late William S. Adams, was born Sept. 8, 1838, on the farm now owned by William Arft, three miles southeast of Rochester. His early days were spent at home on the farm."

William Smyth Adams, who had been a widower since 1856, died on February 28, 1878, leaving his Avon Township property to his son, John Quincy Adams. The obituary of John Q. Adams further states that John Q. Adams, along with his brother, Frank S. Adams, had taken charge of the family farm when their widowed father had become aged. The property was sold by the Adams heirs to William Arft about 1897.

UPDATE: The William Smyth Adams house was razed in March 2022.

Benjamin Horton to William S. Adams, 30 April 1827, consideration $200, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 21, Avon Township, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 2, page 149.

Fey, Charles. History of Freemasonry In Oakland County, Michigan. [Royal Oak, Mich.: Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, 1945, p.97.

John Q. Adams obituary, Rochester Era, July 16, 1909, p.5.

William S. Adams, record of death, 28 February 1878, recorded 26 June 1879, Oakland County Record of Deaths, liber 1, page 164, record number 273.

"United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF82-NXZ : 22 December 2020), Wm S Adams, Avon Twp, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Census Year: 1850; Census Place: Avon, Oakland, Michigan; Archive Collection Number: T1164; Roll: 3; Page: 55; Line: 20; W S. Adams; Schedule Type: Agricultural

"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWDK-PHX : 18 February 2021), Wm S Adams, 1860.

Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Avon, Oakland, Michigan; Archive Collection Number: T1164; Roll: 11; Page: 9; Line: 24; Wm. S. Adams; Schedule Type: Agricultural

"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHCC-1JY : 29 May 2021), William Adams, 1870.

Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Avon, Oakland, Michigan; Archive Collection Number: T1164; Roll: 21; Page: 3; Line: 32; Adams, William. Schedule Type: Agricultural.

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW3Q-MLM : 19 February 2021), John L Adams [i.e. John Q. Adams], Avon, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district ED 248, sheet 19B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,598.

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLRV-ZMZ : accessed 17 September 2021), William Arft, Avon, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 116, sheet 9A, family 178, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 668; FHL microfilm 1,374,681. 

"United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZQ5-9CY : 2 February 2021), William Arft, 1920.