Jeremy Adams

Jeremy Adams, also known as: Jeremiah Adams, (c. 1604/5 – August 11, 1683) was one of the first settlers of Hartford. He was the founder and first proprietor of Colchester, Connecticut, which was established on land owned by Adams: known as "Jeremiah's Farme".

Arrival in America

Adams arrived in America in 1632. He was one of the original members of the company that came to the colonies with Rev. Thomas Hooker, aboard the Griffin. He first arrived in New England at Braintree, Massachusetts with his brother Henry Adams (grandfather of later U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams). Before coming to America, Adams was a Puritan minister of the Church in Chelmsford, Essex, England. He became a freeman in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1635. In 1636, he moved with Rev. Hooker to Hartford, Connecticut, and was one of the original proprietors of the settlement.

In 1639 Adams was the constable (cunstable), and the official Innkeeper for the Colony. His Inn at Hartford was used as the meeting place for the legislative body of the colony, general court sessions, and for other public purposes. The Inn was said to have been "frequented by all of the great men of the colony". It may be presumed that among these meetings, was the creation of the famous Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639), which was perhaps the western world's first written constitution. The constitution was later hidden in the Charter Oak.