William Adams (30 September 1752 – 21 September 1811)[1] was a British merchant and Tory[2] politician.

He was the eldest son of William Adams of Totnes, Devon. He was made Mayor of Totnes for 1780–81, 1788–89 and 1797–98 and served as town Recorder from 1807 to 1811.[3]

He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plympton Erle in 1796. He resigned that seat to be elected MP for Totnes in Devon, his native town, at a by-election in June 1801,[2] and was returned unopposed to the House of Commons at the next three general elections, holding the seat until his death in 1811 at the age of 58.[2][4]

He married Anna Maria Dacres in 1774. She was a daughter of Richard Dacres of Leatherhead, Surrey and wet nurse to Princess Amelia, and by her he had two sons and two daughters. In 1810[5] he was living in Bowden House, Ashprington, near Totnes, which he had purchased from the Trist family in about 1800.[6]

References

  1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
  2. 1 2 3 Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 80. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  3. "ADAMS, William (1752-1811), of Bowden, nr. Totnes, Devon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. The House of Commons, 1790-1820, Volume 1 by R. G. Thorne, p. 38.]
  5. Risdon, Tristram (died 1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.380
  6. Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.195


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