Representative Parmenio Adams

Parmenio Adams (September 9, 1776 – February 19, 1832) was a businessman, militia officer, local official, and politician from New York who served two terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was born in Simsbury, Hartford County, Connecticut, to Parmenio Adams and Chloe Nearing. Little is recorded about his early youth, but he came of age in the early years of the American Republic, a period that shaped his later public service. On October 23, 1795, he married Eleanor Wells; the couple had four children, and his family life remained centered in upstate New York after his relocation there.

In 1806, Adams moved his family from Connecticut to western New York, settling at Phelps Corners, an area that later became part of the Village of Attica, which lies in the Town of Alexander. This region, then on the developing frontier of the state, offered opportunities in agriculture, trade, and public works. Adams engaged in agricultural pursuits and became a landowner and farmer. He also operated a gristmill, which served the surrounding farming community, and worked as a construction contractor on the Erie Canal, one of the most significant internal improvement projects of the era. His involvement with the canal linked him to the broader economic transformation of New York and the opening of transportation routes that helped integrate western New York into national markets.

Alongside his business interests, Adams pursued a military career in the New York State Militia. Beginning in 1806, he served as a lieutenant of light infantry and later as captain of grenadiers, reflecting his steady advancement through the militia ranks. He subsequently held the positions of second major and first major, and ultimately division inspector of infantry, serving in these capacities until 1816. During the War of 1812, Adams was active on the Niagara frontier, a critical theater of conflict between the United States and British forces in Canada. In this period he served as a major, division inspector of infantry, and commandant of the New York Volunteers, contributing to the defense of the state’s western border and the broader war effort.

Adams also held important local civil offices in Genesee County, New York. He was elected sheriff of Genesee County and served from 1815 to 1816, and, after a brief interval, again from 1818 to 1821. As sheriff, he was responsible for law enforcement, the execution of court orders, and the administration of the county jail during a time of rapid population growth and settlement in the region. His combined experience in business, the militia, and county government established him as a prominent figure in western New York and laid the groundwork for his entry into national politics.

Adams’s congressional career arose out of a contested election. In the United States House of Representatives elections in New York in 1822, Isaac Wilson was initially declared elected from New York’s 29th Congressional District by a small margin. Adams contested Wilson’s election, demonstrating that the returns had been certified mistakenly. After review, the House of Representatives determined that Adams was the rightful winner, and he was seated in the 18th United States Congress on January 7, 1824. He served in that Congress as an Adams-Clay Democratic-Republican, aligning himself with the national faction that supported John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay and their program of internal improvements and a strong national government.

Adams was re-elected as an Adams man to the 19th United States Congress and served continuously until March 3, 1827. As a member of the Adams Party representing New York, he contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by the contentious presidential election of 1824, the emergence of new party alignments, and debates over economic policy and federal support for infrastructure. In this context, Adams participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents from western New York, whose economic fortunes were closely tied to transportation improvements and the expanding market economy.

After leaving Congress in 1827, Adams returned to his home region in western New York. He continued to be associated with his agricultural interests and the community in and around Alexander and Attica, where he had long been a leading citizen. He lived out his remaining years in Alexander, Genesee County, New York, where he died on February 19, 1832. Parmenio Adams was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in the Town of Attica, which is now part of Wyoming County, New York. His grave, marked within the Adams-Cotton family plot, reflects his standing as an early settler, militia officer, county official, and congressman who helped shape the development of western New York during the early nineteenth century.