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CONTACT:
Dean Dixon
Historical Resources Assistant
(941) 749-1800 ext. 4070
September 2002 Article
Introduction: The Manatee
County Historical Records Library is a wealth of information
about our local past. Documents from as early as the 1850's
describe the life and times of Manatee County residents
and weave many an interesting tale. Each month, we will
post a new story for you based on documents in our library.
We invite all of you to come to the library, located
at 1405 4th Avenue West, to see these documents for
yourself and to touch, feel and experience our heritage.
The Adventurous Major Adams
Click here
to see a picture of written request for the Bradenton Bank
to act as Executor of Major Adams' Estate.
Major Adams could be described as an adventurer. Born
in 1843, his name was Alden Joseph Adams. He fought with
the Union army in the Civil War and was wounded, but was
not given the rank of Major until after the war. He was
born in Massachusetts and was a distant relative of the
second President of the United States, John Adams.
After the war he traveled in Europe as a war correspondent
for the New York Herald, covering the Franco-Prussian War.
Over the years in Europe Major Adams learned many languages
and lived in Paris and Rome. He met Adelaide Gilbert while
in Rome and they later married. After his time as a war
correspondent Major Adams became a correspondent in New
York City, yet he still traveled to Europe a great deal.
In the 1870s explorer Dr. Livingstone was in Africa looking
for the place where the Nile River began. He had not been
heard from for sometime and the world was curious as to
his fate. Major Adams was asked to travel to Africa and
find him. He declined and retired leaving Stanley Henry
Morton to find the elusive explorer, who coined the now
famous phrase "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
Major Adams had suffered some health problems in his time
as a war correspondent and decided to find a home in a warm
climate. He bought property in California, but after visiting
the Manatee River area, he sold his holdings in California
and moved to the Village of Manatee in 1876. He purchased
400 acres along the river near where the Manatee Memorial
Hospital is today.
He built a large 16 room home that he called Villa Zanza,
others called it the Adams Castle. He created quite a menagerie
at Villa Zanza with common and rare animals, tropical plants
and vast amounts of citrus. Major Adams dove on sunken vessels
to bring up the wood and included it in the interior of
his house.
In 1893, trouble began for Mr. Adams. His wife, Adelaide,
journeyed to Great Falls, New York to see her family, where
she caught peritonitis and died. After that, many of the
structures on his property began to catch fire, including
several out houses and a barn with much of his livestock
still in it, arson was suspected. He also had a store on
his property, which was burned in August 1897. He had just
restocked it with a great amount of merchandise and he ran
into the fire to try and save some of it. He succumbed to
the smoke and his personal secretary, Miss Maud Davis, drug
him out of the fire.
In 1898, he and his savior were married and they had two
daughters, Tekla and Irma. Sadly, Maud died of complications
from scarlet fever in 1902 and Major Adams was a widower
again. His two daughters thrived and could often be seen
riding their horses through town at breakneck speeds. They
also threw many parties for their friends at Villa Zanza
Major Adams would travel again in 1895 as an interpreter
for Mrs. Helen Welsh. They traveled to Europe, Africa and
traveled extensively through the Northwest of the American
Continent and ended with a trip to Mexico.
After the turn of the century, Major Adams became ill and
eventually his sanity was called into question. He was placed
in guardianship and taken the DeSoto Sanatorium in Jacksonville.
He died June 17th, 1915 and was buried in the Adams Cemetery
next to his second wife. In the Historical Records Library
are stored the probate records of Manatee County residents,
both the famous and infamous.
Sources; "The Singing River" by Joe and Libbey
Warner, Guardianship records and Probate records
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