Who is John Adams of Salem?

by Dennis N. Partridge

Identifying individuals based solely on a common name can be challenging, particularly when historical records provide limited context. While researching crime & punishment practices in Essex County during the 1600s, I discovered an intriguing entry concerning an individual named Jno. Adams. The record provided minimal details, mentioning only Salem and no further identification for either party involved. However, several clues may help clarify Adams’ identity. Let’s first review the entry:

Court held at Salem, 27 : 7 : 1636
“Jno. Adams whipped for running away from his mr Thorndik.” ^[1]Massachusetts (Colony). County Court (Essex Co.). Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Edited by George Francis Dow, vol. 1, Essex Institute, 1911, p. 3 (accessed … Continue reading

We can draw several initial conclusions from this record. “Jno.” is an abbreviation for John, indicating we are dealing with a John Adams. Additionally, “mr” in colonial records can denote either “Mr.” as a social honorific or “master,” particularly in contexts of indentured servitude or maritime activity. Given this record’s context of running away, it clearly refers to “master,” meaning John Adams was an indentured servant under Thorndik, and it is shown in the image from the book, though that distinction was absent from the original record.

The date provided—27 : 7 : 1636—is recorded according to the Julian calendar (Old Style) used by the Puritans, who began their year in March. To translate this to the Gregorian calendar (New Style) we use today, we add two months to adjust from March to January, plus an additional ten days difference between the calendars. Thus, the date translates to 27 September 1636 (Julian) and further converts to 6 October 1636 (Gregorian).

To pinpoint John Adams’ identity, it was practical first to identify his master, Thorndik—a relatively uncommon surname. Records confirm John Thorndike arrived in America around 1632, initially settling in Agawam (later Ipswich). By 1636, Thorndike had relocated to Salem, where he married Elizabeth Stratton. Considering no other adult Thorndike resided in Salem during this period, John Thorndike undoubtedly is the “master” referred to in the court entry.

Typically, indentured servants learned a trade from their masters to sustain themselves independently once their servitude ended. Identifying Thorndike’s occupation might have illuminated John Adams’ future profession. Unfortunately, historical records, including Anderson’s authoritative Great Migration Begins series ^[2]The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: … Continue reading, do not specify Thorndike’s trade. His estate inventory primarily lists extensive land holdings and associated farming and household structures, suggesting he was a landowner and possibly a farmer. ^[3]Massachusetts. Probate Court (Essex County). The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. Edited by George Francis Dow, vol. 2, Essex Institute, 1916, pp. 206–209 ( accessed 25 Jul 2025 : … Continue reading His frequent signature on official documents indicates he was educated, a man of considerable status, who might indeed have maintained household servants, potentially including young John Adams.

On 5 : 12 : 43, or almost 7 years after the indenture of John Adams, John Thorndike indentures Joseph Harris, the son of George Harris deceased for seven years. This indenture only states that George Harris will dwell with Mr. Thorndike and receive his “meate drink & Apparrell” from him. ^[4]Stafford, Morgan Hewitt. Descendants of John Thorndike of Essex County, Massachusetts. [Ann Arbor, Mich.: s.n.], 1960, p. 2. ( accessed 25 Jul 2025 : … Continue reading. Joseph was estimated to be about 13 at the time of this indenture, but his younger brother George Harris was indentured earlier at age 8.

Identifying John Adams proved considerably more challenging. Given the location and historical circumstances, the most likely candidate is John Adams, Jr., the half-orphaned son of John and Ellen Adams. ^[5]The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: … Continue reading After John Adams Sr. died in 1633, Ellen Adams was left with three young children: James, John, and Susanna. She remarried Kenelm Winslow in June 1634, and young John Adams was probably indentured shortly thereafter. The earliest recorded reference placing John Adams Sr. with his wife, “Eliner,” and son James is the Plymouth Cattle Division of 22 May 1627. If we estimate John Adams Jr.’s age as 25 when he married Anna James in 1654, his birth year approximates to 1629. Therefore, he would have been around seven years old when he ran away from Thorndike in 1636.

While indenturing a child as young as seven was uncommon, it was not unprecedented, particularly among impoverished or orphaned youths like John Adams and George Harris. Such young children frequently attempted escape soon after indenture began. Nonetheless, the recorded punishment, a public whipping, may seem exceptionally severe, even by the austere standards of the Puritan era. But listen to the words of John Robinson, the Pilgrim preacher, who said in his essay on Children and Their Education:—

And surely there is in all children, though not alike, a stubbornness, and stoutness of mind arising from natural pride, which must, in the first place, be broken and beaten down; that so the foundation of their education being laid in humility and tractableness, other virtues may, in their time, be built thereon. This fruit of natural corruption and root of actual rebellion both against God and man must be destroyed, and no manner of way nourished, except we will plant a nursery of contempt of all good persons and things, and of obstinacy therein.

It would seem then that the Essex Quarterly Court thought that a whipping would “beat down” the rebellion of young John Adams that caused him to run away. It must have, as we find no further record of disobedience from him while he served his servitude.

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