T.C. Adams, Civil War Veteran and Merchant

Thomas C. Adams was born in England about 1839 to Thomas and Catherine (Cooley) Adams. When quite young, Thomas C. Adams came to the United States with his parents, and they settled in Edmeston, New York. During the Civil War Thomas C. Adams enlisted with the 121st New York Infantry. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant, but was seriously wounded in battle. Notes in the 1890 Veterans Schedules, accessible at Ancestry Library Edition, indicate that he lost his left arm during the war. In the early 1860s Thomas C. Adams married Emily Bower. Their first two children, Nelson and Robert, were born in New York State. Mr. and Mrs. Adams had several more children after they moved to Erie County, Ohio. The Combination Atlas Map of Erie County, published by Stewart & Page in 1874, shows that the Adams family resided close to Cold Creek, just west of Depot Street in 1874.

According to the publication Margaretta Township, Castalia Village, Past and Present, put out by the Cold Creek Girl Scouts in 1976, Mr. T.C. Adams, along with several other businessmen, formed Castalia Milling Company in 1875. The mill could produce 125 barrels of flour a day. Eventually T.C. Adams and his son ran a wholesale flour, fruit and produce business in downtown Sandusky. For most of his life, T.C. Adams resided in Margaretta Township, but he did move to Sandusky for a few years, and then returned to the Castalia Area. T.C. Adams and Son provided supplied flour to the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home for the year 1896. T.C. Adams retired from active business about 1901, and his son took over the business. On November 13, 1903, T. C. Adams passed away while visiting with the Quinn family in Sandusky County. Thomas C. Adams left behind a widow, five daughters, and two sons. Rev. C. L. Johnson of Trinity Methodist Church conducted services at the Adams home, and burial was at Castalia Cemetery.