Name/Title
Newspaper article - "Home of One of Waynesburg's Early Residents Is Razed" (Observer-Reporter)Entry/Object ID
2018.1.69Scope and Content
"Home of One of Waynesburg's Early Residents Is Razed" newspaper clipping, Observer-Reporter, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, no date. (See full article transcript below).
The house was built on Morris Street, Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania, in the year 1816, by Robert Adams Sr. and his wife, Rebecca (Blackmore) Adams.
View photographs of the house under ownership of the Adams family and the Sayers family (descendants of Jane (Adams) Sayers) in the Greene County Historical Society Collection, Robert Adams Sr. Family Series.
Nella Sophia (Hoskinson) Baily, who preserved this article, was a direct descendant of the Adams family, as follows:
(1) Nella Sophia (Hoskinson) Baily
(2) father - Robert Luther Hoskinson
(3) grandfather - William Penn Hoskinson
(4) great-grandmother - Sophia (Adams) Hoskinson, wife of George Hoskinson
(5) great-great-grandparents Robert Adams Sr. and his wife, Rebecca (Blackmore) Adams
Trascribed by Linda (Widdup) Moon, 2019.
"Home of One Of Waynesburg's Early Residents is Razed
A house which was built by one of Waynesburg's original residents was razed Thursday to make way for a parking lot, but not before a signature stone was found and salvaged for presentation to the Greene County Historical Society.
The stone, which was spotted under one of the eaves by William Hopkins, who has the contract to demolish the building, carries the names of Robert and Rebecca Adams and the date 1816.
"We had always been told the house was built in 1812," said Helen Denny Howard, who lives nearby and who is a great-great-granddaughter of Robert Adams. "In Bates History it is described as one of the oldest brick houses in Waynesburg."
The old house, located at the corner of Morris and Strawberry Streets, is being removed by the Gallatin Bank, which recently purchased the property. It had most recently been used as headquarters for the Greene County Conservation District and at one time housed the county selective service office.
Mrs. Howard, who has been involved in genealogical research for many years, is well acquainted with the history of Robert Adams.
He grew up in Fayette County, where he was born in 1769. As a youth he served as a corporal in Captain Samuel Brady's military company and later was involved in construction of the National Pike between Uniontown and Brownsville.
In 1796 he married Rebecca Blackmore of Washington, who was a direct descendant of Will Stone, the first Protestant governor of the Colony of Maryland.
That same year, Robert Adams and his bride moved to Waynesburg, a town which was being formed as the county seat of Greene County, which was split off from Washington County in 1796. He and a partner, Patrick Moore, were the 19th persons to purchase a lot from the trustees appointed to sell town lots, and they acquired the lot at the corner of High and Morris Streets where Jimmy's Lunch is located.
Adams later bought out his partner and purchased the lot bounded by Morris, Franklin, Strawberry and Blackberry Streets, where he built his house and the tannery which he operated for many years.
Mrs. Howard said he was the father of 13 children- ten daughters and three sons, and later in life was known as "Grandaddy" Adams. Two of the daughters married Hook brothers and two others married Sayers brothers and many of his descendants still reside in Greene County, although Mrs. Howard knows of none who still carry the name of Adams.
The youngest daughter, Jane, married Ezra M. Sayers, and his son, James Sayers, later lived in the house. The family Bible and portraits of both Robert and Rebecca are owned by Wilma Sayers Wisecarver, who resides at Charlotte, N.C.
Rebecca Adams died in 1853 and Robert Adams in 1864. Both are buried in Greene Mount Cemetery on Waynesburg's North Side.
Mrs. Howard notes that the Adams tannery was located on the northeast corner of the property, which is now empty. For many years there was a deep hole in the center of the lot to mark its former location.
She also pointed out that Adams served as treasurer of Greene County in 1839 and 1840, and was recognized as one of the community's most prominent citizens.
The large stone, which was salvaged for Mrs. Denny, will be presented to the Historical Society as a means of preserving that portion of the town's history which it represents."Collection
Candice Lynn Buchanan CollectionLexicon
Search Terms
Adams family, Hopkins family, Hoskinson family, Newspapers--Articles, Waynesburg (Pa.)--Houses, Waynesburg (Pa.)--Streets--Morris Street, Sayers familyOther Names and Numbers
Other Number
CAND-AN011-0001-0048Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Adams, Robert (Sr.) [1769-1864]Person or Organization
Blackmore, Rebecca [1778-1853]Provenance
Provenance Detail
Hoskinson Series - Candice Lynn Buchanan Collection, Hoskinson Subseries - Hoskinson Series - Candice Lynn Buchanan CollectionNotes
The Hoskinson Series was originally owned by Nella Sophia (Hoskinson) Baily [1893-1975] - wife of Ralford Baily-Purman, daughter of Robert Luther Hoskinson and Margaret Rozella Smith. Nella passed the items to her daughter, Peggy Louise Baily, who later gave them to her friend, Karen Maset. Karen donated the items to Glenn Toothman and Candice Lynn Buchanan for the Greene Connections: Greene County, Pennsylvania Archives Project in 2016-2018. After digitization, the Hoskinson Series was donated to the Greene County Historical Society for preservation.
Source Citation: Newspaper article - "Home of One of Waynesburg's Early Residents Is Razed" (Observer-Reporter), item no. CAND-AN011-0001-0048, Hoskinson Series donated by Karen Maset, Candice Lynn Buchanan Collection, Greene Connections Archives Project (GreeneConnections.com).