Los Angeles County
Biographies
ROBERT LEE ADAMS
The late Robert Lee Adams, whose death occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, September 25, 1920, possessed a remarkable combination of qualities and commanded in unusual degree the genuine respect of those who knew him. He was very successful in the accumulation of wealth, for he was a man of unassailable integrity, endowed with keen mentality, great initiative ability and sound judgment. He was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, September 14, 1865, his parents being William and Nancy (Oden) Adams, natives of Missouri and Pennsylvania, respectively. The family, related to the noted Lee family of Virginia, was established in Missouri in an early day, and William Adams enlisted in the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the Civil war, serving until the cessation of hostilities. Following the close of the war he engaged in farming in his native state, in which he resided until his death.
Robert Lee Adams, the third in order of birth in a family of seven children, was reared in Missouri and enjoyed liberal educational advantages in his youth. He assisted his father in the work of the fields, remaining on the home farm until the death of his mother in 1882, when he made his way to Colorado and for one season engaged in mining in San Juan county, that state. Thence he went to Montana, where he worked on the open range. Later he returned to Colorado, settling in Mesa county, where he engaged in the mercantile business and developed the leading establishment of its kind in the county. He was also interested in live stock on an extensive scale, becoming one of the largest stock breeders and dealers in western Colorado. Mr. Adams maintained his home and headquarters at Fruita, Mesa county, and became the president of the Fruita Mercantile Company at the time of its organization. It was in 1903 that he began spending the winter seasons in California, but he never relinquished his extensive holdings in Colorado and was classed as one of the wealthiest citizens of that state.
Writing of Mr. Adams’ early years in the stock business, a contemporary biographer said: “His herds increased by his hard work. He often stayed out with his cattle for months at a time without seeing a white man, and hostile Indians became his best friends when they learned that he did not want to steal their sheep and cattle, as some white men had done before he came on the range. If the Indians found any of Mr. Adams’ horses or cattle had strayed from his range, they would go and tell him and frequently take the animals back to him. In after years ‘Bob’ staked many a man to his start in life. If you talked to people around that country, you would hear many say: ‘Bob’ helped me get my first start; he sure has one big heart.’”
In December, 1897, at Fruita, Colorado, Mr. Adams married Miss Myrtle Turner, a native of Huerfano county, Colorado, and a descendant of the old and well known Turner family of New England. Mr. and Mrs. Adams became the parents of two daughters: Mildred, a young woman of marked musical talent who gives promise of a successful career; and Velma, who attended the Otis Art Institute and also studied under the noted Julia Bracken Wendt prior to pursuing her more recent art studies in New York city. Velma Adams is a member of the California Art Club, the Laguna Beach Art Club, the American Federation of Arts and the Women’s Athletic Club. Her artistic talent has won her national recognition in the form of merited awards.
Mrs. Adams still has interests in Colorado but maintains her permanent home in the beautiful residence at 714 South Oxford street, Los Angeles, California. She is a member of the Indian Welfare League, the Friday Morning Club, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Los Angeles Women’s Athletic Club and the Lake Sherwood Country Club, while her religious faith is indicated by her membership in the Congregational Church. She is a woman of kindly and gracious manner, is an extremely generous supporter of worthy benevolent causes and is a very popular member of the social circles in which she moves. Mr. Adams likewise possessed the happy faculty of making friends. The accumulation of wealth did not affect the kindly and humanitarian impulses of his heart, and all who knew him recognized him as one of God’s true noblemen, in every respect worthy of the exalted place which he held in the esteem of his fellowmen.
Transcribed
2-17-13 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: California
of the South Vol. V, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
622-624, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2013 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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BIOGRAPHIES