Sarah (Eve) Adams

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Quick Facts

Biography

Sarah was the second child born to Oswell and Aphra Ann (Pritchard) Eve. She arrived 27 October 1785 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her sister described her as “the beauty of the family. Delicate and refined in appearance, highly cultivated, but very retiring, she was universally beloved and admired.” In early life, she spent summers in Newport, Rhode Island, with her aunt and uncle, Catharine (Pritchard) and Christopher FitzSimons.

While unpacking Mr. FitzSimons’s trunk, she came across a beautifully written order from one of his clerks for two volumes of poetry: Campbells’s “Pleasures of Hope” and Goldsmith’s “Deserted Village.” She imagined that the young gentleman with such a literary taste must be superior to most of her admirers. The gentleman was John Strong Adams. When she returned to Charleston, they began their courtship, and married 2 March 1803.

They made their home in Charleston and called it Adams and Eve’s Paradise. They were happy in their life together, having many comforts. They built a house on Laurens Street in 1808, a “mansion house” of wood, with a brick kitchen, a wooden coach house, a wash house, and a garden.

The following year, Sarah and John accompanied Sarah’s brother, Oswell, to school in Ireland and visited the Adams family in Randalstown, Co. Antrim, Ireland. In 1812, the couple returned to Ireland to collect Oswell following his completion of school. They also visited Randalstown where John died and was buried in his father’s grave. Sarah, her enslaved woman, Martha, and Oswell first sailed to Liverpool, but while they waited for their ship, Oswell died. Sarah was put into the care of Captain John Safford, her neighbor in Charleston and a business associate of her husband.

The War of 1812, which began while Sarah was in Ireland, made navigating the Atlantic Ocean difficult. The Hunter left Liverpool 1 August, sailing under British license, but was captured by American privateers about 3 September. Shortly after capture, the privateers fought with British Navy ships. The Hunter was rescued by a British frigate and escorted to Halifax, arriving 12 September. The ship was released without costs and sailed to Philadelphia, in company with other ships. Sarah and Martha arrived in Philadelphia 12 October where Sarah’s father met them and brought them home.

After retuning to the United States, Sarah moved to Augusta, Georgia. Her sister said that she lost all of her husband’s fortune and took in sewing to support herself. She helped her mother with household duties. When her mother died, she was a second mother to her younger siblings.

Following her father’s death, Sarah purchased The Cottage Place. There she hosted family members, especially her sisters and their children. She attended to her sisters, Maria (Eve) Bones and Henrietta (Eve) Longstreet, at their deaths in the house. Following Henrietta’s death, Sarah adopted three of Henrietta’s children (Elizabeth, Emma, and Anderson) and devoted her life to their well-being.

Sarah died at The Cottage Place 7 March 1851, attended by beloved sisters and nieces.