Reverend Moses Adams
Westford Academy Trustee (1792-1819)
By James VanBever (June 2021)
The original founders of Westford Academy were a group of gentlemen who were religious, patriotic, humble and dedicated to educating the young people of Westford and the surrounding area. One of those men was Reverend Moses Adams of Acton, Massachusetts.
Moses Adams was born in Framingham, Massachusetts on October 16, 1749. According to the History of the Town of Acton: “He was the only child of respectable but humble parents both of whom died in the same year leaving him an orphan at the age of seven.”
The young Moses was cared for by relatives and through the funds and property left to him by his parents was able to obtain a public education. A gifted student, Adams went on to college and graduated from Harvard University in 1771 and became an ordained minister.
In January 1777, Reverend Adams was chosen as the second minister for the town of Acton. was not a quick decision by the townspeople since Moses was asked to preach sixteen sermons before being hired as the pastor for the town.
Reverend Adams received a small salary of 200 lbs. plus firewood for the heating of his home. “To augment the pastor’s salary,”: Mrs. Adams a very energetic and capable lady and notable housekeeper, maintained a store in the basement of the parsonage”. In addition to her store duties, Mrs. Adams raised three sons and three daughters.
It should be noted that during the early days of the colonies the church and town governments were closely related. For example, in order to vote, a man had to be a freeman and a church member. This law held for two centuries and was not rescinded until 1833.
Prior to and during Moses Adams tenure as pastor at the Acton Congregational Church, Reverend Adams served his country during the Revolutionary War. “In September 1776, fifteen Acton men were in the regiment raised by Eleazer Brooks of Lincoln which went from Middlesex County to New York and participated in the “Battle of White Plains”. Parsons Moses Adams of Acton served as chaplain for the men of Acton.
A year later in September 1777, Reverend Adams was again a part of a group of Acton men who participated in the “Battle of Burgoyne”. Adams and a group of Acton patriots witnessed the surrender of General Burgoyne and he and the Acton soldiers guarded the British prisoners as they were brought back to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Not surprisingly, when the fledgling Westford Academy chose a distinguished group of men to be their original trustees, Reverend Moses Adams was one of them. He served as a trustee for nearly a decade before resigning in 1801. Later, in 1812 Pastor Adams would again illustrate his commitment to education when he served on the original school committee for the town of Acton.
Moses Adams would remain as Acton’s minister until his death on October 13, 1819. During his forty- two years as pastor to the town of Acton, Reverend Adams would prepare and deliver 4,000 sermons to his congregation. “He lived a life that earned for him the respect, veneration, and love of his parishioners.”
The humble Reverend Moses Adams was buried in Acton exactly seventy years after his birth. At his written request, there was no sermon at the Reverend’s funeral.
Notes
“Growth and Struggle of Church in Acton told to Hist. Society”, Acton Assabet Valley Beacon, February 22, 1968,14
“Reverend James Fletcher in his Acton History”, Acton Assabet Valley Beacon, April 16, 1970, 18.
Distinguished Citizens First Academy Trustees”, Westford Eagle, October 21, 1976, 1.
Harold Romaine Phalen, History of Town of Acton, 31, 90, 91, 128, 41
The photos are from the collection of the Acton Historical Society, Acton, MA (Woodlawn Cemetery)