Early Life
William Adair was born in c. 1700, the eldest son of the
Rev. Patrick Adair, minister at
Carrickfergus, and his wife
Isabella Adair (she was Patrick's second cousin). As a young man William was set to study at Glasgow college
1 but his father died whilst he was there (around 1717) and he was forced to leave without graduating. Per J Benett Adair
2:
"At an early age he was sent to Glasgow College. But his father dying, he left the University without taking a degree and in rather embarassing circumstances."
Career
Shortly thereafter, William was introduced to a London army agent, Robert Gardner, who ran a "counting house". Apparently he shone in this job and in a few short years was made a partner in the business and subsequently took over when Mr Gardner died. Through the the 1740s and 1750s he was army agent to a large number of regiments and made a large fortune. He lived in Pall Mall, London and purchased the
Flixton Hall estate in Suffolk in 1753 from the heirs of the Tasburgh family.
Family Life
William appears to have had two children; firstly, an illegitimate and anonymous son by an unknown mother. Secondly, a daughter,
Jane Smith Adair, by his marriage to (or unlegitimated relationship with)
Jane ___ (surname unknown, but possibly Smith). As yet, I have no record of this marriage so the details of Ms Smith are still a mystery.
Death
William died in 1783, and was buried at
Flixton St Mary in Suffolk on the 27
th of May that year. He is commemorated there by a fine monument of coloured marble. On his death, the Flixton Estate was left to his nephew, Alexander Adair (1743-1834), rather than to his daughter, or indeed to his illegitimate son. He did, however, leave Jane with generous annuities and he also donated £2,000 in trust to his Adair cousins in Ballymena to go for the benefit of the poor freemen of Carrickfergus.
Footnotes
[1] The History and Antiquities of the County of the Town of Carrickfergus, by Samuel McSkimin, page 51
[2] Adair History & Genealogy, J Bennett Adair, Los Angeles 1924, page 26
Note Bene
A lot of the Adair family history is contained at the Suffolk Record Office in Lowestoft under the HA12 index. I haven't had sight of any of these documents, so as I work back up the Adair lines, I am relying on 3rd party transcriptions and genealogies. One very useful source has been
Adair of Ballymena Castle & Flixton Hall.
Abt 1702 - 1783 (~ 81 years)
