George James Adams

George James Adams (February 17, 1811 – January 17, 1888) was an American textile manufacturer and agent, as well as a copper mine operator, from Rhode Island. He purchased the freedom of Bethany Veney and her son, Joe, in 1858, and moved them north from Virginia to Providence, Rhode Island. Adams was an abolitionist, who supported The Liberator and was a member of city and state Anti-Slavery Societies.

Early life Born on February 17, 1811, in Bristol, Rhode Island, George James Adams was the son of Sarah Martindale and Captain James Harvey Adams (born 1775). She was previously married to James Martindale of Bristol, Rhode Island. She died in 1834.

Career At some point in his career, he was employed at the Adams Print Works at Fiskeville, Rhode Island, the Kent Print Works in East Greenwich, the Clyde Bleaching and Print Works, and the Bristol Print Works.

In Virginia, he employed Bethany Veney, an African American enslaved woman, who was owned by David McCoy who needed to sell property to cover his gambling debts. After consulting with his wife and her sister Sarah, Adams purchased her and her son Joe on December 27, 1858, for $775 and freed them. They moved to Adam's house in Providence, where she was a domestic servant for a time. Veney was the author of the Aunt Betty's Story: The Narrative of Bethany Veney, A Slave Woman (1889). Around 1865, Adams purchased the house at 10 Cushing Street in the College Hill Historic District in Providence. His wife Mary was ill in 1873 and Bethany Veney returned to the Adam's family to nurse her friend. Mary died that year after which Veney returned to Worcester. He is also said to have died in 1889.