John Adams

John Adams (1672 or 1673 – 1745) was an American-born Canadian merchant and member of the Nova Scotia Council.

Around the mid-1720s, Adams' poor eyesight began to fail, leading to his near-blindness in 1730. After this, he was less active in community activities and trade. Adams petitioned to the king for a pension several times, but failed. He blamed his disability on over-exposure to the sun during an Indian attack on Annapolis Royal in 1724. In December 1739, Lieutenant Governor Lawrence Armstrong died. With the absence of Major Mascarene to take Armstrong's place, Adams became the new president of the council and head of the civil government. (Alexander Cosby was also vying for the position.) In a meeting on 22 March 1740, with the return of Mascarene, the councilors declared that he was the council's rightful president. This turn of events led Adams to retire to Boston in late August or early September 1740, where he stayed for the rest of his life. He died some time after 1745.