Richard Adams

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For other people by this name, see Richard Adams (disambiguation).

Richard Adams (ca. 1626 – 7 February 1698), a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, author of various sermons and other writings in divinity, was the grandson of Richard Adams, the rector of Woodchurch, in the part of Cheshire which is called the hundred of Wirral, and son of Charles Adams, who, with his brother Randal, was brought up to the church, and became the father of four Adams — Richard, Peter, Thomas, and Charles, who were all clergymen.^[1]

Adams was admitted to Brasenose College, Oxford, March 24, 1646, where he became fellow, and took his master's degree in 1651. In 1655 he was settled in the church of St. Mildred, Bread-street, London, where he was a very useful preacher, and was regarded as an ornament to his function. Being unable to comply with the terms of ministerial conformity settled on the restoration of Charles II, he resigned the living, but continued to reside in London, where, when the times allowed of non-conforming services being publicly conducted, he became pastor of a small congregation of Presbyterian dissenters, whose place of worship was situated in Parish-street, in the Borough. In this situation he remained till his death, February 7, 1698. A sermon preached on occasion of his death, by John Howe, an eminent non-conforming preacher was printed, and contains a strong testimony to his harmless, useful, and holy life.^[1]

He was the author of the exposition of the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians in the supplement to Poole's Annotations, and of various printed sermons. He joined Mr. Veal, another non-conforming minister in writing prefaces to several of the treatises of Stephen Charnock.^[1]

He published also two works of his brother Thomas Adams; namely, Protestant Union, and The Main Principles of the Christian Religion, 8vo. 1675.^[1]

[edit] Sources

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Long, George. The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1842–1844. 4 vols.