Robert Stanley Adams (August 27, 1895 – April 1, 1943) served in the Florida State Senate for the 30th district.[1][2]

R. Stanley Adams circa 1939

Early life edit

Adams was born August 27, 1895, in Jasper, Florida to Frank Adams and Alice Vivian née West Adams.[3] He went to public school in Jacksonville, Florida and then attended the University of South at Sewanee, Tennessee.[1] He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I as a painter and naval stores operator.[1] He served in the U.S. Navy as part of the 6th Naval District.[4]

Career edit

Adams was the president of the Barnett National Bank in Jacksonville, Florida.[5]

He was a Mason and a Methodist.[1]

Political career edit

Before joining the Florida Legislature he served on the Hamilton County Commission for ten years.[1]

He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1934, 1938, and unopposed in his final term in 1942.[6][1] His father Frank Adams and grandfather Robert Watkins Adams also served in the legislature as senators.[7]

He was the chairman of the agriculture and livestock committee in 1943 and was also a member of several other committees.[1] He co-sponsored the Rural Electric Cooperative Act.[8]

He died early in his third term as a state senator.[9] After his death the law required governor Spessard Holland to call, within 10 days, for a special election to fill the vacancy without the requirement for any primaries.[5]

Death edit

He died on April 1, 1943, (aged 47), at his plantation and home near Jasper, Florida.[1] He was survived by his wife, Priscilla B Adams and three of his children, Frances Adams, Cornelia Caleb Tarplee and Robert Stanley Adams, as well as four siblings.[1]

 
R. Stanley Adams Memorial Highway marker

The R. Stanley Adams Memorial Highway section of Florida State Road 6 was named for him and a marker laid.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "State Senator Stanley Adams Dies Suddenly". Tallahassee Democrat. 1 April 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2020.  
  2. ^ "Portraits of members of the Florida Legislature". Florida Memory. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. ^ Cash, William Thomas (1938). The Story of Florida. American historical society, Incorporated. p. 470.
  4. ^ "Robert Stanley Adams - WWI Service Card". Florida Memory. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "R. Stanley Adams (Photo) - State Senate Member dies at Palatka". The Miami Herald. 2 April 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 8 November 2020.  
  6. ^ a b "Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site". www.geocaching.com. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Senators Robert Stanley Adams, Frank Adams, Robert Watkins Adams". The Miami Herald. 16 May 1943. p. 47. Retrieved 8 November 2020.  
  8. ^ Administration, United States Rural Electrification. "Rural Electrification News: A Summary of Rural Electrification Activities". p. 9 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Obituary for R. Stanley Adams (Aged 47)". The Miami News. April 1, 1943. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.  

External links edit