Lewis Lewellyn Adams, son of John and Eliza Adams, was born in Pennsylvania in 1823. Lewis' father, John, was a stone mason. John's father was a Virginian, until he moved to Pennsylvania. When Lewis was 2 years old, his father bought a farm in Ontario County, New York, near Honeoy. Lewis attended country school there, and assisted on the farm after his father's death, residing there with his mother until 1846. In 1847, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and bought 160 acres of government-owned land for $150 and built a log house. He paid $50 for a pair of oxen, and had $30 left. He split rails and fenced 40-acres to start his farm. There were no railroads, and Milwaukee, his principal market, was 50 miles away.
Mary A. Salisbury, daughter of Russell Dean and Susan (Bunnel) Salisbury, was born August 8, 1830 in Canandaiqua, Ontario County, New York. She moved with her family to the Territory of Wisconsin in 1844.
Lewis and Mary were married in Madison on June 29, 1848, and had 9 children:
| Mary Letitia Adams | Born April 24, 1849. (For details of Mary's life with her husband Robert Henry, see the section on the Henrys in the memoirs of Ruth (VanDyke) Adams, the wife of Lewis and Mary's grandson R.D. Adams, Jr.) |
| Lewis Lewellyn Adams, Jr. | Born August 1, 1852. |
| Russell Dean Adams | Born June 15, 1856. |
| Elon Anzelma Adams | Born Decmber 24, 1858. |
| Winnefred Adams | Born March 21, 1861. |
| Cora Estella Adams | Born August 23, 1864. |
| Eda May Adams | Born August 3, 1867. |
| Arthur Albert Adams | Born January 18, 1870. |
| Charles Francis Adams | Born August 13, 1873. |
The log house continued to be their family home for 20 years, until they had a new frame house built in 1868. Lewis acquired an additional 80 acres, and then owned a total of 240 acres of the best farm land in the Township. Lewis was a Republican, and, though he never sought the office, was elected 3 times as Town Supervisor.
Mary died April 12, 1885. Lewis died in 1905, and was buried in the Oak Hall Cemetary, 1 mile south of their farm. For additional detail on the lives of Lewis and Mary Adams, see the section entitled Lewis Lewellyn Adams also in the memoirs of Ruth (VanDyke) Adams.