ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

MARY ADAMS PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL#555

DATES: 1933-1960

SIZE: .75 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Mary Adams Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Mary Adams, Oakes, North Dakota, via Dr. Elizabeth Hampsten, UND Department of English, on July 10, 1979 (Acc.#79-627).

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mary Patalas was born on October 8, 1910, in Mohall, North Dakota. She grew up in and was educated in Mohall, before finding domestic work in Minot. She married George Harrison Adams on January 7, 1930, in Bottineau, North Dakota. George Adams was born on August 9, 1894, in Beresford, South Dakota. In 1903, his family moved to Oakes, North Dakota, to farm. He moved to Lansford, North Dakota in 1918 to operate his own farm.

George and Mary Adams farmed near Lansford before moving to Oakes in 1941 to purchase the Adams family farm. The couple had three sons, George Jr., James, and Daniel, as well as three daughters, Marjorie, Margaret, and Clara.

George Adams died on May 13, 1985, while Mary Adams died on June 8, 1994. Both are buried in Ellendale, North Dakota.

Source: Fargo Forum, 15 May 1985 and 11 June 1994

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Mary Adams Papers contain personal correspondence and financial materials dating from 1933 to 1960. The major correspondents include Mary Adams’ son, George Adams Jr., and her daughter-in-law, Marie Davis Adams. The correspondence is primarily incoming. The collection also contains financial ledgers dating from 1933-1954, a brief family history, and a photocopy of an undated diary written in Norwegian.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. Correspondence - George H. and Mary Adams 1956-60.
2. Correspondence - George and Marie Adams, Jr. 1952-55.
3. Correspondence - Marie (Davis) Adams, Jr. 1950-51.
4. Correspondence - Marie (Davis) Adams, Jr. 1952.
5. Correspondence - Marie (Davis) Adams, Jr. 1952 cont.
6. Correspondence - George Adams, Jr. 1955-57.
7. Correspondence - George Adams, Jr. and son Joe 1955.
8. Correspondence - Carlyum Dykes 1952.
9. Correspondence - Lavina McGee 1956.
10. Family History.
11. Homestead Certificate.
12. Financial Materials.
13. Financial Ledgers.
14. Diary.
15. Miscellaneous.

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