James Adair
Born: 1709
Died: 1783
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Hometown: County Antrim, Ireland
Career: Indian trader
Genres: History, Other Nonfiction
Biography:
James Adair was a pioneer, Indian trader, and author. He arrived
in America by 1735, most likely through the port of Charleston,
S.C. He began trading with the Catawbas and Cherokees in this same
year until 1744, at which time he established himself among the
Chickasaws in Mississippi. At this time, he visited the Choctaws,
attempting to sway them away from the French and toward an alliance
with the English. James Adair was known, among the Indians as a
diplomat and a peace-maker. He had frequent conflicts with the French,
and during the Indian war of 1760-61, he was commissioned as a captain
to a band of Chickasaws. Around 1769 it is suggested that he travelled
to London, where, as reported in an article in the Georgia Gazzette,
of Savannah (October 11, 1769), he intended to print the 'Essays'.
Adair was a respected and esteemed individual, noted for his ability
to trade with the Indians. He apparently died in North Carolina
shortly after the end of the Revolution.
--Tiffani Conner
Primary Bibliography:
- History of the American Indians. London: E. and C. Dilly,
1775
Secondary Bibliography:
- "James Adair." Dictionary of American Biography. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928.
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