Eloi Augustus Adams (1894-1969)

From "Madbury: Its People and Places", 1968.

  Two-term New Hampshire state representative Eloi Augustus Adams is unique as he shares an unusual first name with a fictional race of subhumans (the Eloi) featured in H.G. Wells' novel "The Time Machine", published in 1895. In addition to being a longtime farmer in Madbury, New Hampshire, Adams served as Strafford County agricultural agent for three decades and was a leading historian of his area, publishing a history of the town of Madbury in the year prior to his death. Born in Marlboro, Massachusetts on March 27, 1894, Eloi Augustus "Dan" Adams was the son of Joseph and Effie (Williams) Adams.

  A graduate of the Weston High School in Massachusetts,  Adams later studied at the New Hampshire College in Durham and in 1918 received his bachelor of science degree in agriculture. Prior to graduating Adams married in July 1917 to Lena B. Jones (1889-1980) to who he was wed for over fifty years. The couple would be childless. Following his marriage, he and his wife removed to Madbury, New Hampshire, where, after purchasing an 18th farm, they resided for the remainder of their lives.  

  In the years after his resettlement in Madbury Eloi Adams became a leader in Strafford County agricultural circles, and from 1928-1959 served as Strafford County agricultural agent. A past president of the New Hampshire Board of County Agricultural Agents, Adams attained further distinction through his work in developing the Strafford County Soil Conservation District, of which he would serve as secretary. He would serve a term as president of the Northeast Chapter of the Soil Conservation Movement in 1954 and attained prominent rank in several other agricultural and forestry-related posts, including:

• Director of the New Hampshire Poultry Growers Association.
• Director of the New Hampshire-Vermont Breeding Association.
• Strafford County vice president for the Society of the Preservation of New Hampshire Forests.
• Was the president of the New Hampshire Fair Association.
• Was an agricultural advisor to the Selective Service System during WWII.
• Was a past master of the Scammell Grange and the Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange.

   Active in the political life of Madbury, Adams held a seat on the board of selectmen from 1921-1948 and was a member of the local school board for nearly a decade. In 1960 Adams was elected, unopposed, to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, polling 182 votes on election day. During the 1961-63 session, he chaired the committee on agriculture and in 1962 was appointed as Strafford County's representative on the State Agricultural Advisory Board, where he served until 1966. In November 1962 Adams would win a second term in the legislature and from 1963-65 again chaired the committee on agriculture.

   Following his service in state government, Eloi A. Adams continued to serve Madbury through civic service, serving as chairman of the town zoning board of adjustment until his death in early 1969. A year prior to his death Adams' history of Madbury (entitled Madbury: Its People and Places) saw publication and was sponsored by Madbury's bicentennial committee, organized to celebrate the town's 200th anniversary in 1968. On March 28, 1969, one day following his 75th birthday, Eloi Adams died at a Dover, New Hampshire hospital. He was survived by his wife Lena, who following her death in 1980, was interred alongside him at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover.