Austin Adams

Austin Adams was born on May 24, 1826, in Andover, Vermont, a country village, son of Captain Jerry Adams and Dorcas Austin, grandson of Corporal Jonas Adams and Phebe How, and a direct descendant from Henry Adams, of Braintree, 1636. His grandparents had secured that school and a church on a corner of their farm in 1794. He retained pleasant memories of the district school, which he attended until he was fourteen. In later years he wrote "[The] older pupils, the young men and women [...] not only assisted me in my studies, but their presence and example afforded me inspiration." His family attended the Baptist church on their farm. Adams heard only "dogmatic and terrorizing theology" at the church and it "succeeded in destroying much of the happiness of his childhood."

He showed great interest in law as a boy: "The law had a perfect fascination for me before I was ten years old, and I think before I ever saw a lawyer or a court." He often went to the court house in Woodstock, Vermont to listen to cases.

At age thirteen, his teacher urged his father to give Austin a better education than he could receive at the country school house. At fourteen he was sent to Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont, to prepare for college. At age sixteen he began teaching students at the academy, some of whom were older than he was, in the winter while working on his father's farm in the summer.

At nineteen he entered the sophomore class at Dartmouth College; he graduated in 1848, receiving his A.M. degree in course. Lighting then was so poor that he lost some of his vision studying, and had to wear spectacles at an early age. "The physical inability to see distinctly increased an introspective state of mind and somewhat blunted the observing powers which he himself regretted."

For the next five years he taught at West Randolph Academy in West Randolph, Vermont, while pursuing his legal studies. Teaching at the academy "perfect[ed] his classical studies." He attended Harvard Law School for a short time in 1853. He was admitted to the bar in Woodstock, Vermont, in January 1853 and entered practice with ex-Governor Carlos Coolidge.

On September 8, 1857, Austin Adams married Mary K. Newbury, second daughter of Samuel Newbury and Mary Sergeant. Mary Newbury Adams supported the advancement of women and was a member of many progressive and scientific organizations. Austin also enthusiastically supported the advancement of women, particularly women's education.

He enjoyed reading literature as recreation. He usually only read parts of a book—the rest he felt was unneeded.

All biographies praise his personal qualities, calling him a simple, considerate, intelligent man.

Adams had built up an excellent reputation in the 1860s, so when he was chosen to be a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, from 1876 to 1880, the choice was welcomed with widespread approval. He began his term on the Iowa Supreme Court on January 1, 1876, leaving the firm of Adams, Robison & Lacy. He was chief justice for four years, from 1880 to 1881 and 1886–87. He was the first Chief Justice to admit a woman to practice in the Iowa Supreme Court. He later commended her for the way she tried the case. As a justice he slowly came to conclusions but then always stood by them. He never tried to appeal to popular opinion in cases. In June 1886 he presided over the opening of the new Supreme Court Rooms. His second term ended December 31, 1887, and he decided not to accept another term.

His decisions can be found in Volumes 42–73 of the Iowa Reports.

In 1883, Dartmouth honored him with an LL.D. degree.