Stephen Adams
United States Senator fromMississippi
In office March 17, 1852 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by	John J. McRae
Succeeded by	Jefferson Davis
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi'sat-large district
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	William H. Hammett
Succeeded by	no at-large seat
Member of theMississippi House of Representatives
In office 1850
Personal details
Born	(1807-10-17)October 17, 1807 Pendleton, South Carolina, United States
Died	May 11, 1857(1857-05-11) (aged 49) Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Resting place	Elmwood Cemetery
Party	Democratic

Stephen Adams (October 17, 1807 – May 11, 1857) was a19th-century American clergyman, lawyer and politician who served as aUnited States representative (1845 to 1847) andsenator (1852 to 1857) fromMississippi.

Adams was born to David Adams, aBaptist clergyman, inPendleton, South Carolina; he moved with his parents toFranklin County, Tennessee in 1812.^[1] He attended the public schools, studied law, was admitted to thebar in 1829, practiced in Franklin County.^[1] He was an slaveowner.^[2]

He was a member of theTennessee Senate from 1833 to 1834, when he removed toAberdeen, Mississippi^[1] and commenced the practice of law. He wascircuit court judge from 1837 to 1846, and was elected as aDemocratic representative to theTwenty-ninth Congress,^[1] serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. He again became a judge of the circuit court in 1848, was a member of theMississippi House of Representatives in 1850, and was a delegate to theState constitutional convention in 1851.^[1]

Adams was elected to theU.S. Senate on February 19, 1852, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJefferson Davis^[1] and served from March 17, 1852 to March 3, 1857; while in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Retrenchment (Thirty-third andThirty-fourth Congresses).

At the close of his term he removed toMemphis, Tennessee and resumed the practice of law^[1] until he died there of smallpox^[3] on May 11, 1857,^[4] and was interred inElmwood Cemetery.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Adams, Stephen".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 55.

• United States Congress."Stephen Adams (id: A000048)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1807 births
• 1857 deaths
• Mississippi state court judges
• Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives
• People from Aberdeen, Mississippi
• Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee
• People from Pendleton, South Carolina
• Tennessee state senators
• Deaths from smallpox in the United States
• Democratic Party United States senators from Mississippi
• Infectious disease deaths in Tennessee
• 19th-century Mississippi state court judges
• Democratic Party United States representatives from Mississippi
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century United States senators
• 19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly
• 19th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature
• United States senators who owned slaves
• Mississippi circuit court judges

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