Adams was born in Stratford, Connecticut,[3] the son of Samuel and Mary Fairchild Adams. His father practiced law in Stratford and was a judge of Fairfield County. Adams attended Yale and graduated in 1760 before reading law with his father.[4] He first practiced in Stamford. In 1772, he was named the king's attorney for Litchfield County. He moved to Litchfield in 1774 and made his home there for the rest of his life.[1] He received the degree of LL.D. from Yale in 1796.[3]
Adams was a Freemason. He was a member of St. Paul's Lodge No 11 in Litchfield, Connecticut.[5]
Adams was a leading player in both state and national politics. Governor of Connecticut Johnathan Trumbull wrote to congressmen Roger Sherman, Titus Hosmer and Adams[6] on military movements in what is now known as the states of New England. Adams and Hosmer answered the governor's message, stating they would take the opportunity to write to Major Bigelow and keep an eye on the situation through organizing a Board of Treasury, but little progress had been made. After leaving the Continental Congress in 1778, a year later Adams had been named a member of the Connecticut executive council by Trumbull. Adams was also granted a seat as a judge that same year, and he was granted the position of chief justice in 1793, which was the position he kept till his death.