Andrew Adams (congressman)

Andrew Adams (January 7, 1736 – November 26, 1797) was an American lawyer, jurist, and political leader in Litchfield, Connecticut, during the American Revolutionary War. He was a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress and later Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. He is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Early
Andrew Adams was born in Stratford, the son of Samuel (1703–1788) and Mary Fairchild (1698–1803) 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. 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.

Adams was a Freemason. He was a member of St. Paul's Lodge No 11 in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Political career
With the coming of the American Revolution, Adams was a member of Connecticut's Committee of Safety. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1776 until 1781 and was its speaker in 1779 and 1780. During the Revolutionary War he also served as a colonel in the Connecticut militia. He was appointed to the Second Continental Congress in 1778 and signed the Articles of Confederation.

Supreme Court
In 1789 he was named to the state's Executive Council as an associate justice of the state's Supreme Court. Then in 1793 he was advanced to chief justice of Connecticut, and remained in this post until his death in Litchfield in 1797. He is buried in the East Cemetery in Litchfield.