Revised Jun 21 2021
Adams was no ordinary man, or he could never have accomplished the arduous task which he had undertaken to perform. His work as a teacher must have been all the more laborious from his having had little or no instruction in his early days. It is said that he had never been at school. His brother Jonathan was a waterman in London; and from him John sometimes received letters directed to him at Pitcairn. Struggling against all his difficulties, John Adams gained the best and most useful kind of knowledge, the knowledge of God, and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. Having happily learned how to impart that knowledge to others, he left a name, the memory of which is cherished beyond the borders of his little island. He not only attended to the young, but if any of the older inhabitants wanted counsel, he gave it; if they were ill, he went and prayed with them. By a steadfast adherence to the line of duty which he had marked out for his conduct, he could not but perceive that the blessing of God was upon his labours. The fruits of good became apparent in a place where indifference to religion and looseness of morals had prevailed; and when we consider the latter part of his pilgrimage, and the filial reverence with which he was regarded by his juniors, we may conclude that this island-patriarch had much to cheer and encourage him, amidst the trials and sorrows which had fallen upon him. Amongst the most comfortable feelings of his heart, as the end of his existence drew on, was probably the well-grounded hope that the rising generation would fear God, and keep His commandments. Looking at the improved condition of the people, just previously to his death, which happened in March, 1829, when he was sixty-five years of age, he might well have been gladdened by the prospect of the continuance among them of those firm and solid principles of true religion, which had been fixed upon a sure foundation, and which form a topic of honourable mention at this very time.