William Agar Adamson

Who was William Agar Adamson?

William Agar Adamson was an Irish-born Canadian Church of England clergyman and author.

Adamson was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 21 November 1800 to James Agar Adamson of Ballinalack, County Westmeath and Sarah Walsh of Walsh Park, County Tipperary. He had eight siblings. Adamson was admitted to Trinity College, Dublin in 1817, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1821. After graduation, he became a priest of the Church of Ireland, and in 1824, he became curate of Lockeen and Parsonstown, County Offaly. From 1833 to 1838, he was vicar of Clonlen and Ennis, both in County Clare. While in these parishes in Western Ireland, Adamson learned to enjoy angling, especially salmon fishing, an interest that would shape his life in Canada. In 1838, he became a rector of Kilcooly parish, counties Kilkenny and Tipperary, and chaplain to the Marquess of Normanby, then Whig Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

With the help of Normanby's influence in the Whig ministry, Adamson obtained the incumbency of Amherst Island, Upper Canada, and became the personal chaplain to Lord Sydenham, and tended to him until his death in 1841. Later that year, Adamson became the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada's chaplain and librarian. The position was made a sinecure in 1851, and Adamson held it until 1867, when he became a Senate librarian. He only stayed there for a few months, before resigning. Shortly afterward, Adamson died in Ottawa, Ontario on 7 August 1868.