Early Years
Born and raised in Medway, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, he received an education typical of the era. Adams began as an apprentice in the footwear manufacturing industry at age fourteen. He was of English ancestry. At age twenty-one, he left that occupation, seeking to satisfy his true love - the outdoors and nature. He signed on with a company of showmen as a zoological collector. John hunted and captured live wild animals in the wildest parts of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, where he honed his woodsman, survival and marksmanship skills. However, Adams told Hittell that his hunting and trapping career ended abruptly when he received severe back and spine injuries from a Bengal tiger he was attempting to train for his employers. Not wanting to become a burden on his family, after recuperating somewhat, he returned to the cobbler’s bench in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1836, John married and had three children.
Read more about this topic: James "Grizzly" Adams
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