George S. Adams, M.D., is a highly regarded and accomplished member of the medical profession in Yankton, South Dakota. Born in Michigan, he grew up in South Dakota and pursued his education at State Agricultural College and Rush Medical College. Graduating with a degree in Medicine, Dr. Adams began his career as an assistant physician at the state hospital for the insane in Yankton, where he continues to serve with great dedication. He is esteemed for his abilities and discernment in his profession. As a Republican, Dr. Adams is also affiliated with St. John’s Lodge, No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons.
George S. Adams, M.D., is one of the representative young members of the medical profession in the city of Yankton, where his ability and pleasing personality have been the factors in gaining him an excellent and gratifying support. The Doctor is a native of the state of Michigan, having been born in Lowell, Kent County, on the 20th of December, 1876, a son of Francis D. and Jane (Ashley) Adams, of whose six children four are living at the present time, namely: Persis, who is the wife of Robert F. Reynolds, of Groton, South Dakota; George Sheldon, the immediate subject of this sketch; John F., who is a member of the class of 1905 in the medical department of the University of Chicago, and Charles E., who is a student in the University of Minnesota. Francis D. Adams was born in Waterbury, Vermont, in the year 1838, and when he was a child his father met his death by drowning, and thereafter he spent some time in the home of an uncle. But at an early age, he began to depend upon his own resources, relying on his own efforts to attain a position of independence. He learned the trade of millwright, to which he devoted his attention for a number of years in Michigan and Indiana, and finally, he became the owner of a flouring mill in Groton, Michigan, operating the same for a number of years and then engaging in the manufacture of wagons and buggies in that village. Later, he moved to Lowell, that state, where he was engaged in the implement business until 1879 when he came to South Dakota with a view to finding a permanent location, making a tour through various parts of the state and then returning to Michigan. In the spring of 1880, he again came to the state and filed a claim to a tract of land in Brown County, where the family resided for a number of years, after which they removed to the village of Groton, where he engaged in the banking business for several years, becoming one of the prominent and influential citizens of the county and having the high regard of all who knew him. There he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 17th of January, 1899. He was a staunch adherent of the Republican party and was a potent factor in its councils in South Dakota. In 1893, he represented Brown County in the state senate, and for several years he was a member of the board of regents of state educational institutions. He was one of the honored pioneers of the new commonwealth and was closely associated with the upbuilding and progress of the same, ever being one of its loyal and valued citizens. His wife was born in the state of New York in 1840, and when she was young, she accompanied her parents on their move to the state of Michigan. Her marriage to Mr. Adams was solemnized in Groton, that state. She is still living and resides in Groton, South Dakota, the town having been thus named at the suggestion of the father of the subject.
George Sheldon Adams was ten years of age at the time of his parents’ move from Michigan to South Dakota, and thus the state has been his home during practically his entire life. After availing himself of the advantages offered in the public schools, including the completion of a course in the Groton high school, he was matriculated at the State Agricultural College at Brookings, where he continued his studies for one year. In the autumn of 1897, he entered that well-known institution, Rush Medical College, in the city of Chicago, where he completed a thorough technical course, being graduated in June 1901, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after his graduation, the Doctor received an appointment as an assistant physician in the state hospital for the insane in Yankton, and this position he has since held, while his service in this connection has been of the most able and discriminating order. He is a Republican in his political proclivities and fraternally is identified with St. John’s Lodge, No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons.