ADAMS, Alvin, founder of Adams Express Co.: b. Andover, Vt., 16 June 1804; d. 2 Sept. 1877. On 4 May 1840 he started an express business between Boston and New York which developed into the great company above named, formed in 1854 by the consolidation of several rival firms, — including Harnden's, the initiator of the express business, — with Mr. Adams as president. In 1850 he helped to organize the pioneer express service through the California mining camps, which on the consolidation above he sold out. In the Civil War the Adams Express Company was of immense help to the government; in 1870 it extended its business to the far West.