author
John Coleman Adams
1849–1922
A Universalist minister and thoughtful religious writer, he blended preaching, history, and literary biography in books that explored faith, character, and the natural world. His work offers a window into American religious life at the turn of the 20th century.
1 Audiobook
William Hamilton Gibson: artist—naturalist—author
by John Coleman Adams
About the author
Born in Malden, Massachusetts, in 1849, John Coleman Adams was a Universalist minister, author, and editor. Sources agree that he studied at Tufts, earning his A.B. in 1870 and completing divinity training in 1872, and that he belonged to an early generation of ministers raised within the Universalist tradition rather than converting into it.
Alongside his ministry, he wrote widely on religion and religious history. His books include The Fatherhood of God, The Leisure of God, An Honorable Youth, and Hosea Ballou and the Gospel Renaissance of the Nineteenth Century. He also wrote William Hamilton Gibson: artist—naturalist—author, showing an interest not only in theology but also in biography, nature, and the moral imagination.
Adams also served as an editor and was connected with Tufts as a trustee. He died in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1922. Today he is remembered for clear, earnest writing that tried to make big spiritual ideas feel humane, practical, and close to everyday life.