William Acton Blakeway Adams (1843 – 24 January 1924), known as Acton Adams, was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Nelson, New Zealand.
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Early life
Adams was born at Wilden Manor, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, England, in 1843. The Adams family was descended from a William Adams who inherited the property of the supposed Knight Sturmy, an 11th-century Crusader. There is an element of doubt around who Sturmy was. An 1830 publication states the John Sturmy of Tenbury was not a Crusader.
Adams was the oldest son of William Adams, an English solicitor. His father, together with his family, migrated to Nelson on the ship Eden in 1850, acquired two runs in Wairau and became leader of the separation movement between Nelson and the Wairau. The Wairau was later renamed Marlborough. His father was Marlborough's first Superintendent, the first Commissioner of Crown Lands, and afterwards member of the House of Representatives for Picton. On retiring from political life, his father returned to practising law, replacing William Travers in the Nelson firm of Travers and Kingdon. The firm's name was changed to Adams and Kingdon.