Why did john grizzly adams turn his back on society

John Boyden “Grizzly” Adams 1858

“The mountain air was in my nostrils, the evergreens above and the eternal rocks around, and I seemed to be a part of the vast landscape, a kind of demigod in the glorious and magnificent creation.”
– John “Grizzly” Adams

 

John “Grizzly” Adams was a professional hunter of grizzly bears who became well-known after his involvement in P.T. Barnum’s Circus.

John Boyden Adams was born in Medway, Massachusetts, to Eleazer and Sybil Adams on October 12, 1812. He is said to have been related to the famous Adams of Massachusetts, including President John Adams and patriot Samuel Adams. He received what was considered a good education for the times. However, by the time he was 14 years old, he was working as an apprentice in the footwear manufacturing industry.

When he was 21, he left that position and became a hunter in New England’s forests. After signing on with a company of showmen as a zoological collector, John hunted and captured live wild animals in Maine, Vermon

By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer

MEDWAY – Many can recall the 1970s classic television series “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.” Fans tuned in each week to see the innocent fugitive and bear whisperer, played by Dan Haggerty, help strangers navigate through the wilderness. Of course, some of those strangers had ulterior motives. Nevertheless, the story of the real Grizzly Adams did not begin as a man falsely accused of murder, on the run with no one but a trader named Mad Jack (Denver Pyle), Nakoma (Don Shanks), and a bear named Ben for friends.

 

Medway shoemaker
California’s legendary mountain man John Boyden Adams (or John Capen Adams) was born in Medway to Eleazar and Sybil Adams in 1812. In actuality, his first job was that of a shoemaker in Massachusetts and he only lived in the California mountains for less than five years. According to his biography, Adams did show an interest in and talent for managing a troupe of animals brought to the U.S. from Africa. Such boldness can come with a price. He found himself bedridden for months after a near-deadl

John ‘Grizzly’ Adams: Legend of the West

John “Grizzly” Adams: Legends of the West, is a name that echoes through the annals of time.

This man was not just an individual; he is John “Grizzly” Adams, American History, Wild West, American outlaw

The Wild West was a period marked by lawlessness and rugged individualism – traits personified in Grizzly Adams.
Yet understanding John “Grizzly” Adams requires peeling back layers of myth and legend to reveal the true character beneath.

Table of Contents:

Who Was John “Grizzly” Adams?

The Wild West was a time of exploration and discovery, with many figures rising to prominence. One such individual was James Capen Adams, better known as John “Grizzly” Adams. Unlike his distant relative, the patriot Samuel Adams, or even Benjamin Franklin, who is often associated with eastern cities like Boston and Philadelphia.

A Shoemaker Turned Wilderness Explorer

Born in Massachusetts in 1812, Grizzly’s early years were spent working as a shoemaker before h

Copyright ©cowroof.pages.dev 2025