This good old man told Beechey one day, that it would add much to his happiness if he would read the marriage ceremony to him and his wife, as he could not bear the idea of living with her without its being done, when a proper opportunity should offer, as was now the case.  Though Adams was aged, and the old woman had been blind and bedridden for several years, Beechey says he made such a point of it, that it would have been cruel to refuse him.  They were accordingly, the following day, duly united, and the event noted in a register by John Buffet.  The marriages that take place among the young people are, however, performed by Adams, who makes use of a ring for such occasions, which has united every couple on the island since its first settlement; the regulated age under which no man is allowed to marry is twenty, and that of the woman eighteen.  The restrictions with regard to relationship are the same as with us, and are strictly put in force when parties are about to marry.  Adams also officiates at christenings.

Captain Beechey observes, that these amiable people rigidly adhere to their word and promise, even in cases where the most scrupulous among Europeans might think themselves justified in some relaxation of them.  Thus, George Adams, in his early days, had fallen in love with Polly Young, a girl somewhat older than himself; but Polly, for some reason or other, had incautiously declared, she never would give her hand to George Adams; who, however, still hoped she would one day relent, and of course was unremitting in his endeavours to please her; nor was he mistaken; his constancy and his handsome form, which George took every opportunity of displaying before her, softened Polly’s heart, and she would willingly have given him her hand.  But the vow of her youth was not to be got over, and the lovesick couple languished on from day to day, victims to the folly of early resolutions.  This weighty case was referred to the British officers, who decided that it would be much better to marry than to continue unhappy in consequence of a hasty resolution made before the judgement was matured; but Polly’s scruples still remained, and those who gave their decision left them unmarried.  Captain Beechey, however, has recently received a letter, stating that George Adams and Polly Young had joined hands and were happy; but the same letter announced the death of John Adams, which took place in March 1829.

The demise of this old patriarch is the most serious loss that could have befallen this infant colony.  The perfect harmony and contentment in which they appear to live together, the innocence and simplicity of their manners, their conjugal and parental affection, their moral, religious, and virtuous conduct, and their exemption from any serious vice, are all to be ascribed to the exemplary conduct and instructions of old John Adams; and it is gratifying to know, that five years after the visit of the Blossom, and one year subsequent to Adams’s death, the little colony continued to enjoy the same uninterrupted state of harmony and contentment as before.