Travis Takes the Stage: Uncovering History for Fun and Fortune – Alexandria Echo Press

There’s hardly anything I enjoy more than historical exploration, particularly examining primary documents such as journals, legal records, and newspaper excerpts.

For the previous two months, I have been engaged in a project aimed at uncovering as much information as possible about a little-known religious sect from the early 20th century. While this may not be everyone’s definition of enjoyment, I find it quite gratifying.

The sect was known by various titles, usually centered around the name Adam: The Adamites, the Happy Adam Family, and so forth.

Their leader, James Sharp, assumed numerous aliases, but primarily identified himself as “Adam God.”

(I recently pointed this out to a companion, who remarked, “Wow, that individual must have had quite the ego.”)

Sharp believed he was the reincarnation of the Adam mentioned in the Bible; however, he was not strictly tied to that identity, at times asserting he was Elijah, or David. Or even the King of the Locusts.

It was never a particularly large sect, peaking at around 50 individuals at its most populous, but generally maintaining a count of fewer than 15 at most times.

The sect also lacked a fixed headquarters, as they were expelled from most locations they frequented. They traveled to Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Washington state, Wyoming, North Dakota, and even Canada.

A comprehensive account of their actions would be too extensive for a single column, but their saga reached a climax in Kansas City, Mo., in December of 1908, when they initiated a shootout with law enforcement in front of the city hall. All adult members of the sect were armed, and many of the children were as well.

In the end, five individuals lost their lives: Two sect members, two police officers, and one innocent bystander.

James Sharp was found guilty of second-degree murder and served over 10 years in prison. After his release, he relocated to Joplin, Mo., with his spouse and passed away in 1946, quite an elderly man.

I can’t pinpoint precisely why this narrative resonates with me so deeply, other than it appears to encapsulate a quintessential American tale, touching on three major themes: God, firearms, and sexuality. (I won’t delve into the latter topic — not in this column, at least.)

As I mentioned earlier, I commenced my research on the sect around two months back, initially compiling 223 single-spaced pages of newspaper articles. At that moment, I believed I had utilized all available resources and felt quite proud of my efforts.

Then I started discovering additional articles. I created a new document, and upon its completion, I once again felt I was finished.

I am now on my fifth document, and the total word count has so far surpassed 260,000.

For context, most books range between 70,000 to 120,000 words. At around 320 words per page, my resource documents would extend to more than 800 pages if formatted as a book.

I am uncertain when I will complete this pursuit. Presently, I am reviewing what I possess and drafting notecards outlining the key events of the narrative. I have accumulated over 100 so far, and I have yet to reach the riot.

Ultimately, I intend to convert this material into a specific type of book, although I’m not remotely near that stage yet. Until then, I will continue to gather additional content. And why not? It’s basically my favorite aspect.