William and Elizabeth Adams arrived in the Swan River Colony, as indentured servants to Thomas Peel. With them were their two young children, Caroline aged 2 years and John aged 6 months. Ten more children were born to William and Elizabeth between 1832 and 1849. By 1831, Elizabeth and William were one of a handful of families that had stayed with Thomas Peel and had accompanied him to his property on the Murray River. In 1834, they were in the area during the 'Battle of Pinjarra' and signed a petition requesting more Police to be stationed at Pinjarra. In the 1836 Census, the Adams family were living on Garden Island but then moved to Fremantle and William worked as a Whaler and a Labourer. He had fought in the Battle of Waterloo where he was wounded in his head and as a result he had a silver plate inserted. Elizabeth was referred to as 'The Mother of Fremantle' due to the amount of maternity cases attended by her in the early years. Everyone called her 'Granny Adams'. Elizabeth Adam's children married and produced large and well known families in Fremantle, such as the Hanham, Harwood, Chamberlain, Sheen, Hopkins, Davies, Brown, Hedland, Sweetman, Hall and Smith families. It was said, and written in a local newspaper of the time, that you couldn't throw a stone in Fremantle without hitting one of the Adams family. William and Elizabeth Adams and four of their family are buried together and their grave is listed on the Heritage Trail of the Fremantle Cemetery.