Founding of the Association 

The Tufts Kinsmen Association was founded in 1975 by Herbert Freeman Adams (1924-2003) as a way to support his on-going Tufts Kinsmen Project.  Herb had been researching the Tufts family for many years after he became interested in an ancestor of his first wife who bore the name Tufts.  His own family, the Adams, had been so well researched that he felt that he could not make a significant contribution to its genealogy.  However, he saw an opportunity to make a real contribution to the Tufts family by doing meticulous research on our lineage, which he certainly did. 

Herb threw himself into seeking every line of the Tufts family that he could locate.  He called it the Tufts Kinsmen Project.  He made exhaustive searches for anyone named Tufts or related to the Tufts.  He corresponded with countless family members and numerous genealogical sources.  He passed away in 2003, after dedicating his life to studying the Tufts family.  Fortunately, members of the Tufts Kinsmen Association who had worked with Herb continued his work and published Tufts Kinsmen, Volumes I and II, in 2010 and 2013. 

Reaching Out to Family Members 

Not only did Herb Adams invest most of his time in this expansive project, he found that the costs to do so much research mounted to more than he could comfortably afford.  His motivation for beginning the Tufts Kinsmen Association was to develop a way to reach out to more people by writing a quarterly newsletter for which he charged a nominal fee.  This gave him the ability to communicate with a greater number of people, while also providing him with some funds to spend on further research. 

The Tufts Kinsmen Association continued for many years primarily as a one-man project, although he did enlist the help of Shirley Tufts Lane as his proof-reader and helper.  Shirley remained an active member of the Tufts Kinsmen Association until her passing in October 2019.   

Tufts Family Reunions 

Herb began organizing family reunions as a way to bring family members together.  The early reunions were headquartered at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.  These reunions, held in 1980 and 1986, included bus tours in the greater Boston area to sites associated with the Tufts family.  

Additional reunions in other locations included one held in 1983 in Pinehurst, N.C., the resort and village founded by Boston silversmith James Walker Tufts in the late 1800’s.  Some members of the Association met in England (our country of origin) in 1985, as well as in Halifax, Nova Scotia (home to many of the Tufts family) in 1991.  In 1997, the Association held a reunion in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, at the Red Hill Inn that had once been a Tufts family home.  In 2019, the Tufts Kinsmen Association Board began making plans for a future reunion and established this website as an enduring resource for the most up-to-date details about our next get-together. 

Incorporation of the Tufts Kinsmen Association 

In May 1984, the Tufts Kinsmen Association was formally incorporated in the State of Massachusetts by Tufts family members.  The Articles of Organization state that the purpose for the Association is “to perpetuate the research and study of the Tufts Family and closely related families from their arrival in the early 1640s [and the] homes and towns where they settled, their way of life and their accomplishments, all with historical significance….” 

Later in the Articles, it is stated that ”the Tufts Kinsmen Association Inc. arose from the efforts (yet a hobby) of the family genealogist, Mr. Herbert F. Adams, who, through years of research, compiled a most extensive genealogy of the families emanating from the immigrant, Peter Tufts, who arrived in this country in 1640 and settled first in Malden, Massachusetts.” 

The document goes on to say that Herb’s quarterly newsletter was “sent out to about 600 Association members and families as well as a large number of libraries, schools and colleges, other genealogists, associations and interested parties, upon request, totaling about 1,000 recipients.”  Herb included his “giant query” to share and gather knowledge about the history of the Tufts family, as well as of the families into which they married.  His intent was to allow other genealogists to link their findings and broaden the scope of information about our forefathers, back to the earliest times of this country. 

An initial focus of the Association involved the Peter Tufts House that is located at 350 Riverside Avenue in Medford, Massachusetts.  The large brick garrison home still exists today in Medford and is owned privately. 

Annual Meetings 

Since the incorporation of the Association, yearly meetings have been held in the fall in the State of Massachusetts at several locations in the greater Boston area.  As we continue to meet and plan another reunion, we encourage you to consider taking part in sharing this history, as well as consider participating in the future of the Association.