Samuel Jefferson Adair crossed the plains in 1852 with eight of his children, according to the biographical sketch of his son, Samuel Newton Adair. In 1851, the Adair family was listed on the 1851 Iowa census. The 1856 Utah territorial census lists the Adair family in Payson, Utah. In 1860, several of the Adairs were located in Utah, as indicated by census records. Samuel's birth date and date of death are confirmed by the obituary found in Deseret News.