This is a photograph of Zu Adams taken in the front yard of the family home at 1501 Mulvane in Topeka, Kansas. She was born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1859. Named Azubah for her father's mother, she was always known as Zu. As a child she lived in various Kansas towns including Waterville, Wichita, and Topeka. In 1876, when Zu was seventeen, her father became Secretary of the new Kansas Historical Society, and she became his unpaid assistant. Later she was given a salary and the title of librarian. At the time of her father's death in 1899, both she and he hoped that she would succeed him as Secretary. When George Martin emerged as a candidate for that position, however, Zu reluctantly withdrew her own candidacy. She worked as Martin's assistant until her own death in 1911. Zu never married, remaining in the family home and raising her younger brothers and sisters. In addition, she adopted a daughter of her own in 1896.