As a toddler, Adam survived on scraps with Nicholas in tow, because the son did care about him but the dad never cared about the boy. He was also at the orphanage a couple of times due to his bisexual father being absent when travelling. At the same time he had only two childhood friends available, little Austin Melcher and newcomer Beaufort Buffo Giugiaro, nicknamed 'Bo', the only son of distressed Piedmontese peasants killed by corrupt landlords after WW2 (they were adopted out by Asaph Buchanan later on).
As a kid, he and Nicholas fought for scraps and fossils. Nonetheless, he did show sympathy to his dad and shed a tear when punished by him. Strange.
As a preteen, Adam was a fossil hunter for survival, harassing Peter Palmer and haggled him with money for a brief time. He also harassed and yanked the pants out of Christopher Corlandt because his dad assaulted him in WW2. Sick indeed!
As a teenager, he left West Virginia for Texas to prepare for the money trade with friends Clinton Buchanan and Bo, who themselves also hunted huge amounts of fossils. They were also reluctant flatmates.