Adam Spach Sr. was born in Pfaffhofen, Germany, on January 20, 1720. At the age of 14 (1734), Adam arrived in Maryland with his father, Hanns Adam Spach, who was skilled as a weaver. Because Hanns was unable to pay for their passage in full, Adam worked as an indentured servant for six years for a Mennonite. Afterward, he lived in the Manakosy area of Maryland where he helped found Graceham Moravian Church and married Maria Elisabeth Heuter in 1752. Two years later, Adam and Maria moved to the Wachovia area of North Carolina (near present-day Winston-Salem) where other Moravians had begun settling. Together with a few other families, they founded the South Fork or Friedberg settlement and eventually established Friedberg Moravian Church. The first of Adam and Maria’s nine children, Johann Adam, was about six months old at the time of their move to North Carolina.

As a Moravian, Adam had a theological opposition to military service, however, his name appears several times in Revolutionary War-era records, showing that he furnished supplies and served as a wagoneer. Friedberg Moravian Church also provided cattle, grain and other supplies to the Continental Army.

Otherwise, Adam lived life as a farmer, and in 1785 received a deed to 280 acres of land which included the land where Friedberg Moravian Church was located. Later, Adam transferred 77 acres (including church land) to Frederick William Marshall, leader of the Moravian Church in America, as trustee. Adam died on August 23, 1801 and is buried in the Friedberg Moravian Church cemetery.