Adam Brinker was born and raised on a farm in Forks Township, Northampton County Pennsylvania. When the north called for volunteers for the great Civil War, he enlisted in Company A of the 153rd Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry, at the age of sixteen. He was mustered in at Harrisburg in September, 1862 and was sent to join the Army of the Potomac. After seeing service for some time, he was taken sick, spent two months in the Army hospital, and was then sent to Washington and Philadelphia. In July, 1863, he was honorably discharged, after which he was employed in the Government harness shops at Washington D.C. until 1864.

  On April 5th, 1865, he was employed as harness-maker by Henry Long of Bethlehem. In 1867 Mr. Brinker started in the harness business for himself, located in South Bethlehem. Later as the business grew he moved to a larger building where he had retail and wholesale harness trade still carried on under the firm name of Adam Brinker & Co.

  Mr. Brinker was also a member of the Town Concil, he served continuously from the year 1878, and was a member of the recent City Council. He was a partner in the firm of Brinker & Wagner dealers in building stone, etc., when their quarries were opened along the Lehigh River in 1882.

  He acted in the capacity of Director in the old South Bethlehem Building and Loan Association and the same capacity with the Equitable Building and Loan Assoc.

   As one of the Incorporators of the South Bethlehem National Bank in 1889, he was appointed a Director continuing in that office to date, and in January, 1901, was elected President of the institution and has acted in that capacity ever since.

  The Lehigh Valley Cold Storage Company was organized in 1893, Mr. Brinker being one of the incorporators and President since its organization. He has also been a Trustee of South Bethlehem Moravian Church for 32 years. Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce and sole owner of the Artificial Ice Co. which he organized in 1892.

  In 2007 a trust fund of over nine million dollars, established by Adam Brinker, benefited three local charities in the Lehigh Valley.