My Genealogy Hound

William James, the oldest settler of Kentucky Township, Saline County, was born in what is now Ripley County, Mo., in 1828, his parents being Honor and Sallie (Boiles) James, natives of Tennessee. Honor James came to Missouri in 1815, where he was married in 1817. He owned land near what is now Doniphan, Pocahontas, Ark., being the nearest trading point. Missouri and Arkansas were not then separated, and Pocahontas was the seat of justice for that section. When Mr. James came to Arkansas, there were but four settlements in this county, from Dyer Township to where Benton now is. His uncle, Jesse, helped to build the first court house at the county seat, a log structure, the lumber used for flooring being sawed with a whip saw. It was necessary to go twenty miles to mill. When anything prevented, a steel mill was used. Mr. James did not enter land when first coming here; instead he squatted on Government land, in (present) Dyer Township, where he improved a home, remaining on this land until about 1848, when he sold his claim and moved to Holland Township. Here he bought an improved place and lived until his death in 1856. He never owned any land in this county. His chief occupation was stock-raising, as it was unnecessary in those days to feed stock except occasionally during the winter. Game was plentiful, and bear, deer and turkey abounded in the neighborhood. Mr. James was twice married, his first wife being the mother of William, our subject. They were the parents of six children (five now living, and all within a radius of twenty miles): Jesse (deceased, see sketch of W. T. James), Lucinda (widow of D. J. Robinson), Daniel, Minerva (widow of John Terry), William (our subject) and Martha (widow of James Hutchison). Mrs. James died about 1830, and some ten years later Mr. James took unto himself a second wife, in the person of Susan Manus, a native of Indiana. By this marriage there were three children: Sarah E. (wife of Jasper Wallace, who resides in Perry County, this State), Nancy (wife of William Hunt, a resident of Scott County), and George H. (who resides in Perryville, Perry County, this State.) Mrs. James died near the year 1848. William James, after receiving a limited education in the country schools of this county, began his struggle for existence at the age of nineteen, as a farmer on rented land. At the close of three years he bought eighty acres of land in Dyer Township, where he resided from 1858 to 1865, when he sold out and purchased his present place, consisting of 620 acres, with 150 under cultivation. He has since given his sons 160 acres, 140 acres improved. Mr. James has, besides this farm, a splendid steam and grist-mill, which he owns in partnership with his son, C. F. James. With this mill they put up annually some 200 bales of cotton, and do a large amount of grinding. Mr. James has been married three times. Miss Jane Muse became his first wife April 24, 1851, and was the mother of six children, three now living (three dying young): J. C, C. F. and J. Y. (all living in this county.) Mrs. James was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in 1874. The following year Mr. James was married to Caroline James, being divorced in 1876. Lena H. Hood became the third Mrs. James in the year 1876. Two children were born to this union: James A. and Minnie M. Mr. and Mrs. James are both members of the Baptist Church. He belongs to the A. F. & A. M., and is one of the most liberal men in the county in matters that pertain to general improvement. He is uppermost in donating to churches and schools, and has been counted one of the Baptist flock for the past forty years, his wife having belonged for twelve years. His political faith is Democracy. At the commencement of hostilities in 1861, Mr. James joined the Confederate army, enlisting as a private in Company C, Third Arkansas Cavalry, and served for four years on the east side of the Mississippi River. Three years of this time he never heard from his wife and babes. He participated in quite a number of battles: Iuka and Corinth, Miss.; Atlanta and Dalton, Ga.; Chickamauga, Knoxville, Pigeon River and Thompson Station, Tenn.; and Savannah, Ga. In 1865 he came home in company with Col. Henderson on a recruiting tour. During his stay at home the war closed, and Mr. James was paroled at Little Rock. He found his wife at the close of the war in destitute circumstances. His present possessions he has accumulated since then by hard work and good management.