James was the second male white child born in Kentucky and his father accompanied Daniel Boone in his earliest adventures.  He came to Shawneetown in 1815 and moved to Menard County in the winter of 1826. James settled near the site of old Concord Church, purchasing the claim of William Armstrong. He was an elder of Concord Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and a "faith doctor" who supposedly could cure almost anything including snakebites with the touch of his hand. He died at Sand Ridge in 1859 and lies buried in the cemetery, on land then owned by W. Goodpasture, along with many of the other early pioneer settlers. He is mentioned a number of times in Abraham Lincoln's biography, by Carl Sandburg, as "Uncle Jimmy". He reportedly wore buckskins all of his life.