Tag Archives: lee

In-Laws of Our James Know More Than Us Sometimes


Was it not for Ruby Tidwell-Johnson, few of our James family would know about the descendants of John James of Alvarado, his story, & the story of his line. Ruby is the wife of Dennis Lee Johnson, a James family descendant. For years, Ruby meticulously compiled a history of her husband’s family. Ruby not only collected the required genealogy of… (more…)

Troubled DNA of the Sam Walton, Lawrence, and James Families


David Ralph James, and his son Christopher David James, know one thing for certain about their DNA. They don’t possess the Y-chromosome DNA proven to be that of their paternal James ancestors. The problem rests with David’s great grandmother, Mary Ellen James, who was born in 1856. She also is Sam Walton’s grandmother. As most of America knows, Sam Walton… (more…)

Ruby Lee Hunt Whitney has died


Ruby Lee Hunt-Whitney has died. Distantly related to the James through her ancestry among the Ironmonger family and the royal families of England, Ruby bore the unique distinction of also being related to the family of Sheriff Wyatt Earp, and his Earp relatives in Somerset, Pulaski County, Kentucky. Ruby is more closely related to the James through her ancestry in… (more…)

HISTORIC TINTYPE of RHODA MAY-JAMES


RHODA MAY (1806-1889) is the stalwart spouse of the “talented, but erratic” Rev. Joseph Martin James (1791-1848). Rhoda withstood all transgressions, indignities, & social ostracism that her husband created with admirable Teutonic stoicism. When acute alcoholism took Joe’s life at age fifty-seven, Rhoda became a forty-two year old widow, left alone to raise nine children. For the next forty-one years… (more…)

Visiting the Second Great Grandparents of Frank & Jesse James in Cole Cemetery


  In 1754 at the age of 24, John Cole signed a lease with Hancock Lee for 150 acres of land on the north side of Horsepen Run, adjoining the plantation of John Herndon in King George County, Virginia. In 1775 and 1776, Lee’s son Willis Lee entered Virginia’s District of Kentucky and encamped at the spring named Lee’s Big… (more…)

Related Posts with Thumbnails
  • Meet Eric James - the Leaf Blower

  • Meet Eric James - the Leaf Blower

  • Welcome to LEAVES OF GAS, the official blog for the family of Frank & Jesse James & their offical web site Stray Leaves. Under the WELCOME link you will find News & a photo Gallery with biographies of James family members. The CONTENTS page will take you to our main content menu. Click JESSE JAMES for content specifically related to Frank & Jesse James. In the SURNAMES genealogy database, you can explore all the known relatives of the James family. We hope you enjoy our web site & blog. Whatever interests you, be sure to LIKE us, or SHARE the page. Thanks.