Francis Marion & Daniel Ephriam James Select Their Guardian
In August of 1860, Francis Marion James Sr. and his brother Daniel Ephriam James entered open court at Boyle County Courthouse in Kentucky, to either declare their father Joseph McAlsiter James as their guardian or to declare themselves as independent of their family. They chose to remain with their father.
The boys’ mother, Elizabeth Vardeman James had died sometime about 1846, a year after D. E. was born. She probably died giving birth to a stillborn child. Their father promptly remarried in October of that year to Margaret Wood. By the time Marion and D. E. appeared in court, the boys had five additional siblings, Thomas William, Mary Ellen, Martha Jane, George Thomas, and John Robert James who would become a respected Baptist minister.
TEXT
Francis M. James, a minor over 14 years of age…into open Court and made choice of Joseph McJames, Guardian, which is certified by the appointment of…Guardian aforesaid by the Court. And said Joseph McJames…pon took the required oath and together with Thomas Barbee…surety entered in and acknowledged a bond to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, conditioned according to law which…proved by the Court.
Daniel E. (Ephriam) James, a minor over the age of 14 years this day…into open Court, and made choice of Joseph McJames, Guardian, which is ratified by the appointment of…James as Guardian aforesaid by the Court. And said Joseph McJames thereupon took the required oath and together with Thomas Barbee his surety, entered into and acknowledged a bond to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, conditions according to law, which is approved by the Court.
THE FIRST IMMIGRANT TO AMERICA OF OUR JAMES FAMILY . . .
Stray Leaves, our website below, now reaches back into the 17th century to bring you the story of our first immigrant, John James, in narrative form.
John’s story comes to us through original documents and seasoned source citations, which are also provided.
What John James Tells Us • He arrived at Jamestown. • He transported 10 indentured people. • He was rewarded with a land patent. • The location of his land can be visited today. • He and his neighbors comprised the important founding families of Virginia. • The location of origination of the James in the Old World, as Jesse James family historians say is Pembrokeshire, Wales is disputed and unproven. • The name identity of John’s wife as formerly stated by traditional genealogists is disproved. • John James arrived as an oligarch and royalist with no pretensions to democracy or self-rule. • Early James family wealth was accrued in the tobacco culture and by land speculation. • John and his family were followers of the Church of England. • His children and grandchildren remained savvy and street-wise, relating well with common people. • Generations beyond the grandchildren of John James produced significant diversity in America’s people and culture.
The first foothold of the James family in the New World was secured by John James, the Immigrant. John was born about 1623. Sometime before 1690, he died.
Delma E. Watkins Candido has passed. Del is a granddaughter of Mack Henry James & Dorinda Phelps. She also is a 2nd great-granddaughter of the "talented, but erratic" Rev. Joseph Martin James & Permellia Estepp. … See MoreSee Less
Del E. Candido, daughter of the late Leonard A. and Ada James Watkins, was born at Dykes, KY on November 29th, 1937 and she departed this life on Thursday, May 5th, 2022 in Somerset, KY having attaine…