Cyrenius Waite James (1831-1911) has been honored by the American Ex-Prisoners of War, Fort Worth Chapter. A nice memorial page has been mounted by the Thurmond Fairview Cemetery Association regarding the event.
Cyrenius was wounded, captured, and confined at Resaca, Georgia, until 1865. He was serving in Company B of the 79th Regiment of Illinois (Union) Infantry. While a POW, one night he dreamed of his daughter, choking on a piece of corn. His daughter had died that same night. Up to the day he died, Cyrenius made continual claims for pension increases, claiming his hemorrhoids were a condition of his service in the war.
Years later, yours truly still is quoted on my challenge to chopper celebrity Jesse Gregory James, aka Jesse James. I’m still waiting for his DNA profile. … See MoreSee Less
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.