Author John Koblas with Eric JamesDonna Rose Harrell, Frank & Sharon Younger, Sr. Gemma Younger, & Judy Younger HoffstetterMarjorie Highley Best and Eric JamesTom Nall and Sharon Younger
On Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, I dropped in on the annual conference of the James-Younger Gang, gathered in Bardstown, Kentucky, where I visited with some old friends.
Here’s John Koblas, author of Faithful Unto Death, The Jesse James Northfield Raid, The Great Cole Younger & Frank James Historical Wild West Show, and Jesse James Ate Here.
Donna Rose Harrell (L) presented an excellent paper on the Columbia Bank robbery. Frank & Sharon Younger (C) never miss a meeting, though they live in Canada. New this year was Sr. Gemma Younger and Judy Younger Hofstetter (R).
Marjorie Highley Best is the daughter of Rev. Robert E. Highley, who baptized Mary Susan James, the daughter of Jesse James, in Nashville. Rev. Highley wrote the book Jesse James Though OfficiallyDead Lived on for 65 Years, in which he accounted the actions of his own family and some con artists who claimed to be Jesse James. Marjorie’s family may be related to the James, through her Poore ancestors, though it remains to be proved.
Tom Nall is a relation of Clara Nalle, the wife of John M. James. Like many among the Nall/Nalle family who have been university professors, Tom also has been a teacher for 39 years.
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.