John A James
b. between January and July 1830, Montgomery County, Indiana, to William and Elizabeth (Turnham) James
d. 1870, Van Zandt County, Texas
m. 12 August 1852, Van Zandt County, Texas
Nancy Ann Bundy
b. to James T and Rebecca C. (Williford) Bundy
Children with Nancy Ann Bundy:
- Nancy Ann
- John Franklin
- Julia F.
- Mary Magdalene
John’s parents and brother Joseph emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana. John was born in 1830 and it is believed that his mother died in childbirth. His father remarried and had two more children. He was granted a divorce in 1841 and then returned to Shelby County, Kentucky with his sons, Joseph and John, leaving the children of his second marriage with their mother in Indiana.
In 1844, Joseph and John received their portion of their Grandfather John Turnham’s estate as heirs of Elizabeth (Betsey) Turnham. The land was sold to the other heirs before Joseph and John accompanied their father to Texas after he was mustered out of the Army.
John received a Mercer Colony Headright Certificate #553 for 320 acres in Kaufman County, Texas in 1850. John enlisted on 29 Mar 1862 and was assigned to Company J, Sweet’s Regiment, 15th Texas Cavalry. The unit was captured in Arkansas in January 1863. John and other prisoners of war were transferred to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois. After three months, John was one of 600 prisoners paroled and exchanged; he was sent by train to City Point, Virginia. Although the parolees were not supposed to fight again against the Union, after a stay in a hospital in Georgia, John returned to his unit and remained until finally surrendering at Bennett’s House in Durham Station, North Carolina, on 26 April 1865.
Submitted by:
Yvonne James
Mineola TX
E-mail: yajames@cox.net