William James
b. 1804, Kentucky
d. 1875, Texas
m/1. 25 September 1828, Shelby County, Kentucky
Elizabeth Turnham
b. about 1810, Kentucky
d. 1830, Indiana
m/2. 20 December 1831, Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana
Nancy (Doyel) Laswell
m/3. Between 1847-1848
Mary Scott
Children with Elizabeth Turnham:
- Joseph Minor (b. 1829)
- John A. (b. ca. 1831)
Children with Nancy (Doyel) Laswell:
- Rebecca Ann (b. 1832)
- Farmer Jefferson (b. 1838)
Children with Mary Scott:
- Sarah Eliz. (b. ca. 1848)
- Mary Ann (b. 1850)
Sometime between July 1829 and when son John was born in 1830, William and his family immigrated to Indiana. In 1831, William purchased Town Lot #48 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and was later listed as the proprietor of the Crane House hotel in Crawfordsville in the Sugar Creek Saga.
After marrying for the second time in 1831, William moved on to Texas and received a Land Grant for 320 acres in Nacogdoches County in 1839. By 1840, Nancy, his second wife, was listed in the 1840 census as living with her father and her two children by William in Brown Township, Montgomery County, Indiana. In 1845, William and Nancy sold the Town Lot #48 purchased in 1831 and were granted a divorce that same year. Nancy retained custody of her two children.
William enlisted on 9 June 1846 as a 2nd Corporal, Company G, 1st Regiment of Kentucky Cavalry and found in the Mexican War, mustering out at New Orleans on 7 June 1847. Shortly thereafter, he married for the third time and by 1850 was living in Kaufman County, Texas, with his new wife and the children of his first marriage as well as two additional children of his third marriage.
Between 1851 and 1853 the county boundaries for Kaufman and Van Zandt counties were realigned and where William and family were living was then considered to be Van Zandt County. He was later listed a County Commissioner for Van Zandt County and was initiated into Masonic Lodge #133 in Dallas County, Texas.
While two of William’s sons, Joseph and John fought for the C.S.A during the Civil War and William acted as a Conscription Agent, his son Farmer J. James fought for the Union Army. William’s estate was probated in January 1876, listing the surviving widow Mary and the six children from three marriages as heirs. He is buried in the New Hope Cemetery
Submitted by:
Yvonne James
Mineola TX
E-mail: yajames@cox.net