Pvt. Elias W. James, C.S.A.

Elias was the son of Thomas A. James and Polly Bonds. Thomas A. James was the son of Elias James, sr. (b. abt 1775). Family tradition states Elias was a distant cousin of Jesse and Frank James. When the Federal payroll was robbed in nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Jesse and Frank, hid out on Elias' farm in Pogo.

Elias James married Cynthia McGary Richardson, b. 4 Mar 1847, d. 18 May 1915. They settled at Pogo, just West of Pleasant Site, where they resided in a log cabin that had a "beautiful cold water spring" and a "milk house where milk was kept cool in the running water". This is at the base of the Freedom Hills, overlooking the beautiful valley. The buildings are now gone but the James cemetery is still there, hidden in the woods above where the cabin once stood.

James family history http://www.stlouistimeportal.com/james/

Elias James, born Feb. 4, 1836, enlisted in Co E, 4th Alabama "Roddey’s" Cavalry, CSA. His younger brother, Enoch, also served in this same unit. Elias was severely wounded on Dec 24th 1864, in a skirmish North of Decatur, Alabama. The day they brought him home, it was very cold, and the blood was frozen in his hair. A piece of his skull was shot out and covered with a metal plate by a surgeon. J. A. Taylor, of the same unit, was one of the men who carried Elias home from the battlefield.

He was a relative of the infamous James brothers, Frank and Jessie. The outlaw,Jessie James (http://www.thisisjessiejames.com/) was rumored to be hiding out at Elias James place at one time.

Elias and Cynthia settled at Pogo, just West of Pleasant Site,where they resided in a log cabin that had a "beautiful cold water spring" and a "milk house where milk was kept cool in the running water". This is at the base of the Freedom Hills overlooking the beautiful valley.

The buildings are now gone but the James cemetery is still there, hidden in the woods above where the cabin once stood. The cabin is the backdrop for the family photograph.

The Petree Family now owns the farm. The cabin sat on Hwy 11 and intersection Hwy 90.

Picture and info from 'Average and infamous"...Remembering the Shoals. (rememberingtheshoals.wordpress.com.