Samuel James

GEDCOM Note

The following have been circulated on the internet and in other docume nts have many factual errors. The corrections are in [ ]. This is a genealogical account of taking 2 + 2 and getting 10- ld] The James Family By Frederick James History of Floyd County, Kentucky 1800 - 1992 pages 260 - 261 "The branches of an 11 generation tree in America still grow and continues to flourish in Floyd County, Kentucky. The seed was planted in 1711 when John and Elizabeth James and family arrived from the parish of Riddellyn, Pembrokeshire, South Wales, to Bucks County, PA. They settled in what was then Montgomery Twp. (now Montgomery County), Philadelphia County, PA.[THIS IS WRONG These James' did have grandson Samuel who moved to North Carolina 1785 but he was born in 1760 and died in 1848 in Rowan County, North Carolina twelve years after my Samuel James died in Floyd County, Kentucky.] The James family remained there until Samuel James born 1767 [according to census records my Samuel James was born about 1774], four generations later, in 1785, one year after the Revolutionary War, started the migration west. At 18 years old and with a new bride, he left for North Carolina [In the children's 1880 and 1900 census records the major ity place his birth state as Massachusetts, not Pennsylvania including Pernina who was liviing with her Mother Peninah. Sarah Charles his wife was born in North Carolina not Pennsylvania and we don't know when Samuel move to North Carolina]. Samuel remained there in the Yadkin Valley for 25 years [He probably moved there as a child.] He then moved onto the sweet waters of John' s Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky in 1810 [He moved from Ashe County, North Carolina in 1810 which is not close to the Yadkin Valley. The Blue Ridge Mountains are between the two.] He came there as builder and always tried to make it a better place in which to live. [We don't k now how long Samuel lived in North Carolina. I am now more convinced he lived and met Sarah Charles in Orange County to the east of the Yadkin Valley and may never have lived in the Yadkin Valley. I think the genealogist saw there was a Samuel James in Rowan and Surry Counties and this is where John Dean lived so they wrongly assumed this was my Samuel James. On my last trip I held onto the assumption that Samuel James was from Surry County and the Yadkin Valley but the longer I think about the data I collected I don't think this is correct.] Samuel was commissioned to lay out the first road from the mouth of Brushy Creek to the Ball Alley curve in Prestonsburg. Samuel had three wives and 15 children. [He had two wives and 16 children.] I. Married 1785 to Elizabeth Cornell. [THIS IS WRONG! The other Samuel James from Rowan County married Elizabeth Cornell. "Samuel, born 1760, died 1848, married Elizabeth CORNELL and removed to North Carolina in 1785." Also Elizabeth didn't die until 1848. Why would she have left her children and ,moved to Floyd County?] They had three children: Elizabeth, born 1795 [according to census records she was born in about 1805], married James Justice March 24 , 1822; John, born 1798, married Milly Vaughan Jan. 16, 1817; Isaac, born 1799, [according to census records he was born abt. 1803] married Margaret Giddens Aug. 10, 1820. II. Sarah Charles, born 1779, died 1810, married 1802 [they were probably married around 1798]. Their children were: Abner, born 1804, married Margaret Campbell April 24, 1823 [Abner had five wives]; David born 1806, married Vina ? [Daniel was born in 1806. David was the son of Samuel and his second wife Peninah and he married Lovina Chapman], date unknown; Celia born 1808, married Robinson Brown Jan 1, 1829. III. Perninah [Peninah] Dean, born 1794, married June 30, 1811. Their children were: Miranda [Maranda], born 1814 [1811] married Hugh Harkins; Perninah [Pernina], born 1816 [1834], married John W. Smith; Sarah (Sally), born 1817, married William McCoy Dec. 23, 1836; Rachel, born 1819, married Ira Russell [William Ratliff], Dec. 26, 1844 [Sept 6 , 1840] [Tamsey born 1824 married Ira Russell on Dec. 26, 1844]; Samuel, born 1827 [1831], married Minerva?, Mahala, born 1829, married John Priest, Feb 27, 1848.[Left out is Hannah born 1815 who married Joseph Indicutt and John Copley, Malinda born 1822 married John Roop, and David born 1827 married Lovina Chapman]. All of these represented the family with distinction. One of Samuel' s sons, Abner when he was 56 [58] years old went with his son William Campbell James to fight on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil Wa r. THIS IS WRONG On September 12, 1862 Abner joined Company C, 39th Kentucky Mounted Inf. Reg of the Union Army. He lied about his age. His son William Campbell joined Company D and was killed fighting for the North.] [The Abner James in North Carolina fought for the South.] Abner James had four [five] wives and eight [ten] children. I. Married April 24, 1823 to Margaret Campbell, born 1804 in Virginia . Their children were: William Campbell, born 1830, married Disa Ann Fraley April 21, 1849; George, born ?, died young; Susannah (Susie) born 1836; Rachel, born 1842, married ? Mutters. [Missing Nancy Jane who married Elisha Howard]. II. Married July 12, 1854 [December 7, 1854] to Elizabeth McVeigh, no children. He divorced her. III. Married Jan. 24, 1856 to Millie Young, born 1822. Their children were: Charlette, born ?? Sarah, born 1859, married William Mills; John P.M., born and George D. (twins), born 1856. IV. Married 1888 to Eliza Gray, born 1834, no children. [V. Married Martha Rife July 13, 1885, Daniel - she got the widows pension.] Abner died 1889 [1885 according to his pension papers]. William Campbell James, son of Abner married April 21, 1849 to Disa Ann Fraley, born 1834. They had eight children in their family. Susannh (Susan), born 1853, married John H. Blackburn; Thomas Jefferson, born 1854, married Candis Maynard [married Nancy Jackson, Mary Boyd and Angelina Fields Robinson]; [John Wesley James, born 1855, married Candis Maynard] Daniel Webster, born 1857, married Sarah Maynard; Margare t E. born 1862 [Nov. 1862], married Allen H. Blackburn on Sept. 29, 18 81; William Harrison (Bud), born 1864, married Loulie Scott; Abraham Lincoln (Womp), born 1868, married Emma Spears on May 3, 1892; Victori a Bell, born 1871, married Fleming Maynard on May 12, 1892. These continued to represent the James family that came to America from Wales. Submitted by Frederick James.

• **************************************** Next is a series of articles done by June Johnson for the Appalachia Expressed in three parts. I don't know what year these were done. Again the factual corrections are done in [ ]. The first James, Charles and Dean families in Pike Appalachia Expressed by June Johnson Part I The following story is about the entry into Pike County in 1809 of Sam uel James, his first wife, Sarah Charles James, and her brother, William Charles (they all came together) [Sarah Charles only had one brother George.], as well as about the entry in 1807 of Samuel's second wife, Pernina [Peninah] Dean James, and her father, John Dean [the first John Dean shows up in Floyd County Court records is 1809]. The historical account is based on old documents, scripts, handwritten notes and sources of evidence folded into a file on the above families. I added conversation and details to the facts to revitalize them, but complete credit goes to the late Henry "Buck" Scalf for gathering them. This file was passed down to Scalf's son, Albert Devon Scalf, who kept it safe these years. Devon's mother, Norah James Scalf, was a direct descendant of the James and Charles family.

Samuel (1774-1836) [from census records his birth is between 1770 - 1775 so 1774 is feasible] and Sarah Charles James left North Carolina headed for Johns Creek, Ky., in 1809 [1810, they are in both the Ashe County, NC (January) and Floyd County, KY (summer) census for 1810 so th ey moved in the spring of 1810]. They had a slow-moving ox-drawn wago n loaded with pioneer tools and the necessities of life for settling a virgin and isolated land. In their wagon or walking by the team were their six children, John, Isaac, Abner (named after an uncle) [this is conjecture - the Abner James in Orange County, North Carolina is not related (DNA test)] , Daniel, Celia, Mary, and Samuel's mother, Mary James [this is pure conjecture]. A second ox-drawn wagon carried the family of young William Charles II , brother of Sarah, and his wife and child [Sarah didn't have a brother named William and her brother George was in the Russell County, Virginia 1810 census]. The path was barely wide enough for a wagon. Samuel, in front of the oxen, clearing the trail, noticed that his wife was giving instructions to the children to watch for the stones and sharp sticks on the primitive trail. Their feet were sore and bruised even though shoes were inspected and repaired frequently. Samuel bent over to cut the tangled brush. His sharp knife would doube at dinner for cutting up the game. Ever alert, he looked and listened frequently for any sign of wildcats, snakes, bears, or even Indians. His gun was handy in case he spotted a small animal they could have for dinner When he could, he also scanned the sky for wild geese and ducks. When Samuel stopped to take a drink of water from his flask, he though t of the past. He had been born in Massachusetts [this is correct] in 1774 [1770-1775 ], but when he was a year old, the "embittered farmers" at Lexington opened the Revolutionary War. His family decided to pack up and leave his mother's beloved state and go to North Carolina. Members of his family had been soldiers in that war. When he was a man, living in North Carolina, Samuel had gone on a hunting trip to Tennessee. There he met the proper young Quaker girl, Sara h (born Feb. 14, 1779) and her mother, Leah Charles. Sarah was the daughter of William Charles I, who had recently died. That Quaker man had learned the trade of cabinet maker as he grew up with family and neghbors in Rhode Island. [THIS IS NOT TRUE Sarah Charles was not a Quaker or the daughter of William Charles I. She was the daughter of Hans Michael and Catherine Carle (Charles) and was born in North Carolina - probably Orange or Rowan Counties. Hans Michael Charles immigrated from Germany.] A thriving community existed back in Rhode Island with schools and stores. What caused Sarah's father and family to leave the comfortable area, Samuel did not know. He knew that he had come down to Perquimans County, N.C. He and his family lived there awhile before moving on to G ilford County. William I became a large landowner. He organized a flourishing busines s with his craftsmanship on the Deep River near Jamestown, N.C. It wa s a great loss to the family when he died in 1796. Sarah and her mother were visiting relatives in Tennessee when Samuel came to visit. He remembered the first time he ever saw her. Her manne rs were smooth, and she spoke in the proper Northern accent [she was born in North Carolina] that Samuel knew from his mother; except that Sarah said "thee" and "thou" as her religion required. He was not prepared for her humble, non-complaining Quaker ways, and he instantaneously fell in love with her. When Samuel asked for Sarah's hand from the mother and the church, there was some delay in the answer. First of all, he was not of their faith, and this particular sect always frowned upon marriage outside thei r religion. Sarah was older than most unmarried girls. Being away from Rhode Island roots, often it was difficult to find a suitable, similar mate for a Quaker. Therefore all points had to considered when deliberation ensued to gain the approval of her church to marry. The group would never allow him to see her without being chaperoned. While their was always someone to hear their conversations, he was allowed to work along with her at outside chores. Quakers did not party. Sarah was 22 years of when Samuel was allowed to marry her in 1801. Samuel was 27.[They were probably married in 1796 or 1797 before John wa s born.] They set up housekeeping in North Carolina. Stories of Eastern Kentuck y filtered back to them in Ashe County from friends and neighbors who had become restless and explore and settled there. One was the John Dean family who had moved to Johns Creek. They told of vast lands availa ble for homesteading; some with flat fields. They wanted neighbors tha t they knew and trusted. Who would be more trusted than a strict Quaker-influenced family? [THIS IS NOT TRUE Before 1810 John Dean lived in Surry County and Samuel James lived in Ashe County on the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains - a long ways away. There is also no proof Samuel James ever lived in Surry County by John Dean.] Samuel and Sarah talked of going to Johns Creek. What would it be like to go into a completely untamed wilderness. Sarah was not that strong, although she patiently did more chores than the others. Quaker women. Stern requirements at the Quaker parents' knee trained patience, devotion, punctuality and performance. One evening she looked up at him sleepily from her crisp, starched pillow at bedtime and said, "It would be a shame to miss out on the homestead land in Eastern Kentucky. Thou knowest we should go. Let us prepare the children carefully. We must take books, the maps and measuring stick ... and oh, now we must not forget ..." They were interrupted by loud thumps. Tired, she murmured, "Dear, Abner and Isaac are wrestling again in the back bedroom, would'st thou stop them." When Samuel came back after quieting the children, she was asleep. Her face was pale, today. He thought she looked like an angel. He tiptoed around her and went to bed. Now on the trail, replacing his water flask on his belt, Samuel gave the command to the oxen to start again. They grunted with the heavy load. Resuming his position in front to clear hazardous objects, he compared this hazardous path to the ones where he had grown up back in North Carolina. They had been well-worn by those who used the Carolinas as road to other places. This one took strenuous work to get through, and there were few homes and practically no trading posts along the way . Looking back to check the family he thought again of how invaluable his sweet wife was. How strict her training had been. She was trying to rear the children in the ways the sect required. Personally, he thought was a losing battle. He smiled. In the wilderness there were few rules besides work and existence; you were mainly on your own. There was jeopardy, however, in too little training. The children had to be alert to awaiting dangers, and properly taught to deal with them. Hastening his step, Samuel looked back again and exchanged a brief look with his wife. It occurred to him that she was more than tired. "Are you all right Sarah?" he called. She did not answer, but gave him a weak smile. Today her face was flushed. He was worried. The next day Sarah's face was not just flushed, she was too ill with a fever to walk. Shivering quietly in the wagon, she clutched a quilt she painstakingly had stitched in straight, perfect needlework. It was a pattern that she had learned at her mother's knee. Now she could only stare at it. It was too difficult for Sarah to rest while traveling on the rocky road; and the oxen were not known for smooth walking, anyway. Samuel decided to stay at the campsite by the trail for a few days, waiting for her condition to improve. "How much farther is it to Johns Creek, Samuel?" Sarah weakly asked her husband. He dropped his head. He couldn't lie. "We are about halfway ." No one really knew what was wrong with Sarah. Her condition worsened the next day and the next. It was 100 miles to a doctor. Only the herbal medicines were available for treatment. They had been carefully collected, cured and made into salves and potions; some dried for tea. They had to last until others could be gathered. Yet Sarah was not responding well to anything they could give her. Would tomorrow be better? Samuel eyed the sky for clouds. He hoped it would not rain while they were stopped. There was no protection for them in the rains, except for them all to gather in the two wagons or sit under a tree, hardly dry , and wait for it to be over. Part II While Samuel and Sarah Charles James, their six children, his mother Mary, and Sarah's brother William Charles II's [Sarah did not have a brother William and we don't know if Samuel's Mother traveled with them ] family traveled together in ox-drawn covered wagons over the basic Indian trails on the way to Johns Creek in 1810, Sarah's frail condition grew even more serious. Mary and Samuel treated her regularly and devotedly with carefully dried herbs they carried in the trunk. Nothing seemed to help. The next morning, Sarah no longer responded to their voices. She died by the side of the road with her children gathered around her , choking back their sobs. The little lonely group knew that they had to go on. They soon gathered their gear, and continued their trip. Later in life no one could agree on exactly where that spot was located. When Samuel arrived at the mouth of Brushy Creek, he faced alone the task of building a cabin, clearing the fields, tending a crop and rearing his six children. Thank God his mother came along; though Mary was growing old. [There is no proof his Mother went with them.] One of the reasons the James and Charles families had come to the Johns Creek area was due to the stories of Mr. John Dean, who had preceded them. [George Charles didn't move to Pike County, Kentucky until bet ween 1820 and 1830,] Samuel had often repeated the stories Dean had re layed. [There is no proof Samuel James knew John Dean in Surry County , North Carolina]. Now they would be neighbors. John Dean was born in Halifax County, Va. He was a Revolutionary War soldier of the Continental line from North Carolina, having enlisted July 20, 1778; serving nine months. John (1757-1846) and his eldest daughter, Pernina [Peninah] "Viney" (1791-94 -1880-83), [1794 - 1884-1886 ] came by themselves to Johns Creek at first. They journeyed on horse back through the wilderness somewhere between 1805 and 1808, before the Jameses arrived. Records show that Pernina was 14 years old. [She was 14 in 1808]. They settled near the present post office at McCombs, Pike County. (The farm of T. B. Blackburn estate is a part of the old Dean farm.) The initial trip and dangers seemed to be too rough and stark to bring th e rest of the family at first. Working together, John and Viney cut the trees and lifted the logs to build a cabin. At last it was finished; sturdy enough to keep out the bears and other wild animals. John knew he had to make the trip back to North Carolina to get the rest of the family and guide them back to the homestead. [He probably would have taken the trail through Virginia to Surry County , no where near Ashe County, North Carolina where Samuel James lived.] He and Viney talked of the trip. It was a terribly long and hot trip to make to turn around and come back. Then, too, should they abandon the cabin? Homesteaders had to prove occupancy. Also it was known th at wandering settlers often burglarized unoccupied cabins. At any rate, it was decided that Viney would stay alone in the cabin while he was gone, even though there were no neighbors on whom who could call in an emergency. The Jameses would not arrive for a couple of years. To construct a safe sleeping place, a framework was swung to the cabin rafters. Food to last the duration of his absence was stored in the swinging haven. It was not that long since Jenny Wiley had been captured by the Indians, back in 1789, but their cabin had been on a main Indian trail. This one was not; and besides, more people had come in now, and the red-man situation was more controlled. In case of wandering savages, however, the door could be tightly secured, and she had firearms for an emergency. She thought, "They act like madmen. You can't reason with them. I know they are agitated about losing their land, but they never had a bath or a haircut, and they have been taught no manners, etiquette or work habits; not to mention lessons in books." Her father taught her how to manage, and they practiced a few sessions . Unabashed, she assured her father, "1 will be all right. You go on, and try to be back before long. I promise I won't' go swimming or wandering around alone." Now that he was gone everything seemed different. That night she climbed in the makeshift bed and lay there with her eyes wide open staring into the darkness. The food was placed beside her, safe from prowling animals. She had to fortify herself with many prayers. Her mother had long ago assured her that she was protected by the Lord. It was hard not to be scared. She kept her gun by her hand at all times. She later told her descendants over and over again, "It was terrible being there at night alone in the swinging bed. The wild beasts would scream, and sniff around the house. I would cry from loneliness and fear. I had to be brave. I knew my parents would come as soon as they possibly could." When John Dean arrived back home in Surry County, his wife Hannah "Polly" Marshall Dean, said, "Where, is my Pernina?" Her eyes were wide with fear and accusation. John replied, "I left her in a cabin on Johns Creek, but I built a swinging bed and the cabin is very strong. You don't have to worry. She will be all right." The mother was not known for taking things lightly. She stamped her foot. "You surely didn't do such a thing. How could you possibly leave a 14 year-old alone? Oh my God. I, can't believe you would do this. Did you leave enough to eat for her? Anything could happen to her. What if she fell? What if Indians came by?" She began to cry. Wailing and advising everyone, Polly's lashing tongue drove the famil y to make hasty preparations for the trip. They left hurriedly, and also left behind many things they should hav e brought as necessary to their convenience in the Johns Creek cabin. Mrs. Dean, in her concern, wouldn't take time to pack. Only arrival at the cabin and finding Pernina safe alleviated the anger and fear. Dean running the last few steps, she clutched her daughte r's breast. "I never expected to see you alive" she told her. All eyes were on Viney. "I was all right. Nothing at all happened. I watched carefully when I got water from the creek. I washed in the cab in. I missed you, but I am all right" Around the bend from the family, a couple of years later, Samuel James was tired of being a widower. Of course, no one could replace Sarah, but already they understood the need for help and more farmhands. He must have a wife. He found one with the friendly and active young Pernina Dean, whose bravery was an inspiration. They were married June 30, 1810. [a copy of their marriage license is for July 30, 1811] This couple would be the progenitors of too many present progeny in Pike County to count. Samuel and Pernina raised in addition to rearing Sarah's six children, 10 children of their own: Miranda (reported to be one of the most beautiful women ever in early Floyd (Pike) County), Harkins, Malinda Roop, Mahala Priest, Pernina Smith, Sally McCoy, Rachael Ratliff, Tammy [Tamsey] Russell, and Hannah Endicott Copley. [plus Samuel Jr. and David] Tract after tract of the primitive wilderness of Johns Creek and on th e headwaters of the tributary streams of Tug Fork passed through their hands and the hands of their sons. Samuel built a watermill at the mouth of Brushy Creek, and did custom grinding for his settler friends. The McCoys, Roops, Fraleys, and others came to the primitive mill. Descendants reported that perhaps Samuel James had a premonition of hi s death, or perhaps he was ill already when he asked his wife Pernina [Peninah], "Would you rather have the mill as a gift or the sum of $500 I have saved?" Pernina answered, "I would rather have the mill." Samuel was 62 years old when, in a flood, the bed of the stream pushed against the north side of Johns Creek. Somehow, Samuel drowned in 1836. He was buried on the sloping hill near where he met his death. After her husband's death, Pernina and her stalwart sons operated the mill "That mill raised my children, several grandchildren, and great-grandchildren" Pernina James told a Mrs. Honker, who recorded her words for posterity. Pernina continued to live on the homestead until her death in 1880 [1884 - 1886], and was buried at the mouth of Brushy. Some of the James children moved to Missouri and other states. Frank and Jesse James were a part of that family. [THIS IS PURE FABRICATION . Jesse James' family was from Virginia and had no connection to Massachusetts Jameses or the Bucks County, Pennsylvania James] Part III [THIS IS NOT TRUE] I had no idea when I started to research the James family that I woul d run into the infamous bank robbers Jesse and Frank James! Indeed, the law-abiding family background is one that should have produced top-drawer professionals, since Robert, their father, was a Baptist minister and later their stepfather was a doctor. Their mother Zerelda was from the gifted Lindsey family in central Kentucky. According to Frederick A. James of Prestonsburg, while Zerelda was training with the Catholic Church to become a nun, and Robert was training at Georgetown College to become a minister, he convinced her to marr y him. Moving to Missouri, Robert founded the Baptist churches at New Hope and at Providence, Mo. Lee Stewart of The Rowan County Times said. "He was seen to go into the water and baptize 60 converts at one time!" H is four-year-old son Jesse James was held in his mother's arms to see the ceremony. In eight years of preaching Robert only received at total of $100. He supported his family by farming. In 1851, the Rev. James heard of gold in California, and decided to go search for it. Jesse clung to his father. "Please don't go, Daddy, " he sobbed. Robert patted Jesse on the head and replied, "I need to go and find mo ney for your education, son." Besides Jesse, other children were Franklin; Robert E., born 1845; Susan, born 1849.

Robert never came back. He lived 18 days after arriving in California . It was a severe loss to the family. Just what was the connection between Robert and the Pike County Jameses? Henry Scalf provided the answer. North Carolina courthouses mention Samuel James (about whom we wrote last week) and his brother (some say cousin) Abner James, a North Carolina Revolutionary soldier, [DNA proves there is no relationship between Samuel and the North Carolina Abner James - they were only neighbors] and other Jameses who came to our area. [The Jameses and their friends and relatives were all in the Union Army in the Civil War. In fact, Abner lied about his age and joined the Union Army when he was 58. His oldest son Willia m Campbell died fighting for the North. Jesse James hated Union solidier and killed them when he got a chance. He was a staunch Confederate] "Mrs. Miranda McCoy, who well knew her cousin Jesse James, says that this first Abner had a son Isaac, who apparently was the father of Robert and the grandfather of Jesse (1847 - 1882) and Frank James (1843 - 1915)." [As I said, there was no connection between the Buck County, P ennsylvania Jameses or the North Caroline James and the Virginia James.} Norah James Scalf, wife of Henry Scalf, was descended from Samuel, who named a son after the first Abner who was the great-grandfather of Norah. [DNA has proved no relationship] Henry noted, "This tie may have made Abner James II, Norah's ancestor , and the grandfather of Jesse and Frank first cousins, which after al l, is a dubious honor in consanguinity." [THIS IS FALSE] A letter from J. W. Giddens of Plainview, Texas, dated 1974, stated, " My third-great-grandfather Reuben Giddens, who settled in Pike County on Johns Creek, had a daughter Margaret. I found a record of her marriage bond in 1818 to Isaac James" [This Isaac was Samuel's son.] Just what psychology caused the astonishingly good turned bad is not known. We do know, according to Frederick A. James, that after Zerelda was beaten by railroad detectives and her hand was cut off, the boys concentrated a lot more on robbing trains. Virgil Carrington Jones, in his book The Hatfields and McCoys, neatly describes the Jameses heist of the bank in Huntington, W.Va., in 1875 . Despite the crackerjack way Jones polishes the story which in places , I found a little hard to swallow, the awkward truth was that the James boys clearly had brains, and were highly skilled. Jones also aptly describes the meeting of Devil Anse and Jesse James. The chapters are well worth your reading. (The additional bonus is to find a solid grammatical approach.) According to Lee Stewart in an article in The Rowan County Times, Zere lda also was from several prominent families. One was the Cole family . Here is a synopsis of their research. Richard Cole Sr. was born in Pennsylvania in 1729. He was a soldier i n the Revolutionary War. His wife, Anne Hubbard, was a Lindsey of the famous Lindsey family of Kentucky. Cole relocated to the land between Sodom and Midway, Ky. This was a main stagecoach road from Maysville and Lexington to Frankfort and Louisville. Cole had a large log building at Sodom, Cole's Tavern; an impor tant stop which accommodated the traveling public. It was located two miles south on the Frankfort road, known today as Nugent's Crossing. Famous people like Henry Clay and John J. Crittendon stayed there. Richard's son, Richard Cole Jr. (1763-1839), married Sally Yates, born in Pennsylvania in 1765. Richard Cole Jr. died one of the county's wealthiest men. The Coles' daughter Zerelda, in December 1841 married Robert James. This was the very spotless back ground of the infamous James brothers. Zerelda married a Dr. Reuben Samuels four years after their father died, and she had four more children. Their son, Archie Peyton, was shot to death by Pinkerton detectives when he was just nine years old. After the Huntington, W. Virginia., bank robbery, the men came through parts of Pike County. Many say they hid there with relatives for some time. Many Pike County stories have been passed down to us in both written and verbal forms. My own research reveals that Rosa Wolford of Buskirk, mother of Jimmy Wolford, singer, musician, verifies the story of how Jesse and his gang came by her grandfather's place on the run, after the robbery, and got water. He apparently shod a horse for Jesse. The well from which Jesse drank is still in existence on her property. She shows it often . The Mont Bevins progeny of Johns Creek relate another story. "Two horsemen rode up to the gate and asked if the family would prepare them so mething to eat. Bevins said yes." The two horsemen fed their horses and ate the meal. As they were getting ready to leave, one of them wrote a note and laid it on the dresser near the door. When the two men were gone, Bevins picked up the note and read, "You have always heard of the James boys. Now you have seen them!" Another one comes from Dave Coleman, reported to the Ashland Daily Independent, 1951. Coleman, who died at the age of 104, lived at the head of Harless Creek, 18 miles south of Pikeville near Marrowbone. He told colorful stories about the times he had ridden with the James gang . After the Huntington robbery, he said he wanted to quit, and did so , hiding at Regina. Scalf's research correspondingly found that according to a Mrs. Martha James Smith Myers, Jesse and his men stayed for a week at the residence of her grandfather Joseph James.[The McCoys, James and Priest were all Union soldiers and lawmen in Pike-Floyd Countiees. The thought they would put up netorious Confederate bank robbers stretches the imagination]

Additionally, W.R. McCoy, a former attorney at Inez, Ky., wrote of the McCoy connection. "Abner II's half-sister Sallie married William McC oy. Abner's father was Samuel and his mother was Sarah Charles James. Sallie's mother was the second wife, Pernina [Peninah] Dean James." W.R. said. "I am the grandson of William and Sallie. My verbal inheritance includes a story from the McCoys about Frank James. It seems tha t the wounded Frank 'holed up' with William McCoy, at Brushy Creek. Frank allegedly nursed a hip wound; hit by a lawman's gun." [This is highly unlikely. Most of the men in this area were in the Union Army. Plus William McCoy had been a Deputy Sheriff.] An article, "Mountain Kinsmen Ride," includes recollections from his aunts, Miranda McCoy and Mary Elizabeth Honaker. When Frank stayed with William to recuperate, he used the alias, John Pierce James, and walked around limping, using a cane. None of the children could later place that name in the family tree. Suddenly, one day at Willie McCoy and Sally James' home, their son Andy (Miranda's brother) blurted out, "This man who calls himself John Pierce is not John Pierce James. He is none other than Frank James who had helped rob the bank." In a burst of anger, William returned to Andy, "Hold your tongue! There is a big reward out for Frank and I don't want to see it collected by anything said in this family." What happened was that Frank, alias J.P., having been around for a week or longer, decided one Sunday he wanted a drink of mountain whiskey . He asked Miranda where he might find some of the moonshine he knew was made in the countryside. Miranda directed him to a person who lived at the foot of the Dug Poin t. Frank went down to that home and was again directed to a brother who had some whiskey in a cornfield. Frank went out in the field, stayed too long and imbibed too freely. Coming back to the road, he found a group of boys sitting on a big rock. He climbed on the stone and began to make a speech. "I'm Frank James, boys," he said loudly. "I'm hiding from the law. Now just what do you think of that?" He laughed. The boys snickered mockingly, "We've heard that high talk before." Ye t they began to understand. Suddenly realizing he might have said too much, James became silent. He staggered . . . . [I don't have the end of the article - ld] transcribed by Lucy DeYoung 2002

• ************************* Mountain Kinsman Ride continues much of the same misinformation that has been written about the Samuel James family. Taken from "MOUNTAIN KINSMEN RIDE" by Henry P Scalf "Genealogists think Abner James, the North Carolina soldier, was a first cousin of Samuel James, the Floyd county settler. [DNA proves this not to be true. There is no relationship] Be the relationship whatever it was, Samuel named one of his 16 children after him. [This is conjecture . We know from DNA testing the Abner James in North Carolina is not r elated to Samuel James.] While living in North Carolina Samuel James went on a hunting trip into Tennessee, met Sarah, Orphan daughter of William Charles, a Quaker. [Sarah Charles was not a Quaker or the daughter of William CharlesI. She was the daughter of Hans Michael and Catherine Carle (Charles) and was born in North Carolina - probably Orange or Rowan Counties. Her parents emigrated from Germany] This family had come down from Rhode Island To Perquimens County, N.C., and had lived there awhile later removing to Guilford County. William, was was a large landowner and cabinet maker on the Deep River, near Jamestown, N.C., died in 1796. [According to his will Michael Charles died in 1813] It may be that Sarah and her widowed mother, Leah Charles who lived until 1813, were visiting relatives in Tennessee when Samuel James appeared. He asked Sarah's hand from her mother and the church. The peculiar sect granting permission in its peculiar way for the marriage of one of its daughters outside the church. Sarah, born 14 Feb 1779, was thus 22 years old when she married in 1801. Samuel was 27, both marrying at a later age than was usual on the backwoods edge of the frontier states. [Sarah was not a Quaker and her father was Hans MIchael Charles.] Samuel and Sarah set up housekeeping in North Carolina, but stories of Eastern Kentucky filtered back to Ashe County from friends and neighbors who had be come restless and moved again. One was the John Dean family which had left Surrey County and came to Johns Creek. [There is no proof Samue l James knew John Dean in North Carolina.] In 1810 Samuel and Sarah left North Carolina, and with a slow moving-ox drawn wagon loaded with pioneer tools and the necessities of life in a new land, started for Johns Creek. In the wagon, or walking by the team, besides Samuels mother, Mary, were six children - John, Isaac, Abner, Daniel, Celia and Mary. A second ox drawn wagon carried the family of William Charles, brother of Sarah, which consisted of his wife and child. [There is no proof Samuel's mother was with them. In addition Sarah only had one brother George who lived in Virginia in 1810.] But for Pernina Dean, grandmother of Mrs. McCoy and Mrs. Honaker, we would have no knowledge of the events of that terrible journey. (Pernina married Samuel James as his second wife.) Sarah Charles James became ill on the road,and died in a few days. Samuel, his brother, and brother- in law William Charles [there wa s no William Charles], assisted by the dead woman's teenage sons, dug a grave and buried Sarah along the way, the place now unknown. When Samuel James arrived at the mouth of Brushy Creek he faced the task o f building a cabin, clearing the fields, tending a crop and rearing six children. He worked at it during that year, hunted a wife, married Pernina Dean, daughter of his North Carolina neighbor, who now lived higher up on Johns Creek. The date of their Floyd County marriage was June 30th 1811. Samuel James and Pernina Dean James raised, in addition to the six children by his former marriage, ten children of their own. These were Samuel, called Little Samuel, David, Daniel, Hannah, Mahala, Tamsey, Miranda, Sallie, Pernina Ann and Rachel. Samuel Sr. and his older sons Abner and Isaac interested themselves in acquiring and trading land. Tract after tract of the primitive wilderness of Johns Creek and on the headwaters of the tributary streams of the Tug Fork passed through their hands. Titles covering the Johns Creek bottoms were warranted to the grantees "against John Preston and his heirs but none other," indicating that the John Preston surveys made by John Graham cast many a shadow. Samuel built a water-mill at the mouth of Brushy Creek, and did custom grinding for his settler friends. The McCoys , Roops, Fraleys, and others came to the primitive mill. Mrs. Smith says her grandmother Pernina told her that Samuel inquired whether his wife would rather have the mill as a gift or the sum of $500.00 he had saved. Pernina took the mill.After her husbands death she and her stalwart sons operated it. "That mill raised my children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Pernina James told Mrs. Honaker. Evidently Samuel James had a premonition of an early death. Perhaps he was ill when he inquired of his wife about the disposition of the milll and money. He was 62 years old when the flood waters of Johns Creek claimed his life. Both Mrs. Honaker and Mrs. McCoy explained that the bed of the stream back a hundred years ago pushed against the north side of the creek, now near the home of Tom McCoy.It was here that Samuel James was drowned on 15 June 1836. He lies buried on the sloping hill near where he met his death. His will was probated July 15th 1868 in Floyd County."
  • ************************** Samuel James was born in MA, only had two wives Sarah Charles and Peninah Dean. He was not related to Jesse James. - ld
    • ***************** Orange County Records, Volume XI, Deed Books 6 & 7 p. 57 p. 444, 24 September 1796 George Charles of Orange to Conrod Farmer of same, eighty pounds, 150 acres on waters of Haw R. S side Noth Carolina to Jesse Phillips 9 November 1784, begin at a stake on Jacob Ball' s [" line, S 45 ch. to a post oak, W 41 ch. to a post oak, N 26 ch. to 3 white oaks on side of Dry Dr., down meanders to a black oak, N 13 ch. to a stake, E 25 ch. to first station; signed: "something in dutch "; witness: Lannad Farmer, Jacob Cable; proved February Term 1798 by L eonard Carlton "a subscribing witness", Delivd. Saml. James.
      • *************************** Minutes of the Ashe County, North Carolina Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions 1806

State of North Carolina. August term 1806. Ordered by the court that the sheriff summon Jacob Brinegar, Petter Gross, Jas. Richardson, WM. Richardson, Isaac Hitchcock, Talton Woodie, Ephm. Osborn, Thoas. [illegible], Landrine Eggers, Robert Burton, Jordan Council, John Ray, Big Christian Burkurt, Jas. Griffith, George Bowers, Lend. Bumgarner, Jno. Ellar, Capt. Gideon Lewis, Alexr. Latham, Charles Roark, Jno. Long, Wm. Tolliver, Francis Bryan, Saml. James, Jno . Connolly, Jos. Caldwell, Jno. Dickey, Joshua Cox, Mathias Poe, Stephen Baldwin as jurors to next court. and Timothy Perkins vs George Sells Case. Jury Sworn and empaneled (to wit) Henry Johnson Wm. Harris Jno. Hitchcock Jesse Tolliver Jno. Tolliver David Burkurt Jesse Ray George James Jno. Hall Thadeus Lewis Wells Blevins Jas. Plumer Jury find for plantiff the sum of L5/0 and assess damages 6.00. and Ordered by the court that the sheriff summon Samuel James, _____ Tollver, Senr., Francis Bryan, Jno. Connolly, Wm. Edwards, Robt. Baker, Jordan Council, Gideon Lewis (Capt.), Charles Roark, Thos. Calloway, ___ _ Suky, Joshua Cox, James Frissee [?], Timothy Perkins, Daniel Dougherty, Adam Walker, Mathias Carpenter, Wm. May, Christ. [illegible], Michael Porter, David Baily, James Dixon, David Smith, [name illegible] John Bronw, J. L. Perkins, Elijah Calloway, Landrine Eggers, Samuel Jones, Thomas Triplett as jurors to next court.

• ************************ State of North Carolina. February Term. A. D. 1807. At a County Court begun and held for the County of Ashe on the 9th day of February being the second Monday of sd. Month. Present: James Bunyard, Elijah Pope, Jonathan Baker, Esquires Grand Jury, balloted and sworn as follows, towit: Jno. Brown, foreman Jas. Dixon Jordan Council Morris Baker Robt. Burton Samuel James Jno. Dick Landrine Eggers Charles Roark Tim Perkins James Reslar Chas. Burkurt Jos. Caldwell Maths. Carpenter Jno. Connolly
  • **************************************** County Court Book #1 May 29th, 1810 On the motion of John Dean, ordere d that Reuben Giddins, Benjamin Pierce, John Jones and Samuel James mark road from the mouth of Brushy Fork of Johns Creek to James Hensley' s Mill.
    • ***************** June Term 1812 Samuel James appointed superintendent for opening of th e road from Ball Alley Rock to his mill to replace Ruel Preece.
      • ******************** August 1814 On the motion of James Cummings, Attorney for the Commonwealth, ordered that attachments be issued against (among a long list of names) Samuel James, to appear on the first of day September Term next, to show why they have not viewed, marked, or reported their respective road. County County Book #2
        • ***************** In a document October Court 1816 Floyd County,: "On the motion of Samuel James, his two children, John James, Isaac James, who are above the age of 14 years have in presence of the court chosen said Samuel James as their guardian in common, and on motion of said Samuel James he is by the court, appointed guardian of Abner James, Daniel James and ( sic) Ceilia James, infant children of said Samuel James by his first wife, Sarah James, late Sarah Charles, where upon he together with Elimelech Garrott his security entered into and acknowledged their bond i n the penalty of $150.00 conditional agreeable to law." Source Floyd County Document
          • ********************** January Term 1819, 18 of January 1819: On the motion of John Sireman , ordered that Samuel Allen, Jesse, Waller, Charles W. Young, and Samuel James are to mark a road around Wireman's mill. County Court Book 3 .
            • ******************* 1820 Census Males 10 - 16 - 2 - Abner, Daniel 16 - 14 - 1- John 45 & o ver - 1 - Samuel Females 0 - 10 - 3 - Miranda, Hannah, Sarah 10 - 16 - 1 - Ceclia 16 - 26 - 1 - Pernina 45 & over - 1 - ?
              • ************ June Term, Monday the 27th of June 1825: Ordered that Chritopher Mainer (Maynard), Reuben Collinsworth, Thomas Matthews, and John James to view the best way for a road from John Dean's into the road at Samuel James', and are instructed to reort at the next term of court. County Court Book 4.
                • **************** Floyd County Court September 1825 A view of road from John Deans into the road at Saml James in a direct ion to Floyd c-house is recd and John Dean, Samuel James and Thos Matthews appd and consented to the opening of the ? and it is ordered tha t John Dean is appd supt and that he call on Ayres Vaughan and Saml Bazel, Chr Mainer and their hands to open the same.
                  • ************ James, Samuel Acres: 200 Book: V Survey Date: 5-10-1826 County: Floyd WaterCourse: None Page: Township: Range: View Full Context and James, Samuel Acres: 100 Book: V Survey Date: 5- 9-1826 County: Floyd WaterCourse: Johns Cr Page: Township: Range: View Full Context and James, Samuel Acres: 50 Book: Z Survey Date: 9-10-1831 County: Floyd W aterCourse: Johns Cr Page: Township: Range: Samuel, James Acres: 10 0 Book: 82 Survey Date: 1-15-1889 County: Floyd WaterCourse: Sandy R Page: Township: Range:
                    • *********** Floyd County Court March 1828 A power of att from Saml James(sic) cheldicn to said James is certfd in open court and ordered to be recorded and certified according to law Note: is this in response to the death of Sarah Charles' father an d her part of his estate? and On mo of Isaac James ordered that Sam James, T. Stewart, T. Matthews & John Hackworth or any 3 of them view road around his farm and repor t to court accd to law.
                      • ********* Floyd County Court August 1828 A report of a road as viewed and marked from mouth of Brushy fork to James Mainors mill is recd and John Dean, Saml James and Thos Matthews consented to the same to be opened and spa awd against Christopher Mai nar and James Mainar through whose land said view passes to appear he r next court.
                        • ********* Survey Sept 10, 1831 50 acres on Johns Creek Floyd County Court July Term 1836 /s/ John Graham
                        • May 11, 1836 Floyd County, Kentucky this Indenture, made the 11th day of May 1836 between Samuel James of Floyd County and State of Kentucky, of the one part and Isaac James of hte other part.

On motion of Joshua Indicut and Pernina. The last will and testament of Samuel James was this day presented in open court and satisfactory proof having been made by three subscribing witnesses of the execution and of the mind of the said Samuel James decd being capable of making a will it is admitted to record which is ordered to be done. Wherefore came Penina James and Joshua Indicut with Abram Wireman and H.C. Harris their security and entered into bond in the sum of five hundred dollars and who thereupon took the oath prescribed by law. and It is further ordered that Abram Wireman, John Crider and William Witten after being first duly sworn take two utum? and inventory of the personal estate of said James deceased and make due return to next court .

• **************** Floyd County Court July 1845 On motion of William Ratliff who intermarried with one of the female heirs of Samuel James deceased it is ordered that Greenville Lackey, John Crider, George Passons be appointed commissioners who being, sworn, make partition of all the real estae of said Samuel James deceased but shall first allot to the widow of said deceased her dowerin said lands and they shall lay the same off by meets and bounds and make report of their proceedings notice having been given according to law.
  • ******************* Floyd County Court January 1846 An allotment of dower and division of the real estate of Samuel James deceased is produced in open court which is ordered to be received an d recorded.