James’s roots are in Washington, Bullitt and Nelson Counties. He appears in Bullitt tax lists in the early 1820s and 1830s, often close to Aquilla Hoskins.182 Henson Emerson, father of James’s wife Mary Elizabeth, was in Bullitt during the from 1808 to 1818.183

He is reported to have moved to Daviess County in 1832.180 In 1840, he was living close to Isaac Baker and members of the Roberts family, whose daugher Elizabeth would marry James M’s son James E.184 In 1846, he owned 122 acres.185