Career
His family removed to Niagara County, New York, when James was still an infant. He attende Western Reserve College in 1836. Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1844, and practiced in Watertown.
He was one of the secretaries (with Henry West Strong and Francis Seger) of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1846.
He was District Attorney of Jefferson County from 1851 to 1853.