Biography of Hon. P. H. James of Highland Township

Hon. P. H. James, born July 4, 1842, in Pike County, Ohio, was a Civil War veteran and pioneer of Highland township, Gage County, Nebraska. Son of Samuel and Catherine James, he enlisted in the 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in 1861, serving until 1865. In 1871, he moved to Nebraska, initially settling in Johnson County before establishing a 320-acre homestead in Gage County. An influential farmer and Republican, he served as postmaster and state legislator. Married to Catherine Keppler in 1866, they had six children. James passed away leaving a legacy of public service and community development.


Hon. P. H. James, a prominent agriculturist of Highland township, Gage County, Nebraska, is numbered among the veterans of the Civil War and is a worthy representative of the early pioneers of this region. He was born in Pike County, Ohio, on the 4th of July, 1842, a son of Samuel James, also a native of the Buckeye State, and the latter’s father was born in Virginia, where the family were early represented and its members took part in the early wars of the country. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Catherine Taylor, and was a descendant of Wolfenbarger, a Revolutionary soldier. Ten children were born to Samuel and Catherine James, six sons and four daughters, and three of the sons served as soldiers in the Civil War—Marion, P. H., and Gilbert, all members of Ohio regiments. Mr. Samuel James was called from this earth at the early age of forty-six years, and the mother survived until her seventy-fifth year, both passing away in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they were worthy and consistent members, and the father was a lifelong farmer.

P. H. James was reared and educated in the public schools of his native state, and on the 13th of July, 1861, before reaching his twentieth year, he offered his services to the Union cause, enlisting in Company I, Twenty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain W. C. Appier and Colonel E. P. Fife, having been the first to enlist from Marion township, and remained in service longer than any other man in that township. For a time he was stationed in West Virginia, under Generals Cox and Rosecrans. Later he was in the forced march under General Buell to Shiloh. Thence to Corinth, then Iuka and returned to Kentucky and participated in the campaigns of that state; was in battles of Stone River, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge and shortly afterward returned home on a furlough. Mr. James then took part in the Atlanta campaign, under Generals Sherman and Thomas, and later under General Thomas returned to fight General Hood’s forces at Franklin and Nashville, during which time he had charge of his company. From Nashville they were ordered to Texas, via Louisiana and the Gulf, and there he was honorably discharged from the service as a non-commissioned officer, October 14, 1865. Out of the twelve men who left Marion township to fight for their country only two returned, Mr. James and Samuel Umphreys. Though only nineteen years old at the time of his enlistment, Mr. James performed his arduous tasks with the steadiness and discretion of a man twice his age, and his military record is one of which he has every reason to be proud. He draws a meager pension of six dollars per month.

In 1871 Mr. James left his Ohio home and with team and wagon set out for the then new country of Nebraska, being accompanied on the journey by his wife and two children, and twenty-eight days were spent on the road. On arriving here they located first in Johnson County, but in 1872 came to Gage County and secured his present homestead in Highland township. His valuable homestead now consists of three hundred and twenty acres of as good land as can be found in the entire commonwealth, all of which he has placed under a fine state of cultivation and has erected all the commodious buildings which now adorn the place. He is devoting his efforts to general farming and stock-raising, and in both occupations is meeting with a well-merited degree of success. He is also well known as a public-spirited citizen and as an active worker in the ranks of the Republican Party. For a number of years he held the office of postmaster, and was also the representative of his district in the state legislature in 1892, in which he served with honor and credit.

In Pike County, Ohio, in 1866, Mr. James was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Keppler, who was born, reared, and educated in Pike County, a daughter of Conrad and Christena (Eherman) Keppler, both of whom died in Ohio. They were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. James have had six children, namely: David R., a resident of Beatrice, Nebraska; Alice Clare, of Lancaster, this state; Addie Clough, who makes her home in Gage County; Cora Randall, also of Beatrice; and Nelly, at home and a talented musician. A sad event in the life of Mr. and Mrs. James was the death of their son Morton who passed away when only sixteen years of age. He was an unusually bright boy and had served as a page in the state house and as messenger boy to Governor Thomas Majors. Mr. and Mrs. James are numbered among the best-known citizens of this community, where their friends are legion.


Source: Lewis Publishing Company, A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904.

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