Biography - P James
P. T. JAMES, physician, was born in Franklin County, Va., January 5, 1828, and passed his youth in the village of Rocky Mount and vicinity; was educated at Emery and Henry College, in Washington County, Va., from which he graduated in 1846, when he began the study of medicine, reading a preliminary course with Dr. William L. T. HOPKINS, of his native place; entered the Medical Department of the University of Virginia in 1848, and graduated from that institution in March, 1850. He began practice at Elamsville, Va., but only remained a short time, when he returned to his native county. In 1855, he went to Missouri and practiced until the war broke out, when he entered the First Missouri Cavalry Regiment, under Col. William BROWN, afterward becoming Regimental Surgeon of the First, and then Acting Division Surgeon under Gen. Sterling PRICE, serving until the latter part of 1863, when he was captured by Missouri Federals, held two months, and finally released on bond. Sectional feeling becoming so bitter at that time, and the Doctor feeling that his property was in jeopardy, he removed to Illinois in 1864 and located at Litchfield, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession, with good success. In addition to his previous preparation for the intelligent and thorough understanding of his profession, the Doctor attended a regular course of lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, from which he received the degree of M. D.; he also received the degree ad eundem from the Missouri Medical College. In December, 1850, he married Miss Emily R.WOODS, of Franklin County, Va., a relative of Gen. Jubal EARLY. His paternal ancestor was Welsh, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth THOMPSON, was of English parentage, both of whose families settled in the Old Dominion before the Revolution, the Jameses being amongst the first colonists at Jamestown; he has seven children living. The Doctor received the nomination for Coroner of Montgomery County at the hands of the Democratic convention in June, 1882.
Extracted 19 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1882 History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, Part 2 Biographical Department, pages 150-151.
