Born in Windham, New Hampshire, James moved away from home in 1814, one year after graduating from Dartmouth College.  He studied law Natchez, Mississippi Territory, and began working for the wealthy Minor family.  In May 1829, James, age 38, returned east and married Martha Macomb in Burlington, New Jersey.  They had three girls Isabella Ramsay (1830), Julia Stockton (1833), and Susan Bell (1835).  By 1831, the family was settled on Bayou Black raising sugarcane and cotton.  Uncle Silas Dinsmoor (1722 - 1847) wrote James about a beautiful tract of land near the Ohio River in Boone County, Kentucky, James was very interested.  There were many reasons for the move other than James’ debt and his health concerns: in Kentucky he could raise grapes and make wine, he could raise sheep and goats, and he would be very close to the growing city of Cincinnati.  Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, James would be close to his aging uncle and aunt (Silas & Mary Gordon Dinsmoor).  By 1842, James’ house in Boone County was completed and the family moved.  Corn, oats, hay, beans, and potatoes were the main crops raised on what was an 800-acre farm in 1848.  James sold grape cuttings from his vineyard and in 1860 he produced 300 gallons of wine; he also had 140 sheep and goats roaming the hills that gave James over 100 pounds of wool.  Before the Civil War, James sold off some of his land to a neighbor, leaving himself with 400 acres.  This is about the amount inherited by his daughter, Julia Dinsmore.  He died on December 21st, 1872 in the dining room of the home he designed and is buried up the hill in the Dinsmore family graveyard.

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