There's a newspaper article in the Atlanta Constitution of Friday, Sep 5, 1902, pg 6, regarding the death of James, which occured on the previous day, Thursday, Sep 4, 1902, in Cartersville, Bartow Co., GA.

You can access this newspaper page on Ancestry & attach it to your tree. It mentions several facts about James' early life. Among these, it says James moved to Canton, GA in 1837, where he was a Captain in the militia for 8 years and was involved with the Removal of the Cherokee Indians from GA (the Trail of Tears).

Surviving children mentioned are:

Daughters, Mrs F M Daniel, Mrs W P Laramore, & Mrs J O Davis of TX.

Sons J A & J F Stephens of "this city", meaning Cartersville.

It also mentions that James had a nephew, J M Stephens, who was the superintendant of Western Union Telegraph in Atlanta. This would be James McConnell Stephens, son of James' brother, Uriah Stephens.

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Michael McKinney

Kennesaw, GA