James was born in Watford, Herefordshire, England, around 1768. He lost his father when less than 18 months of age. By his teens, he was associating with a gang of thieves. In August 1783, James and his accomplices, Thomas Taylor & Thomas Rust, stole a watch & chain and a seal, worth eleven shillings, from John Seymour of Watford. On 11 Dec 1783, James and Thomas Taylor stole a half guinea, a shilling and sixpence from Thomas Baldwin. Thomas Taylor stole again in January 1784. Thomas Taylor, aged 30, & Thomas Rust, aged 21, were both hanged.
At 16 years of age, James was tried at the Lent session of the Hertford Assizes on 3rd March 1784, by Sir William Henry Ashurst Knight & Jerome Knapp Esq. Justices. He was convicted of highway robbery on the King’s Highway at Aldenham and was sentenced to death by hanging, but this was changed to 7 years transportation. This was the first prosecution from the Hertfordshire County which resulted in the convict being transported. He was sent to the Justitia hulk, where he spent 3 years before being transferred to the Alexander on 27th February 1787.
Three months later, at 19 years of age, he sailed from Portsmouth with the First Fleet on 12th May 1787. There were 11 ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, who was commissioned as the first Governor of Australia. The 15,000 mile journey took just over eight months. The Fleet anchored at Botany Bay on 18th January 1788, then finally settled at Sydney Cove on 26th January. It arrived with 717 convicts, of whom 180 were women, guarded by 191 marines under 19 officers. The convicts’ average age was about twenty-seven years. The Alexander was Captained by Duncan Sinclair. It was the ship that had the most number of deaths on board. Sixteen deaths occurred before the ship had even set sail, mostly from typhus.
Four weeks after their arrival, on 27th February 1788, James was again in trouble for stealing flour, with a mate, William Shearman from Berkshire. They were charged with feloniously and fraudulently taking and carrying away 15 half pounds of flour valued at 15 pence, the property of Michael Dennison, Robert Abel, and William Waterhouse. Shearman was sentenced to receive 300 lashes, and James was sentenced to death. He received Australia’s first Conditional Pardon on 1st March 1788, on the condition that he became the Public Executioner till he served out the remainder of his sentence, and remain in NSW for life. So James became Australia’s first hangman. He was reluctant to do his duty but complied when the Marines were ordered to shoot him. After he served out his sentence he worked as a farmhand.
James earned 100 lashes and stoppage of his grog 11 Dec 1789 for being drunk and out of his hut after 10.45pm, this was only two weeks after he had to hang Ann Davis. He remained a labourer, labouring at Richmond N.S.W. He died a pauper at Windsor 28 Jan 1830, buried St Matthew’s Anglican Church in an unmarked grave, aged 67.
He had two children by Mary Edwards (maiden name Mary Hopely (Maryann 1791)) [q.v. https://goo.gl/F1hwKw], Mary 1792-1801 and Berthina or Berthia 1794. Mary Edwards had left him by 1800 for Abraham Martin.