Joshua James

Joshua James (November 22, 1826March 19, 1902) was an American sea captain and a U.S. Life–Saving Station keeper. He was a famous and celebrated commander of civilian life-saving crews in the 19th century, credited with saving over 500 lives from the age of about 15 when he first associated himself with the Massachusetts Humane Society until his death at the age of 75 while on duty with the United States Life–Saving Service. During his lifetime he was honored with the highest medals of the Humane Society and the United States. His father, mother, brothers, wife, and son were also lifesavers in their own right. James was a recipient of the Gold Lifesaving Medal, awarded by the United States Government, along with four medals, a certificate, and numerous monetary awards from the Massachusetts Humane Society. Early life and education Joshua James was born on November 22, 1826, in Hull, Massachusetts. He was the seventh of ten children to Esther Dill, of Hull, Massachusetts, and William James, who had emigrated from Dokkum, the Netherlands as a young man. Little is known of William James's early life except that he was a soldier in the Dutch Army before running away and becoming a sailor. In time he made his way to America, landing in Boston, where he earned a living as a sailor on numerous small schooners that provided paving stones to the city. Eventually he made his home in Hull and via frugality became the owner of his own schooner and engaged in the paving-stone business for himself. Esther Dill was the daughter of Nathaniel and Esther (Stoddard) Dill, of Hull, both descended from the early English colonists. Her great-grandfather, John Dill, who "for a number of years," was the skipper of the boat which supplied the market at Oliver's Dock [Boston] with fresh fish." Three of Esther's uncles, Daniel, John, and Lemeul, a "famous drummer," served in the Continental Army under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Another uncle, Samuel, appears to have died in the Maine wilderness while serving with General Benedict Arnold's expedition against Quebec in 1775. Esther's father, Nathaniel (1756-179?), occasionally mustered as a fifer, spent most of his Revolutionary War service at Boston Harbor forts, but also appears to have served in the Continental Army early in the War.