JAMES G ARTHUR
Bio- Pen Pictures
SURNAMES:
JONES, CASTLE/CASTRO, DESMARIS,
JAMES G. ARTHUR was born in Alexandria, Virginia, July 17, 1843, His
parents, Marcus and Jane (Jones) Arthur, were natives of Virginia.
James lived with his parents till he was eight years old, when he went
to New York, where he was chiefly brought up. In 1861, at the age of
eighteen, he enlisted as a private in Company D, First New York
Cavalry, and was in the campaigns of his regiment until June, 1863,
when he was transferred from this to Company C. Sixty-third New York
Infantry, as First Lieutenant; he soon afterward was promoted to the
Captaincy of the company in which capacity he served until the close of
the war, or until September, 1865, when he was mustered out. He was in
nineteen battles and innumerable skirmishes. He had two brothers in the
Confederate army. At the second battle of Bull Run, one of his brothers
was taken prisoner by his and other Union regiments. After the
prisoners had been gathered in, Mr. Arthur met and had a conversation
with his brother. This brother, Marcus Arthur, was afterward killed at
Selma, Alabama. Mr. Arthur was taken prisoner at the battle of the
Wilderness, and taken to and confined in Libby prison for seven months.
After being mustered out, Mr. Arthur came to California, in 1865, and
located in San Francisco, where he remained four years working at the
carpenter's trade. In 1869 he came to San Jose, where he followed his
trade for thirteen years. In 1880 he purchased his present place of ten
acres near Los Gatos. He was married, in 1877, to Angeline Castle,
[transcribers note- see marriage license file information below-
indicates last name of CASTRO] a
native of Detroit, Michigan; she died in December, 1884. Was married
again, in 1886, to Nancy Desmarais, a native of Troy, New York. Mr.
Arthur is a member of E. O. C. Ord Post, No. 82, G. A. R., of Los
Gatos, and a member of the Odd Fellows and Masonic Lodges of San Jose.
Has 1,200 trees on his place, 900 in French prunes from one to seven
years old, 200 apricots four years old, and the remainder in family
orchard.
SOURCE: Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H.S.
Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888. page 595 Transcribed by Roena Wilson
Marriage License on File at the San Jose Historical Museum
SANTA CLARA
COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES
SANTA CLARA
COUNTY HISTORY- The Valley of Heart's
Delight
Aug 5, 2005