b. circa 1826, d. 1897
| BirthCirca | circa 1826 | James Monroe Byars was born in Virginia circa 1826.3 |
| Moth-Death | 1835 | His mother died in 1835 at which time James was about 9 years old. |
| Cens-1850 | 1850 | James grew up in the luxury of his father's home, known as Brook Hall, in Washington County, Virginia. In 1850, at age 23, James was enumerated living at home with his father, his sister Amanda, and Amanda's husband, John Ernest. James and his father William were both described as farmers. The estimated value of William's real estate holdings far exceeded those of the rest of the neighborhood.4 |
| Residence | | James's son, J. Cloyd Byars, presented a paper on his family to a historical society meeting in July 1943. He spoke of how Col. Wm Byars conveyed a tract of land known as Ft. Kilmackronen to his son James with the understanding that "Jimmie" would reside on the property. This provision made it necessary for James to abandon his comfortable quarters at Brook Hall where he was born and reared and explains why he named his new place "Hard Bargain."1 |
| Cens-1860 | 10 Jul 1860 | By 1860 James appears to have left Brook Hall and settled on his own land. He was recorded that year living by himself with the exception of a farm laborer. However, the census also indicated that he owned personal property worth more than $15,000.5 |
| Cens-1860- Slave | 28 Jul 1860 | This was consistent with the fact that 9 slaves worked the land for him.6 |
| Military | | However, with the start of the Civil War James left his home and enlisted in the Confederate Army. He served as an officer in Company D of the First Virginia Cavalry.7,8 |
| | During this time he also began a campaign of another kind, wooing the woman who would become his wife. Virginia Watson was a descendant of several prominent families and a loyal supporter of the Confederacy, working for the Treasury Department of the Confederate Government in Richmond. She appears to have a flare for the dramatic as well, announcing her engagement to James in a telegraph to her sister with these words, "Lee has surrendered; so have I."1 |
| Marriage | 1865 | He married Virginia C. Watson in 1865 at the Ballard-Exchange Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.1 |
| Residence | | James and Virginia returned to Washington County and settled at "Hard Bargain". But Virginia fell in love with the view of the mountains to the south and renamed the property "Southern View". James remodeled an old stone structure on the property which then provided them with a comfortable and lovely home.1 |
| 12 Feb 1873 | Virginia quickly gave birth to 3 children but on February 12, 1873 she died giving birth to the couple's 4th child. Her infant son died the following day.9,10 |
| Fath-Death | 1866 | James's father died in 1866. His will, written in 1858, left James all the slaves in his possession [which by 1866 would have been none]. James also received a share of his father's lands not otherwise devised and was named as his father's executor.2 |
| Marriage | | He married Mrs. Mary A. Graves.11 |
| Cens-1880 | 4 Jun 1880 | In 1880 James and Mary were enumerated living in the Glade Spring district of the county. Also recorded were James's son J. Cloyd (11) and his daughter Aileen (9). Nannie Moon (19), listed as James's niece, was also present, as was a governess and 3 servants.12 |
| Public Serv | | James succeeded his father as one of the trustees of Emory and Henry College.1 |
| | J. Cloyd, in the same paper mentioned earlier, stated: for many years Mr. Byars was one of the leading farmers in Southwest Virginia. As an importer of thoroughbred livestock, he became a public benefactor. But what was a public benefit was a private catastrophe. He saw his magnificent estate, and beautiful home pass out of his hands in his old age.1 |
| Death | 1897 | James died in 1897 in DeLand, Florida.1 |
