James was a prosperous planter of Virginia. He received a patent for 690 acres in 1742 and
90 acres were later added in Fairfax Parish, Va. signed by Lord Fairfax. The plantation was known as "Pleasant
Green," located five miles east of Fairfax Court House, near Burks Station. It is believed he was descended from a
near kinsman, probably a paternal uncle, of Sir Edmund Halley (1656-1741), the noted mathematician, and the
astronomer who first accurately calculated the orbit of the comet that bears his name.
