Finding aid for the Albert Wood James Collection

Biography of Albert Wood James

Albert Wood James was born in Cornwell, England on January 23, 1828, to Mary Wood James (father unknown). Albert and his mother came to the United States in 1834, when he was six years old. They settled in Point Marion, Pennsylvania, where Mary remarried on March 7, 1837, becoming Mrs. William Drew. The couple later had four children. Albert James left Pennsylvania at a young age and came to Ohio seeking work. His first occupation took him to Coal Grove, Ohio (Perry County) where he worked as a wood cutter. He later moved to Hanging Rock, Ohio where he met Dr. A. Condie. Dr. Condie was said to be instrumental in the making of Albert James' career as a physician. On November 6, 1855, James enrolled in the Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, and in 1859 moved to Zaleski, Ohio to begin his medical practice. In Zaleski, James met his future wife, Nancy Greaves Vanderford (August 28, 1840 - August 22, 1922). They were married on January 5, 1839 in the Vanderford House. The James' had nine children, whose names are as follows: Noel Vanderford (1860-1946), Lucius Cassius (1861-1927), Reynell Wood (1862-1946), Edwin Taylor (1864-1865, died in infancy), Ulysses (1866-1940), Velmus (1868-1947), Euclaid (1869-1953), Albert (1875-1957), and Clelie (1879-1973). Albert James lived most of his life as a physician in Zaleski, Ohio. He died in 1895 and his wife, Nancy died on August 22, 1922. The remaining James family members completed a detailed biographical sketch in 1973 that includes further information on the lives of the James' children and various information that the reader may refer to.

Scope and Content

The Albert Wood James Collection contains materials belonging to both Albert Wood James and his Noel Vanderford James. Most of the materials date between 1872 and 1895. This includes six ledgers/account books of A.W. James, which contain detailed records of patients, prescriptions, and various illnesses during the time of his medical practice in Zaleski. Several other items of Albert James are a handwritten "Code of Ethics" adopted by Zaleski physicians in 1889, physicians visiting book, several medical text promotion advertisements, and three personal notebooks containing detailed geometric and mathematical calculations. The remaining items in the collection are letters written (97) to Noel James, most concerning legal/political matters during his position as Clerk of Vinton County Board of School Examiners. Other items include a notebook (1881) belonging to Lucius Cassius James, which contains land surveying figures for the construction of a railroad. At the age of 18, Lucius conducted a land survey for the proposed construction of a railroad to connect the towns of Hamden and Lancaster (called the South Bloomingville Project). However, after the survey was made, no funds were available to actually begin construction. The surveying figures in the notebook may have been from that project. Also, contained in the collection is a family history completed in 1973 by the remaining James family members. It includes a personal history of Albert Wood James and biographical information concerning his children. A copy of Zaleski Journals (1891), The Hamden Enterprise (1906), and The McArthur Democrat-Enquirer (1926) are also found in the James collection.

Statement of Arrangement

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Preferred Citation

Researchers are requested to cite collection name, collection number, and Ohio University, Athens, Ohio in all footnotes and bibliographical references.