His father moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina when he was 6 years old, 1767. He moved to Christian Co., Kentucky in 1808 and 2 years later moved to Illinois. He served in Colonial Army in the American Revolution. He enlisted in the summer of 1778, and served as a private in Capt. John Marshall's company under Colonel Joseph Kershaw. He was captured at the Battle of Hanging Rock and was a prisoner in the Camden jail for 2 months and 19 days before being paroled. He later volunteered in Capt. Wm. Imgram's Company and served until May 1781.
James was born at
Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, on 24 July 1761. He was the son of
Robert Gaston and
Margaret Logan. He married
Catherine Creighton at
Lancaster Co., South Carolina, on 20 March 1783. James died on 7 March 1840 at
Wayne Co., Illinois, at age 78.