Biography:

Teacher, botanist, historian. Born– March 2, 1897, near Russellville. Parents– Aaron A. and Ollie Virginia (Bendall) James. Education– Florence State Teachers College, 1929.  Public school teacher. Contributed articles on botany to numerous periodicals, particularly on the occurrence and growth of the Carolina hemlock in the Southeast. The material on which his book Colbertians is based was originally printed in the Alabama Historical Quarterly in 1945. The plant genus Jamesianthus was named for him in honor of his botanical work. Died January 22, 1977.

Source:

Collier Library, University of North Alabama; files at Alabama Department of Archives and History.

James, R. L. “The Carolina Hemlock–Wild and Cultivated,” Castanea; Journal of the Southern  Appalachian Botanical Society, vol. 24, no. 3 (Sept. 1959), 112-134.

Publication(s):

Colbertians; a History of Colbert County, Alabama and Some of Its Pioneer Citizens Before 1875. Florence, Ala.; Natchez Trace Genealogical Society, 1980.

Distinguished Men, Women, and Families of Franklin County, Alabama.  Russellville, AL; R. L. James, 1928.