James Franklin Kearley, born in Smith County on October 23, 1812. He married Martha Williams. He had seven children, including a daughter named Marina. Marina married a Blatherwick and she was one of the very first Kerley family genealogists. She contacted a lot of the elderly surviving members of the family in the late 1800's and early 1900's. A lot of what we have been able to piece together about this family is due to Marina's efforts.
James moved from Smith County to nearby Davidson County, and appears there in the 1850 census. James was almost too old to have served in the Civil War, and we have found no Confederate military records for him. He died at the age of forty, possibly, it is said, of tuberculosis. His death occurred on June 18, 1863. James' early death spared him the pain of knowing that later in the century his son, Otis, would turn out to be a highwayman who would be shot to death while trying to hold up a farmer just north of Dallas. James is buried in the same cemetery with his father.