James Henry Norris was the son of Ephraim Norris and Sarah Nation. He married Lucy Ann "Nancy" Nevitt on November 8, 1836. James was a farmer and they spent most of their life in Meade County, Kentucky near Garnettsville. They had at least 13 children (Joseph William, Margaret Ann, Teresa Jane, Richard H, Elizabeth M, John S, James Simeon, Georgia Ann, Sarah Catherine, Charles Lee, Benjamin F, Philip Alexander, and Stephen F). He died in Meade County, Kentucky a few days before Christmas in 1865.