THE 
AMERICAN GEOLOGIST 
Vol. III. MAY, 1889. No. 5 
URIAH PIERSON JAMES. 
Mr. U. P. James, palaeontologist and geologist of Cincinnati, 
died at his residence near Loveland, Ohio, on the 25th of Feb¬ 
ruary, in the 78th year of his age. 
He was born in the town of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., on 
December 30th, 1811. His father, Thomas James, was a car¬ 
penter, who followed his trade until his death in 1824, the re¬ 
sult of an accident. His mother, Rhoda Pierson James, was 
a direct descendant of Thomas Pierson, a brother of Rev. 
Abraham Pierson, the first president of Yale College. He 
had two brothers and three sisters, all of whom he survived, 
so that he was in reality the last of his immediate family. 
In 1831, long before any railroad had crossed the Alle- 
ghanies, he and his brother Joseph traveled by stage and 
canal, west to Cincinnati, arriving in August and witnessing 
the great flood of February, 1832. Having learned the trades 
of printer and stereotyper, he began to work at these soon 
after his arrival in Cincinnati, and followed them successfully 
for a number of years. In a short time he began publishing 
books, and his first venture, the “ Eolian Songster,” was 
printed in 1832, the copyright being dated June 15. This 
book was followed at intervals by others, until the complete 
list would number hundreds. In 1847 he entered into partner¬ 
ship with his brother Joseph as publishers, printers, stereo- 
