James Williams was originally a brutal member of the Kansas Redlegs in the 1856-1858 period called "Bloody Border Wars". He migrated to the Alder Gulch gold rush area in 1863. He was in the livery business in Virginia City. He is best known for being the main Captain for the 1860's Vigilante members from 1863-1865. In this period he and his men captured and hanged 24 Road Agents, killers and thieves. This image of him is published and well known but photographs of him are very rare to find today. After 1865, he moved to the Ruby Valley in Madison County, M.T., married, and settled down as a rancher. He was being foreclosed on his property when his body was found in a thicket near his house in 1887. He had killed himself with a large dose of Laudanum. Some said he had been killed but that is not likely.
