Tenth Generation

4918. James William "Jim" STARR was born in 1865 in Danville, Vermilion Co., IL. Taken from "The Starr Gang and Other Poems"
by Phillip A. Starr, Sr.
Printed by the Cass County Pioneer, Walker, Minnesota
no date of print found
pages 121 to 131
 
"Jim At Eighty"  (1st 4 verses out of 30)
 
Soon after the close of the great Civil War    
   In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five
When many had learned civil strife, to abhor,
   A belated war product did, finally arrive
And was promptly delivered with the utmost of care
   Near the city of Danville, Illinois,
Though it proved not to be a combat affair,
  But no less than a blue-eyed, fair-haired boy.    
 
His parents promptly gave him a name,
   But, as often the case, folks nicknamed him
And, though I don't knowwho was to blame,
   They stoutly persisted in calling him "JIM"
And now he is known by that name everywhere
   By his friends, living near or afar,
No doubt, that stigma all his day, will bear,
   Though his real appellation, James William Starr.
 
Though Jim was a native of the great Sucker State,
   The land of the famous, tall corn,
Very soon it was apparent that he would migrate
    From the state in which he was born,
For some regions were using schemes to entice.
   And many decided to put to the test
The very well know Horace Greeley's Advice
   When he said, "Young man, go west."
 
Jim's father had died when Jim was two
   And his mother, left a widow with four litte folks,
In putting a bold resolution through,
   Despite all protest, jibes and jokes,
Joined the wagon train of her father, Abram Long,
   "Bound for the sunflower State or Bust",
And whether the move was right or wrong,
   It exemplified "In God we Trust".
 

James William "Jim" STARR and Elizabeth CHAMBERS were married. Elizabeth CHAMBERS was born (date unknown).