James grew up within a small cabin with his mother, father, and seven siblings. He hunted for them, tended to the fire in the home, and even began working as a wood chopper for a company in town. In the year 1890 he found a woman that he began to truly fall for but lost her to Cholera. That was when he truly believed that he needed to protect others. And to do this he believed that a bigger city would have better medicine, and quicker access to the news of outbreaks. So he began his move to Miami in 1910, and worked at the docks and train station for nearly 10 years before his unlife began.
As a kindred he has spent a majority of his time continuing his work, protecting the poor, and doing work for Gabriela and Miguel when called upon. He worked his way up to earning a better home along with a better paycheck and job at the shipping company. But he has had to change his name throughout the years and change companies never working in one place too long. This created a spout of depression for a younger James but he learned that in order to continue his work he had to learn to adapt to the years. At his company he is named James Ruthford, and goes by the nickname Junior.