James Earnest was born in
Franklin, Kentucky, in 1818. His parents died while he was still young, and, when he was about sixteen years old, he went to
Springfield, Illinois, to look for work. In 1836, he moved north into the
Wisconsin Territory and settled at the township of
New Diggings. He found work in the
lead mines, and, after 1844, opened a store in the town and operated his own mining company. In 1850, he used his earnings to purchase an unimproved farmstead in the vicinity of
Shullsburg, Wisconsin. He constructed a home and other buildings on the property. In politics, he became an outspoken supporter of the
Democratic Party, which was popular with the laborers in the lead mining region. Over the next several decades, he was elected to six terms in the
Wisconsin State Assembly, and two 2-year terms in the
Wisconsin State Senate. He was a constant defender of the economic interests of the lead mining region, until the industry began to decline in the aftermath of the
American Civil War. In his later years, he devoted his attention to his farmstead, where he raised thoroughbred livestock. He died at his homestead near Shullsburg on June 12, 1900, after a long illness. ==Personal life and family==