When James Robert Tatham was born on 18 February 1871, in North Carolina, United States, his father, Thomas Nathaniel Tatham, was 31 and his mother, Artemesia M. Bryson, was 20. He married Adeline Cabe on 11 November 1893, in Jackson, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. He lived in Savannah, Jackson, North Carolina, United States in 1880 and Webster, Jackson, North Carolina, United States in 1910. He died on 17 February 1932, in Darrington, Snohomish, Washington, United States, at the age of 60.