Major James H. Akin (1832–1911) was an American Confederate veteran, farmer and politician.

[1] His paternal great-grandfather, William Akin was born in Scotland and immigrated to South Carolina.

[1] His paternal grandfather, Reverend John Akin, who was a Methodist minister, served in the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783 and settled in Maury County in 1808; he emancipated his slaves upon his death in 1821.

[1] During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, he joined the Confederate States Army and served as the captain of Company E of the 9th Battalion Tennessee Cavalry.

He married his first wife, Marinda Cecil, in 1859; they had three children, but only one daughter, Bettie Jones, survived to adulthood; she died in 1867.