He came to Oregon Country in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1843 after making it to Sacramento Valley.

Smith was replaced as executor by Robert Catilin who battled John's relatives until 1907 when the estate was finally settled.

The next day they were invited to a Pawnee festivity where they smoked a calumet, what John described as the "peace pipe".

[8] One of John's primary jobs on the journey was to acquire fish, trout being one of the parties preferences.

[10] John went a separate route from Bidwell to get to Sutter's Fort in present day Sacramento, California which made him one of the first members of the party to finish the journey.

[11] When he completed his journey to California in 1843 he accepted a job with the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver in Oregon territory.

On July 2, 1844 John wrote in his journal that he camped across the Willamette River from Linnton, Oregon which was likely the present day site of St.

[18] In 1870, John constructed derricks for the United States Customs Service office in Portland.

[20] In 1874, John heard rustling in his orchard and fired what he said was a warning shot that hit a 15-year-old boy in the leg.

He was discovered by his neighbor T. D. Taylor who recalled the incident, "This morning at 8 o'clock [am] I went and rapped on Mr. John's door and received no answer.

Citizens of the newly incorporated City of St. Johns funded the marker on his grave site at Historic Columbian Cemetery on Columbia boulevard.

John's document read, "[the school] shall be public and open to the children of the school district, which shall embrace the town of St. Johns [...] It is not my intention to direct the particular branches of education should be taught, nor in any way to limit the use of money in promoting certain types of education, only I desire that it shall never be used to inculcate the doctrines of one religion sect one more then the other".

Deadly and H. B. Nicholas came forward to say they had witnessed James John sign the will and that he was of sound body and mind when he did so.

[28][29] Robert Catilin was appointed by the state circuit court to administrator the estate of James John in December 1901.

[32] However in September 1907 the trustees announced the city did not own all the land that was left to the settlement and they had to turn it over with the exception of small plot where they eventually erected a high school.

[33] In November 1906, the newly built St. Johns–Linnton ferry was named the James John "in honor" of the founder of the settlement.