[1] James Myers was born in June 1795 in Dutchess County, New York, of German ancestry.
[2] During the War of 1812, he volunteered during the summer of 1813, and served on the northern frontier in the winter campaign under general Wade Hampton.
[3] In 1823[3] or 1825,[2] he became collector of tolls at Schenectady on the new Erie Canal, until 1836, when he moved to Toledo, Ohio.
Under the new constitution, he served a single term as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio as a Democrat.
[2][3] Myers' health further declined, and after much pain, he died July 19, 1864, at his home, northwest corner of Jefferson and Superior Streets, Toledo.