He was the seventh of ten children to Esther Dill, of Hull, Massachusetts, and William James, who had emigrated from Dokkum, the Netherlands as a young man.

In time he made his way to America, landing in Boston, where he earned a living as a sailor on numerous small schooners that provided paving stones to the city.

Her great-grandfather, John Dill, who "for a number of years," was the skipper of the boat which supplied the market at Oliver's Dock [Boston] with fresh fish."

Three of Esther's uncles, Daniel, John, and Lemeul, a "famous drummer," served in the Continental Army under George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

One of Esther's brothers, Nathaniel, lost his life aboard the 32-gun wooden frigate USS Boston during its engagement and capture of the 22-gun French corvette Berceau in 1800 at the end of the Quasi-War with France, while another, Caleb, died on a military expedition to Canada during the War of 1812.

His preference for practical literature is most likely due in part to his parents, whose strict religious views largely guided the children's choice of reading.

[2] On April 3, 1837, at the age of 10, Joshua witnessed a pivotal event in his life; he was an eye-witness to the death of his mother and a baby sister in the shipwreck and sinking of the schooner Hepzibah[A] in Hull Gut, only a half-mile from safe harbor.

As they were passing through the treacherous Hull Gut, a sudden squall threw the vessel on her beam; the Hepzibah filled and sank before Mrs. James and her baby, who were in the cabin, could be rescued.

At one time he had a large contract for filling in the west end of Boston, and owned a fleet of twelve vessels of from 50 to 125 tons burden.

Five years after the death of his mother and sister, Joshua James leaped aboard a surfboat manned by volunteers from the local chapter of the Massachusetts Humane Society at Hull heading toward the ship Mohawk which was being "hammered shapeless" off Nantasket Beach at Harding's Ledge.

Due to his unequaled lifesaving record, considerable petitioning by townspeople of Hull and his allies in the service Congress made a special provision to allow him to be appointed as keeper of the new station.

"[1] The hurricane of 1888 came in the guise of a northeast gale and snowstorm accompanied by extremely high tides, and 100 mph (155 km/h) winds created tremendous surf conditions.

Early in the day of November 25, 1888, Captain James and a few hardy beachmen climbed to the top of Telegraph Hill, where through nearly blinding snow and wind they observed five schooners and one coal barge anchored off an area southeast of Boston called Nantasket, attempting to ride out the storm.

With the assistance of local residents Captain James and his men rescued the entire crew by rigging a breeches buoy to the stricken schooner.

Forbe maneuvered under the ship's bow and a line was heaved from the surf boat to the schooner, and as the smaller craft was lifted by the cresting waves the eight sailors leaped one by one from the rigging into the surfboat.

Captain James and his volunteers had to pull their beach cart with rescue equipment nine miles overland through snow and slush to get to the wreck site.

The first sailor to be rescued was in the mizzen rigging; he came cautiously down the shrouds, tied the line around his body, leaped overboard into the sea, and was hauled into the surf boat.

Once in the surf boat, they were taken safely to the shore, where the half-starved and half-frozen men were quickly conveyed in carriages to the home of Selectman David O.

For his work at the scene of six wrecks during a two-day period and rescuing 29 people, Joshua James was awarded gold medals by both the Massachusetts Humane Society and the U.S. Life–Saving Service.

On the morning of the 27th, Captain James using his spy glass spotted a predetermined distress signal at Boston Light on Little Brewster Island.

[14] En route Captain James spotted the steam tug Ariel and arranged to be towed as close as possible to Great Brewster Island.

The coastline was littered with the wrecks and wreckage of dozens of vessels large and small, smashed or sunk by the fierce winds and seas.

As with the hurricane of 1888 there were numerous brave rescues in an extraordinary 36 hours, during which the crew of the Point Allerton station and volunteers from Hull would save 41 lives along the town's shores.

Her anchors failed to hold and at about 8:00 am on December 16, 1896, she was observed aground by a patrolling surfman from the Point Allerton Station who promptly reported the wreck.

News of a ship in trouble had already been telephoned to the station and Captain James accepted the railroad's offer to transport the rescuers the two and a half miles to the wreck site.

Concerned that the crew was in great danger Captain James decided not to wait for the beach cart and retrieved the Nantasket from the Massachusetts Humane Society which was housed nearby.

A mixed crew of seven Life–Saving Service men and six volunteers from the Humane Society launched the large surfboat only to be hurled back to the beach twice by the strong waves.

At seven o'clock the morning of March 19, with a northeast gale blowing, James called his crew for a drill and to test a new self-bailing, self-righting surfboat.

Upon grounding the boat he sprang onto the wet sand, glanced at the sea and stated, "The tide is ebbing" and then fell dead on the beach from a heart attack.

[1]Despite his frugal habits Joshua James was practically destitute at the time of his death leaving his invalid wife and children with insufficient support.