JAMES D. PALMER, Webster County, county surveyor, was born December 31, 1832, in Henry County, Tenn. He is a son of John L. and Martha (Doris) Palmer, natives of Kentucky. At an early day they moved to Tennessee, and remained until 1840, when they returned to Kentucky and settled in what is now Webster County. In 1846 the father left for Texas, but died on the way, aged forty-four. The mother died in 1859, aged forty-eight. Our subject in youth received a good education. At the age of eighteen he taught one session, after which he took up surveying, which profession he has since followed, and on the organization of Webster County, he was appointed surveyor; after serving ten years he resigned, but is now serving his third term. He owns a farm of eighty acres, one mile northeast of Providence, on which he resides. He was married, in 1863, to Martha J. Mooney, of Webster County. Five sons and one daughter have blessed their union.
Source: J. H. Battle, W. H. Perrin, & G. C. Kniffin. Kentucky. A History of the State. Louisville, KY, Chicago, IL: Battey, 1885. Pages 1042-1043.