James D. Justice (1789-1857) was born about the same time as his parents moved into Rutherford County. He later moved into what is now Henderson County.
In 1806, he married Anthorit Thomas, daughter of John Thomas, who owned many acres of land in today’s DuPont State Forest, Crab Creek and Etowah communities.
The grave of Anthroit Thomas Justice is the oldest marked grave in Mud Creek Baptist Church cemetery.
After the death of his first wife, he married Agnes Morrison, the widow of Robert Maxwell.
In 1796, a man by the name of Tenche Coxe was connected with the Treasury Department of the U.S. He came into possession of more than a half million acres of land in Western North Carolina. He obtained the land through North Carolina land deeds and purchasing the grants of Revolutionary War veterans.
About 35,000 to 40,000 acres of this land was in what is today Henderson County. In 1819 about 400,000 acres remaining of the land was sold to Augustus Sackett in New York. He bought the land for speculation purposes and advertised the land for sale throughout the eastern seaboard, in glowing terms. These lands are the Speculation Lands. On all deeds from the Speculation Land Co., the company retained all mineral rights. In some cases, gold was discovered on these lands, along with other minerals. The property owner received none of these profits and the company had the right to mine them.
The land barons in New York needed a local person who knew the area well to represent them. They contacted James Dyar Justice, who was a farmer and surveyor. He accepted the deal.
In 1820, he was appointed as a commissioner and sales agent for the Speculation Land Co. The position remained in the family until 1920, when the company was dissolved. Many settlers in Henderson County (and throughout several counties) bought their land from the Speculation Co.
James Dyar Justice and Anthroit Thomas had eight children: Winifred Justice (1811-) married Thomas B. Case, Thomas Butler Justice (1813-1892) married Harriett Bailey, John Hiram Justice (1816-1901) married Mary Jane King, Phillip Brittain Justice (1818-1909) married Agnes Ida Jane Bailey, James Monroe Justice (1820-1878) married Cynthia Celine Maxwell, Amos A. Justice (1823-1896) married first Margaret Lucinda Shope and after her death married Mary Jane Simonds, Robert Butler Justice (1826-1911) married Lucinda Sorrells, and Rebecca Elizabeth Justice (1827-1891) married Isaac Davis.
James Dyar Justice and Agnes Morrison Maxwell had six children: William Samuel Justice (1831-1915) married Julia Ann Young, David Mack Justice (1834-1892) married Cynthia Melissa Williams, Mary Justice (1836-), Foreman Jeremiah Justice (1839-1868), Agnes A. Justice (1841-1917) married Sion or Cion Lanning, and Margaret Justice (1846-1935) married J.A. Williams.
Please note that James D. Justice and Agnes Morrison Maxwell each had children from their first marriages. Agnes Morrison and her first husband, Robert Maxwell, had children. One of these daughters, Cynthia Celine Maxwell, married her stepbrother, the son of James D. Justice and Anthroit Thomas, james Monroe Justice. Numerous people have this genealogy incorrect and some information on “findagrave” and in numerous genealogies found on the web are incorrect.