Rev. James Rives was born September 13, 1807 in Warren County, North Carolina. He was the son of William McGuffy and Mary (Turner) Rives. He married Elizabeth Hood on September 28, 1825 in Granville County, North Carolina. He was over 6 foot tall. Shortly after the birth of their first child he and Elizabeth traveled from Warren County to Christian County, Kentucky in a one-horse cart. The baby, John Hood Rives, and Elizabeth rode in the cart and James walked along side with his musket constantly watching for danger. They traveled through sparsely settled country by way of the Cumberland Gap. In Christian County they settled near his older brothers, Stephen and Thomas and his sister, Sarah Rives Moss. James and Elizabeth purchased land cleared and cultivated it. In addition to this he labored on the plantations of Taylor brothers for seven years, which enabled him to acquire enough money to continue their westward migration. James traveled to Illinois in the early part of 1834. On May 6, 1834 he filed for his first 160 acres of land in Illinois. On May 10, 1834 he filed for another 160 acres located about 6 miles south east of the present town of Greenfield, Illinois. He paid a dollar twenty-five per acre. The nearest post office was in Carrollton, Illinois about 15 miles to the west. At that time Green County also included the present Jersey County.

In the fall of 1834 James freed his slaves and left Christian County, Kentucky in a covered wagon drawn by oxen with his family, for the move to Greene County, Illinois. Over the next year he purchased another 360 acres of land. After getting his farming operations established he followed the popular movement in frontier areas and established Rivesville, on November 11, 1835. In 1836 he built a southern style home which became known as "the old house", it stood for nearly 100 years and housed 5 generations of Rives' before being razed. Rivesville prospered for a time but when the government decided to locate the community post office at Fayette 2 miles north, the town diminished. James had acted as postmaster.

James embarked into merchandising as well as raising livestock, which proved to be very profitable. In the fall of 1847 he attended the Methodist Conference and obtained a license to preach. He held local meetings at his home and quarterly meetings at his store. Sunday was always a special day in the Rives family. James assisted in the development of this part of the state of Illinois and was always a friend to the new settler. He became known as " Uncle Jimmy Rives". He was in much demand to officiate at weddings. He officiated over 90 weddings from October 1847 to March 1866. After the death of his first wife, Elizabeth in 1851 he sold his land to his eldest son, and moved to Greenfield. He built a home in Greenfield in 1852 that soon became known as " Methodist Hotel". James was active in civic affairs and came to know President Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas who visited Green County occasionally. Although he was a native of the south and a former slave owner he never deterred from supporting the Republican Party and having a son serve in the union army.

On June 6, 1852 he married Julia Woodcock Boyd. With his first wife Elizabeth he had 13 children and with Julia he had an additional 5. On Sunday July 8, 1866 while preparing for church he was stricken and succumbed to a heart attack. By the time of his death he had given each of his surviving children a farm or the equivalent in money. James has a living legacy in Illinois to this day.

This information was obtained from Reliques of the Rives, Rives and Allied Families of Green Territory Illinois and family memories.