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Great Buzzard Eli James IV · (08-01-2014)

“You're going to bring out the hidden light in dark souls, and will cast darkness on all who resist.” It was a prophecy that was spoken when he was just a young boy that would take many years to even come back to his mind.

In the year of 1816, several men gathered to enter a special tournament to decide who would gain wealth and bragging rights to being a man’s man. Not much was told regarding what type of tournament it actually was. Several weeks had passed by as the losers were getting to be a larger group and the winners were slimming down. What is known about this tournament was the men who started in it and became losers, and the one who stood as the winner.

No one cared to see the list of names among those who had lost. It's rare to find any interest among those who attempted; failed and never stood back up.

The man's name who was declared victorious was Elijah 'Steel' James. Those who knew him as a friend would choose to call him Eli or Steel. And the ones not so close to him called him Mr. James or Steel. Steel was not his actual middle name, in fact no one knows his real middle name. Steel was a nickname given to him by his father, but no one knows why. Regardless, people called him Steel nowadays was because his expression when you pissed him off. It was that of a steel look. In addition to his look, the tournament showed he was built like a man of steel. That nickname wasn't going anywhere.

Elijah Steel James won his wealth on the 22nd day in the month of April, 1816. He possessed a lot of livestock and countless acres of land across the United States. He never had to worry about food or a place to live as long as he kept the deed in his name.

Thanks to Elijah's upbringing and strong-willed nature, he was able to use a lot of his land to produce crops in exchange for other things. He quickly became a very wealthy man who had not only physical power, but he also had influence thanks to his food sourcing and money. In many towns, he became a top influence in the political world. He himself never ran or got involved in front the people, but would persuade to get his ideas across. He was the puppet master.

Elijah got his name by his father who was a preacher of the Bible. His father was never an official preacher, but just a hard worker in the fields who had become the first in his family to accept Jesus. Elijah's father went by the name Bennet. There is no real document in the family lineage by anyone with that name, therefore, it was probably his middle name or just something he was called by.

Bennet James is as far as the James family history could be traced.

Bennet had gotten himself into a lot of trouble early in his life. He robbed people. He murdered people. He was what one would call an outlaw. His wife had delivered their first child while he was in prison for being caught robbing a family of their wine. He would be released when his daughter, Clara, turned five. She wanted not much to do with her father. He was a drunk. He was careless. He was just an outlaw that didn't really want to be a family man. Needless to say, Bennet and his wife had six more children. The list of their children in order were:

Clara James
Mabel James
Walter James
Cora James
Ada James
Edgar James
Elijah James

Following the birth of Edgar, while his wife was pregnant with their next child, something happened in Bennet's life. He robbed a church. He even went to the preachers home and told him to his face he had done it. No one really knows, or asked, why he did that. He was probably drunk at the time. The preacher didn't turn him in. He didn't yell at him. He did something no one else had done in Bennet's life. The preacher looked at Bennit, and told him the story about forgiveness.

That day, Bennet returned to his family a changed man. He told them all, "we're going to church Sunday."

The first sermon Bennet ever heard was from a book in the Bible known as 1Kings, and the prophet in the story was named Elijah. Bennet had the name picked out for the coming child and he would be the first in the new lineage of his life.

Elijah was brought up very different from the rest of his brothers and sisters. Elijah was the apple of Bennet's eye. The others knew it, and had a feeling he would inherit most everything.

Clara left home when she was 21 and became a whore in Tennessee.

Mabel decided to disown the family and her whereabouts were never known.

Walter ended up running a bank in Kentucky.

Cora settled down and became a house wife.

Ada decided to follow her father's early footsteps, and she became a part of a outlaw group. Well, she was married to one of the outlaw boys.

Edgar died before he reached the age 15 for unknown causes.

Elijah, well, you know a little about what happened to him.

Bennet was a feared man even in his changed ways. Sure, he was nice and did things for others but they still feared him. He had a lot of influence with what happened within a 100 mile radius, whether he meant to or not. His integrity and character was built around his new life with a mixture of mystery about him due to his past.

Only a few were with Bennet on his death bed, and they were: his wife, the doctor, two of his former 'outlaw' friends, the preacher, and his son Elijah.

The doctor informed everyone, "It's getting close to the point of no return for Bennet, so if you have anything you want to say to him, now would be the time."

"Bennet. You always was a good friend. You watched out for us, and was willing to take the blame so non of us would in jail. Thank ya for everything," one of the outlaw friends shared.

The other outlaw remained silent.

The preacher spoke up after a few moments of silence and said, "Brother Bennet. You surprised many by your life change. God is looking down at his servant now with a smile on his face. You done well."

Bennet's wife could barely get the courage to say any last words to her husband. She tried to calm herself down and tried to think what she could say as her final words to the love of her life. After a few quiet words of encouragement from the preacher, she spoke up, "Bennet. I love you. Always have and always will. You never let us go hungry. You never were mean to me or the kids. You were a brave man. I'm proud of you. I'm glad I got to share this life with you. I'll see you again soon. I love you."

She quickly left due to the emotions. Elijah stood there watching over his father. He took a deep breath and started to say, "Daddy," but was interrupted by Bennet. He was struggling to breath but was able to speak a few final words to Elijah.

"Son. Be strong. Be blameless. Be upright. Do well. Love ya, boy."

Bennet spoke his final words to his son and passed away.

Elijah took his fathers dying words to heart. He was successful and no one could really accuse him of anything bad. He helped people, but always made a profit in some way. He went to church every week. He worked out in the fields. And he married a very pretty lady.

Elijah's children were:

Clarence James
Bennet James (named after Elijah's father)
Elmer James
Pearl James
Katherine James
Ellen James
Della James
Elijah James Jr.

Unlike Elijah's brothers and sisters, his children stayed nearby and did well for themselves.

Elijah James Jr., being the youngest, took up his fathers business so-to-speak.

Elijah James Jr. had three children:

Mary-Jo James
Nora James
Elijah James III

Elijah James III carried on the family business, but mixed in with a little of his late grandfather Bennet James' outlaw days. Elijah was not a man to really mess with. He had some good businesses going such as moonshine and gambling rackets. He was a western mafia man you could say.

He met his wife, Elizabeth, and it changed his life. She was a preachers daughter. She couldn't date anyone who wasn't attending church, so he easily made the decision to do so for her. In the midst of attending, he got saved and changed his life just like Bennet. After a few years, the two got married and had some children:

Elijah James IV (known as Eli)
Sarah James
Rebecca James
Ruth James
Roy James

Eli took after his father, but went a little wild. He was a deceiver. He would play church and do the 'evil deeds' his father did, but secretive. People tried to screw over Eli, but he didn't have much mercy in him. He would quickly hurt someone you loved to get his debt paid, or do something just to show you he was willing to go extra miles to get debt paid.

Elizabeth, Eli's mother, was dying while Elijah III was away. Eli stood by in her last few days at her bedside. One evening, she started to try and speak to Eli. He leaned in close to hear what she had to say...

"Eli. You're my special prize. Listen closely, son. You're going to bring out the hidden light in dark souls, and will cast darkness on all who resist.”

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