James grew up in Lewes which has been known as a seafaring town because of its excellent harbor and location at the base of the Delaware Bay where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. We don't know much about his childhood and youth but his occupation is listed as fisherman on a birth certificate for his first son Milman Edward, who was born in 1905. According to Milman Edward's son, Milman E. Jr., James fished with George Pride (brother of his mother Sarah Hester Pride) and long-time Lewes resident Sam West. They used their 12 to 14 foot boat and also threw nets from the shore into the water looking for croakers and sea bass plus crabs and some oysters.

In the photograph below James and his brother Jacob and their Uncle George Pride are shown with two fishing buddies and a huge sturgeon they caught somewhere near Lewes. There is no record of the location although it could have been from the Delaware Bay, Broadkill or Lewes Creek.

The proud fisherman (from left) are Peter Murray, George Pride (Uncle George), Clarence Edgons, the dog Spot, Jacob Prettyman and James Prettyman.

Ten years after being listed as a fisherman on his first son's birth certificate, James was working as a postal clerk at the Lewes Post Office. The Post Office opened for business in April, 1915. Milman E., Jr., thinks James' position in the post office might have been a result of his family connections to the Democratic party. He remained at the post office for 21 years until 1936, according to his obituary in "The Delaware Coast Press."

The portrait here shows James in a suit. We don't know the year it was taken.

Politics was an important part of the lives of both Prettyman boys. Their father served for 12 years on the Lewes Town Council and was described in his obituary at "one of the most prominent Democrats in Sussex County."

Milman E., Jr., recalls that James also was a force in the Democratic party and a big supporter of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt which could have led to his job at the Lewes Post Office. He left the post office on disability. His wife Ida took his place at the post office through the World War II years.

James' brother Jake (shown at the right) was a storekeeper and was elected to the Delaware state Senate. Sister Lizzie married Ida's brother John Clement Millman meaning brother and sister married brother and sister. James' middle sister Ruth married Joe Phipps who was a salesman for Nabisco. Ruth was an accomplished piano player. She may have shared some of her skills with James daughter Mildred who was providing improvised piano accompaniment to the silent movies at age 12. Ruth's home at 112 Front Street is now the Dockside Gift Shop. Fannie's husband Walter Donovan drove an oil truck.

James' first granddaughter was Sue, the daughter of his son Milman. "The grandfather we knew was quiet, frugal, within himself, not outgoing," Sue said. "He had his own schedule and ways of doing things. (He was) independent of all except grandmother. She kept the house going so he wasn't disburbed. He kept regular hours. He never went to the beach, to the best of my memory."

"When he became bedridden, he was demanding (probably thoroughly frustrated) and easily upset. It was sad to see him lying there, not communicating. How horrible it must have been for him."

James' sister Fannie, who lived next door to James and Ida at 309 Mulberry, had a daughter Hester who wrote this in a letter to Mary Jo Haverbeck on Jan. 5, 2002. "I do remember them and will relate what I can. I know your grandfather had a stroke and was so paralyzed he couldn't speak anymore .. he cried all the time.

Your grandmother had a hospital bed in the dining room and that made it convenient for her to take care of him. It got to the point where she hired someone to come in from 11 p.m to 7 a.m. so she could get some sleep. It was really a chore caring for him as he couldn't do much of anything for himself."

Hester also said of James, "If I remember correctly, your grandfather was postmaster at one time. He was a good looking man. He and Aunt Ruth (Ruth Phipps) had dark hair and were nice looking."

James eventually died in Wilmington on Dec. 7, 1942 at the home of his daughter Mildred. He and Ida had been living at Mildred's home for two months. Perhaps they needed Mildred's help as she was a registered nurse.

Although his granddaughter Mary Jo was only 3-years-old when he died, she remembers him patting her on the head when she visited him in her bedroom.

The funeral took place at the Atkins Funeral Home in Lewes.

James is buried in the Methodist Cemetery in Lewes on Savannah Road between the old Lewes High School and Beebe Hospital. His wife Ida, brother Jacob and his wife Ethel, and his sister Elizabeth and her husband John are buried there as well.