James Blount was born in North Carolina in 1740. A planter, justice of the peace, and soldier in Chowan County, he served as a Lt. Col. of the Chowan County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia from 1775-1778 before being promoted to Colonel for the remainder of the war. He was also a clerk for the Chowan County court. In 1777 and 1778 he signed a series of oaths swearing his allegiance to the State of North Carolina and promised to report any treasonous conspiracies that might threaten North Carolina's independence. Blount died and was buried at his family plantation, called Mulberry Hill in Chowan County in about 1785.