JAMES Sanford arrived in what is now Hill County, Texas in 1837 with several Seviers from Madison County, Tennessee. James and the Seviers became early Rangers in the Republic of Texas. James later became a Baptist preacher and helped to organize several Baptist Churches in both Hill and Ellis Counties. Balaam Overton Sanford, James' brother, joined him in Hill County in 1854. He married Ann Paine, daughter of Dr. F.G. Paine about 1855. James died in Hill County about 1863. B.O. died in nearby Milford, Hill County, in 1899.