In 1750 there is a record of the marriage of a shoemaker, James Barham, to Elizabeth Cock in Chislet.  Chislet is less than 4 miles from Herne, where we suspect that James was born.  We also know that James later traded as a Cordwainer  so it seems very likely that this was him,  Ann, his first wife, may then have died in childbirth but we hav no record of her death. James and Elizabeth had a daughter in 1751, also called Elizabeth.

His wife, Elizabeth, must have died by 1755 as this is when James marries for the last time to Mary Durant. The signature in the marriage register is almost certainly the same as we find in later documents.

There is a final piece of evidence  that links James the Cordwainer of Limehouse to the husband of Elizabeth Cock. In 1770 an Elizabeth Barham of Stanstead Abbott, Berkshire married John Brindle at St Leonard, Shoreditch. Elizabeth was a minor, making her consistent with James' daughter by his second marriage. To add to this the witnesses were James and Mary Barham and James's signature matchs that on other documents. So despite Elizabeth's residence being in Berkshire this would seem to add weight to the story above.

For the next chapter in James' life see Limehouse