"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco: W. H. Lever, 1901. p. 388. JAMES NIFONG one of the prosperous and successful farmers of Whitman county, was born in Illinois on August 14, 1832, his parents being Daniel and Mary Anne (Lapair) Nifong, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Illinois. He grew to manhood and acquired his educational discipline in the state of his nativity, and when the time came for him to begin the battle of life for himself became a tiller of the soil. In 1864 he crossed the plains with ox-teams, fording every stream between the Missouri river and the state of Nevada. He remained two years in Nevada. In the fall of 1866 he went to California, and from that date until 1874 he was one of the agriculturists of the Golden state. In the latter year, however, he came north to Oregon and resumed there his agricultural pursuits, continuing therein uninterruptedly until 1880, which year is the date of his advent to Whitman county. Shortly after his arrival here he located on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land about six miles northwest of Moscow, where we now find him. To the cultivation and improvement of this, his original home in the county, he has given himself with diligence ever since, with the natural result that he now has a fine, well-improved farm, its inherent fertility being fully developed by judicious and careful husbandry. He is a diversified farmer, and raises cattle, hogs and other live stock as well as the cereals. Though not specially ambitious for political preferment and never a candidate for any office, our subject has always taken the interest that becometh a good citizen in the public affairs of county and state. As a man and member of society he has a very enviable standing wherever known. On November 8, 1852, Mr. Nifong married Miss Mary LaFlor, a native of Illinois, and they have ten children, namely: Marietta, wife of S. F. Browning, of Moscow, Idaho; Octavia, now wife of William Layfield, and a resident of Portland; Lizzie; Josephine, wife of T.Thornton,and living in Nez Perces county, Idaho; Henry, a resident of Nez Perces county, Idaho; John Albert; Joseph Edward, farmer at Clark, Idaho; George Monroe; Lula, wife of Albert McCarty, and a resident of Nez Perces county, Idaho; Milton, living in Nez Perces county, Idaho. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Bios. Project in July 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.