Jim Stearns

Jim was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and moved to Rhode Island in 1982 when his father was stationed in Newport with the Navy. He graduated from Middletown High School. He attended Bristol Community College and received an Associate’s Degree in Communications and later earned a BA in Anthropology from Rhode Island College.

He has spent the last 25 years in Radio and Television as a Traffic Reporter.

A Director for the Battle of Rhode Island Association and a member of the Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee, Jim has a deeply personal connection to our project discovering he had several ancestors in the Battle of Rhode Island.  Samuel Stearns was a Private in Capt. Joseph Boynton’s Co., Col. Nathaniel Wade’s Regiment.  Brothers John and Zachariah Stearns Jr were from New Hampshire and in the Continental Army.  John was in Capt. Simon Marston’s Co., Col. Stephen Peabody’s Regiment and Zachariah was in Capt. Peter Cross’s Company.

Several other ancestors of his fought in the revolution. His 5th Great Grandfather was named Ithamar Eleazer Smith. Mr. Smith in June, 1776, enlisted for six months as a private in Captain Josiah Smith’s company, Col. Whitney’s regiment; also in April or May, 1777, as artificer for two years in Capt. Richard Faxon’s company, Col. David Mason’s regiment; again, in 1779, he was in charge of the quartermaster’s shop at Springfield, Massachusetts, under Col. William Smith. At the time of his enlistment he was a resident of Wilbraham, Hampshire county, Massachusetts. After the war he moved to Michigan.

Jim’s connection to Ithamar allowed him to join the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the Revolution. Two similar groups in goals and purposes, with different membership requirements.