Person:James Semple (15)

U.S. Military Naval Officer

1844 - Commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy by President Tyler.

08 May 1846 - Served on USS John Adams (1799).

1846 - Assigned to the sloop USS Jamestown (1844).

1850 - Serving on the USS Yorktown (1839) sloop.

19 Jun 1855 - Service in the Mediterranean Sea on the USS Congress (1841).

14 Jan 1858 - Assigned to the USS North Carolina (1820).

30 Jun 1860 - Assigned to the USS Niagara (1855) steam frigate.

May 1861 - Washington D.C. - Resigned his commission with the United States Navy.

Commissioned Officer in Confederate States Navy

10 Jun 1861 - Accepted his commission. Assigned to the CSS McRae.

09 Mar 1862 - Served on the CSS Virginia, formerly the USS Merrimack (1855).

1865 - Confederate President Jefferson Davis to James Semple - The Transfer of the Confederate Treasure - This transfer of the treasure was made to Mr. Semple, a bonded officer of the navy, and his assistant, Mr. Tidball, with instructions, as soon as it could be safely done, to transport it abroad and deliver it to the commercial house (ie. Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England) which had acted as the financial agent of the Confederate Government, and was reported to have incurred liabilities on its account. Note: (Confederate Treasure) (Gold, Silver) ($86,000) at that time period.^S4

1.   Semple, William Alexander. Genealogical History of the Family Semple: From 1214 to 1888. (Hartford, Connecticut: Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1888)
   Page 29 thru 38.

   Page 36 - James Allen Semple, who was adopted by his uncle, Judge Semple (175), who reared and educated him to manhood, his own father, a brother of the Judge, as well as his mother dying in his infancy, leaving him by will a handsome fortune. He married Letitia Tyler, the second daughter and fourth child of President John Tyler.

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} James A. Semple, in Find A Grave.
3.   Hereditary Sempill Lords of Blackburn, Kirkhouse, and Long Dreghorn & Clan Sempill .
   
4.   Davis, Jefferson. The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. (New York: D. Appleton And Company, 1881)
   Vol. 2, Page 695.

   [1865] Page 695
   The Transfer of the Treasure
   
   This transfer of the treasure was made to Mr. Semple, a bonded officer of the navy, and his assistant, Mr. Tidball, with instructions, as soon as it could be safely done, to transport it abroad and deliver it to the commercial house which had acted as the financial agent of the Confederate Government, and was reported to have incurred liabilities on its account.
   
   Note: (Confederate Treasure) (Gold, Silver) ($86,000) at that time period.

5.   Millett, Wesley; White, Gerald. The Rebel and the Rose: James A. Semple, Julia Gardiner Tyler, And The Lost Confederate Gold. (Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House Publishing, Inc., 2007).
6. ↑ Mr. Semple and the widow of President John Tyler, Julia Gardiner Tyler later became infatuated with each other. Their relationship is a subject of mystery. Semple spent two years traveling back and forth to Canada clandestinely helping the Fenian Brotherhood who were planning a series of raids and attacks into Canada. Mr. Semple was known to use the alias of Allen S. James during his travels in support for the Fenian Brotherhood.