James Duncan Jr. was born in North Carolina in about 1768. Originally a resident of Rutherford County, North Carolina, he witnessed his uncle John Hill's marriage to Huldah Jackson and also saw wounded soldiers on their return from the Battle of Beatti's Bridge. Later a farmer in Anson County, North Carolina, Duncan made a sworn affidavit in support of his aunt Huldah Hill's widow's pension application. He died sometime after 1850.