James Ephraim Daniels Jr. was born on February 9, 1825, in Manchester, England, to James Ephraim Daniels and Elizabeth Salthouse. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 16, moving to the United States to join the Saints in Illinois, then eventually to Utah. James married Elizabeth Jane Jones on April 28, 1849, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were the parents of six children, including James Edward Daniels, who later served as the mayor of Provo, Utah. James helped settle Payson, Utah, in 1850. In 1854, the family moved to Provo, Utah, where James worked as a carpenter before being appointed Utah County assessor and collector in 1854, and then was elected county recorder and county treasurer in 1874. James died on June 16, June 1903, in Provo, Utah.

Utah County was historically home to Native Americans. The first permanent white settlers in Utah Valley were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sent south from their original settlement in Salt Lake City by their leader Brigham Young in approximately 1849. On January 28, 1850, the territorial legislature, called General Assembly of the State of Deseret, declared that Utah Valley would be Utah County and they named Provo as its county seat. For the next two years, county record-keeping was inconsistent as there were no permanent officials instated. However, on February 7, 1852, Preston Thomas was appointed as probate judge and instituted order amongst the government's record keeping.

From 1857 to 1861 the Salt Lake City area was used as a base for military troops, which upset many of the Latter-day Saint settlers there and caused a movement of the population south into Utah County.

From 1854 to 1874, James E. Daniels served as the Utah County assessor and collector.