James Robert Bentley was born on February 14, 1942 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was the son of Francis and Katharine (Westcott) Bentley.

In 1947, the Bentley family moved back to Houghton, Michigan where Francis managed the the Bentley Lumber Company for a few years. They then moved back to Kentucky in 1950.

James attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English in 1964. He completed a Master of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

He was Curator and Director of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville. James was heavily involved in historic preservation and was a renowned genealogist serving as editor and publisher of The Kentucky Genealogist 1979–1986. See his obituary for more details.

James died on April 18, 2020 at his home in Kentucky and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.