James Barton was the brother of John Barton and father of Pete, Ross, Finn and Adam Barton (who was originally thought to be John's son). John and James became estranged and had not been in contact for the last years of John's life. James and wife Emma Barton were estranged from the time that Pete was a boy, Ross was a toddler and Finn was a baby, with Emma leaving the family for reasons that James never told his sons.