Charles E. Boles was born in England in 1829 and came to the United States when he was two years old. His family settled in upper New York State, where he grew up. With news of the California gold rush in 1849, Boles left home to find his fortune. Like other 49ers, he came to realize he would never strike it rich. On his way back to New York he stopped in Decatur, Illinois, where he married, settled, and became a father to three daughters. When the Civil War broke out, Boles enlisted in the Union Army. His army life was hard. He fought bravely in many battles and proved to be an excellent soldier. It was in the army that he learned to walk long distances and adjust to living outdoors, skills that enhanced his later criminal career. After the war, he returned to his family, but the boredom of everyday life soon overtook him and he headed back to the West. He never saw his wife or children again. Why did he become a stagecoach robber? No one really knows. Upon his release from prison, Charles E. Boles, alias Charles E. Bolton and Black Bart, simply disappeared.
James B. Hume was born in 1827. Like his adversary Black Bart, he grew up in New York State. Also like Bart, he headed West in 1850 to find his fame and fortune in the gold fields of California. Unlike Bart, he never returned to the East. He had varying success as a gold miner, and in 1860 was elected the deputy tax collector of Placerville, California. From there he moved on to several law enforcement positions. He was a marshal, a sheriff, and finally, the chief detective of Wells, Fargo & Company. He was known and respected for using imaginative law enforcement methods to track down criminals, including Black Bart. Hume died in 1904.