Roye, John Edward and Nancy, and son Edward James Roye

John Roye (d. 1829) told others that he had been born a slave in Kentucky. He and his wife Nancy (d. 1840) moved to Newark, OH, where Roye became a prosperous land owner. He was also part owner in a river ferry, and left all that he owned to his son Edward J. Roye (born in 1815 in Newark).

Edward Roye was a barber and  bathhouse owner in Terre Haute, IN. He was educated and had been a student at the University of Athens (OH). He left the U.S. for Liberia in 1845, and was a merchant there who  became one of the richest men in Liberia. He also served as  the Chief Justice and Speaker of the House.

Edward Roye founded the newspaper Liberia Sentinel in 1845, a venture that lasted about a year. In January 1870, he became the fifth President of Liberia. During his presidency, he was accused of embezzlement and jailed in October 1871 but escaped. It is believed he drowned sometime in 1872 while swimming to a ship in the Monrovia harbor.

For more see "Edward Jenkins Roye," Newark Advocate, 04/22/1984; C. Garcia, "TH barber Edward James Roye became 5th president of Liberia," Tribune Star, 02/24/2007, pp.1&5; and Edward James Roye in The Political and Legislative History of Liberia by C. H. Huberich.