On July 8, 1819, James M. Priest was born into slavery in Kentucky. Jane Anderson Meaux, who owned him as a slave, provided him with education. She then dispatched him to Liberia to investigate the opportunities available in that colony.
After returning to the United States, Priest continued schooling and was eventually called to serve as a Presbyterian missionary. In 1835, an application was submitted to Centre College, located in Danville, Kentucky. Priest could not enroll at the institution. Therefore, he enrolled at McCormick Theological Seminary in New Albany, Indiana. James Priest completed his education at McCormick Theological Seminary in 1843. After returning to Liberia, he established the institution’s first overseas missionary work. He spent the better four decades serving in various capacities with the American Colonization Society. He first did his duty at King Will’s Town and then moved on to Greenville.
Between 1864 and 1868, Mr. Priest held the position of vice president of Liberia. Subsequently, he was elevated to justice on the Supreme Court of Liberia. In July of 1883, he passed away. He was serving as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Liberia at the time of his death.
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