Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Joseph Jenkins Roberts was born in Norfolk, Virginia, United States on March 15th, 1809 and is the Politician. At the age of 66, Joseph Jenkins Roberts biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who immigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a well-known politician.
After independence, he was elected first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liberia, and he served as the country's first man of African descent from 1841 to 1848.
Roberts emigrated from Norfolk, Virginia, as a young man with his mother, siblings, husband, and child to the young West African colony.
He founded a Monrovia brokerage company and later became involved in politics. Roberts was elected as the country's first president after Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847, and served until 1856.
He was elected again in 1872 to serve as Liberia's seventh president.
Early life
Joseph Jenkins Roberts was born free in Norfolk, Virginia, and he was the second-oldest of seven children. His father was believed to be a planter of Welsh origins. Amelia, Joseph's mother, was described as a "mulatto" who was very generous, and he released her when she was still young, long before Joseph was born. Amelia gave all but one of her children the middle name Jenkins, which indicates that this was likely to be the surname of their biological father.
Amelia moved and married James Roberts, a free man of color, after she was released. Roberts gave her children his surname and raised them as his own. On the James River, Roberts owned a boating business. He had amassed considerable wealth for a free man of color by the time of his death.
Joseph Roberts and his siblings were estimated to have seven-eighths European descent. In 1926, Liberian historian Abayomi Karnga said, "He was not really black; he was an octoroon and could have just passed for a white man." However, his native Virginia designated him as a person of color because he was born to a mother of African descent.
With a large population of free people of color, the family migrated to Petersburg, a thriving industrial city on the upper James River. Joseph began working with Joseph as a child, hauling materials from Petersburg to Norfolk, Virginia on the James River. James Roberts, the family's stepfather, died just after the family was relocated. Joseph continued to work in his family's company, but he also worked as an apprentice in a barber shop. William Colson, the owner of the barber shop, was also a minister and one of Virginia's most educated black residents. Roberts was given access to his personal library, which provided a large part of the youth's early education.
