James M. Priest was Vice-President

Vice-President of Liberia

The Vice President of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the President. The Vice President is elected on the same ticket with the president to a six-year term...

 of Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

 from 1864 to 1868 under President Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner served as the 3rd President of Liberia from 1864 to 1868. Prior to this, he served as the 5th Vice President of Liberia under President Stephen Allen Benson from 1860 to 1864, and as the 3rd Secretary of State in the cabinet of Joseph Jenkins Roberts from 1854 to...

. He was born a slave in the U.S. state of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. Prior to the death of slaveowner Jane Anderson Meaux, she educated and freed Priest and sent him to Liberia to evaluate the situation of former slaves living in Liberia. He returned to the U.S. and received more education and became a Presbyterian missionary. In 1843, he emigrated to Liberia under the auspices of the American Colonization Society

American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...

.

He later became a justice of the Liberian Supreme Court.