William James Roe

William James Roe II (September 1, 1843 – April 3, 1921) was an American author, artist, and businessman.

Early life Roe's illustration for his 1903 Popular Science Monthly article, "The New West Point". Roe was born to William James Roe I (1811–1875) and Anna Lawrence Clark Roe (1814–1914) on September 1, 1843, in Newburgh, New York. At the time, his parents were residing in the mansion of his grandparents, William Roe and Maria Hazard Roe, on Grand Street. William Roe, born in Kingston, was a retired New York grocer who arrived in Newburgh in the 1820s. His son, William James Roe I, improved the family fortune working for Luman Reed and Jonathan Sturges, becoming an art collector himself.

Roe was educated at Russell Military Academy in New Haven, Connecticut, a preparatory school for young men interested in attending nearby Yale or West Point. After abruptly leaving Russell's, Roe was enrolled at the Newburgh Collegiate Institute, a private boys' school in Newburgh administered by Polish-American M. L. Domanski. During this time, he began writing for the school's magazine, The Acorn. At fifteen, Roe left his schooling to study law at the firm Hasbrouck & Taylor in Newburgh. His uncle, William C. Hasbrouck, supervised his studies. Later in life, he remarked that the law profession was not for him.

In 1861, he enlisted in a volunteer company, the 124th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, in response to the outbreak of the Civil War. Though he was elected sergeant, his father was opposed to him engaging in the war and took him to Europe in January 1862.

Roe Sr. claimed he would allow his son to continue if the war had not ended within six months. Most of those six months were spent abroad, and the Roes visited England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Roe corresponded with the Newburgh Journal, and letters from his travels abroad were serialized. While traveling, cadetship at West Point was offered. Going through West Point to become a lieutenant was more favorable for than fighting. He received an appointment from the Hon. John Sedgwick and began in 1863, graduating in 1867.

Business career When Roe I was declared a lunatic, his son took the reins on his business ventures and maintained his property. Roe II was appointed overseer of his father's will and finances. With his acquired wealth, Roe built two country houses—one for himself, the other for his parents—on 80 acres of land in New Windsor. William James Roe I died on November 20, 1875. Much of his earnings were lost due to financial inexperience.

Seeking to regain the losses, Roe became president of the Hydrogen Company of New York and New Jersey in 1881.

About a year later, Bellona's Husband: A Romance was published by J. B. Lippincott & Co. The novel “takes its protagonists via Spaceship – powered by a kind of Antigravity device – to Mars, where they find a humanlike society distinguished from ours partly by the Martians' insistence that the literal truth must always be told, but mainly by the fact that they live backwards in time, growing constantly younger; this may be the earliest example of the Time in Reverse tale presented in full-fledged narrative form.” Eusapia Palladino in The New York Times.

Personal life

The William Roe Mansion in Newburgh, where three generations of the family lived. Mary Stuart went on to marry the artist Lee Woodward Zeigler on October 16, 1909, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He requested that his funeral not exceed $250 in costs. It was held on the afternoon of April 5, after which he was buried in St. George's Cemetery.