Edward Payson Roe (1838-1888) was educated at Williams College and Auburn Theological Seminary. He was chaplain of the Second New York Cavalry, U.S.V. and of Hampton Hospital during the Civil War, during which time he submitted weekly dispatches to the New York Evangelist. He served as pastor at Highland Falls, New York after the war, and in 1874 devoted himself to writing and horticulture.[Wikipedia: Edward Roe]

“Roe first turned to a literary career after the Chicago fire of 1871. Deeply moved by the tragedy, he visited Chicago and penned his first novel, Barriers Burned Away, which proved a tremendous success. Rev. Roe died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of fifty after an evening reading aloud to his family."[Monte Wilson]

His books include:

• Miss Lou (unfinished)
• An Original Belle
• A Young Girl’s Wooing
• The Earth Trembled
• A Knight of the 19th Century
• A Day of Fate
• Opening a Chestnut Burr
• Barriers Burned Away
• He Fell in Love with His Wife
• A Face Illumined
• From Jest to Earnest