The Royer Family lineage is deeply rooted in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. The story of emigration to the United States begins with Nicholas and Ann (nee Legeaux, later Americanized to Lego) Royer. Nicholas Royier (original French spelling) was born in 1800 in the upland Lorraine plateau near the German border, just northwest of the Vosges Mountains. His home was nestled midway between the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace and Metz in Lorraine. He was primarily an innkeeper and stagecoach driver, but was a capable tradesman as well, with knowledge in barrel-making (cooperage), carpentry, and masonry. Nicholas owned an inn along the road connecting Strausbourg, Alsace and Metz, Lorraine. Ann Lego was born in 1802. She was a schoolmistress in the same region of Lorraine near the border. At the time, school curriculum near the French-German border was taught in both languages (French in the morning and German in the afternoon). Ann was likely a fairly-educated woman and bilingual. Due to a rapidly increasing population in the first half of the 19th Century (800,000 in 1814 to 1,067,000 in 1846), Alsace-Lorainne was experiencing serious economic and demographic hardships, including hunger, housing shortages, and lack of work for younger people. These factors led to a significant migration out of the region to places such as Paris, Russia, the United States, Canada, and lands occupied by the Austrian Empire.

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Nicholas and Ann married in Lorraine on December 2, 1821. They had eight children reach adulthood: Dennis (b. 18??-d. 1???), Martin (b. 1825-d. 1888), Dominick (b. 1828-d. 1910), Christine (b. 1832-d. 1915), Prosper (b. 1834-d. 1918), Joseph (b. 1839-d. 1874),  Malinda (b. 1842-d. 1920), and Adam (Adolph) (b. 1843-d. 1910). In 1844, Nicholas and Ann and their children embarked on a major lifechanging journey and immigrated to the United States. Like many other European emigrants, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean as steerage, occupying the interior of the ship known as the 'hold.' After many trying months on the open water, their trans-Atlantic voyage reached its American destination, New Orleans, Louisiana — fittingly, a city founded by the French Mississippi Company (as La Nouvelle-Orléans). At New Orleans , the Royer clan boarded a riverboat and continued their waterborne journey up the Mississippi River into the heart of America. At Cairo, Illinois, approximately 1,000 miles north of New Orleans, their excursion veered northeast, up the Ohio River, and continued for over 800 more miles to Marietta, Ohio. The final leg of the enduring and brave, four-month trek was up the shallower-draft Muskingum River to Zanesville (Muskingum County). 

 

Nicholas Royer purchased 72 acres of land near the present-day town of Sonora in Muskingum County, about nine miles east of Zanesville.  To support the family, Nicholas put his copperage skills to task. Barrels were commonly used to ship goods and were in great demand. Royer's barrels were hauled and sold in Zanesville. 

 

The Royers endured significant hardships in their first years in Ohio. Dennis, the eldest Royer son, returned to France with the intent to bring his paternal grandparents to America to join the family. Both Royer elders eagerly awaited a reunion with Nicholas and his family; however, sadly, both passed away on the long voyage across the Atlantic. They were buried at sea. Additionally, the Royer's Sonora home burned to the ground. With help from neighbors, a grander new home was steadfastly built.

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