The Story
of the Nyanfore and Nimley family
The story of the Nyanfore and Nimley family began with Dagbayonoh, a woman who came from a nearby village called Gbetta or Picnicess and migrated to Sikleokpo or Grandcess in Liberia, West Africa. According to traditional history, Dagbayonoh, meaning visiting woman, could not bear children in Gbetta, her native village.
Her parents consulted an oracle who told them to take her to Sikleokpo, where she would meet and marry a man and they would bear two sons. One son would become a king and the other would become a very wealthy man. Because the two villages were not on a friendly term and were constantly at war with each other, the prophecy was kept secret. One night her parents quietly took her to Sikleokpo, there she met Jappah, son of Teah Jlay.
Dagbayonoh and Jappah got married and born two sons, Nyanfore and Nimley. The sons grew up like ordinary boys. They did farming, fishing, swimming, and wrestling and were members of gbo, an age grouping used also for military training of young men. It was said that one night while they were at sleep, Nimley, the younger brother, heard a voice calling him to come outside. When he did the voice asked him what he wanted to become. “I want to be the sun”, Nimley replied. The same voice called on Nyanfore and asked him the same. “I want to become the moon”, he answered. As the sun and the moon shined in Sikleokpo so was the rise of the brothers’ influence in the village.
As prophesied, Nyanfore became a king and Nimley became a very rich man. Nimley also became head of the military and was called Dogbwo, meaning warrior. His wealth included gold, diamond, and currency.
The king reigned for seven years from 1901-1908. During his rule and before, the Liberian government denied natives of the land citizenship of the Republic. Yet, the regime made them pay taxes. Taxation without presentation was an issue in the country. The king fought against “Black colonialism” and Western cultural imperialism, accordingly. His stance on this issue, the advocacy of other natives, international criticism, and economic condition forced the government by 1912 to extend citizenship to the native majority during President Arthur Barclay administration. He was a traditionalist and stood for a united Grandcess, but he was also controversial. He led Grandcess during the respective presidency of Garretson Gibson and Arthur Barclay in Liberia. Nyanfore died in office. He and his brother Nimley died together after a war between Sikleokpo and Gbatta.
There are different accounts regarding the deaths; we will discuss their deaths in our next update of the site. It was told that when Nimley was alive he buried his money and did not tell its location to any of his family members or to any other person. So when he died, the family could not locate his treasure.
Although Nyanfore and Nimley were brothers from the same parents, as time went on the brothers started their own family. Their given names became their individual surnames - the Nyanfores and the Nimleys - names, which their respective descendants carry today.
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