Lawrence Carmen Roush was born 1 July 1920 in Elmira, New York, the only son of an illiterate, Italian immigrant. During World War II, he served three years in the United States Navy. After the war, he attended Sampson College, Sampson, New York, 1948-1949. He graduated from George Washington University in May 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and began work on a master's degree there until his G. I. Bill funding ended in 1952.
From 1952 to 1954, Roush worked in the business department of the Library of Congress. In 1954 he became a traveling salesman for Lincoln Institute, a correspondence college in Illinois, retaining that position until 1979. (The organization went bankrupt in 1979.) During most of this period, he lived in Fayetteville and Wilson, North Carolina. In 1962, Roush began writing frequent letters to newspaper editors on various social, economic, and religious issues. Roush achieved much public attention because of his public opposition to religion and his dedication to Free Thought.
From the guide to the Lawrence Carmen Roush Papers, 1946-1987, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)
