Derby History Quiz

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Derby's "Poet Laureate"?

John Whiting Storrs

We're not sure if the City of Derby has ever had an official "poet laureate" similar to the position at the Library of Congress, but the John Whiting Storrs might have qualified. He lived from 1824 to 1887 and is buried in Oak Cliff cemetery with his wife Elizabeth. He was a reporter, photographer, and poet of great ability. He worked for the Sentinel, The Derby Transcript, the New Haven Register and the New haven Palladium.

He was also the editor of the Derby Journal and The Derby Weekly News in addition to having his own photography shop. He was called on regularly to commemorate in poetry some of the great events in Derby history including the dedication of the Ousatonic Dam and the dedication of the War of the Rebellion monument on the Birmingham Green. (Click on the thumbnail to see an excerpt of his historical poem on Derby history which was published in Samuel Orcutt's History of the Old Town of Derby).

 

After his death, his poems were published in the book pictured above, and we want to thank Randy Ritter who has a copy for suggesting this quiz, and providing the information and pictures!

This proved to be the toughest quiz in quite a while, and we only have a couple of correct respondents.

Correct answers were received from: Jack Vagnini and Bob Ahearn,

To see our earlier quizzes and learn more about Derby's unique history, click here.

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