Job Durfee

Born in Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1790, he graduated from Brown University in 1813, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. His career moved steadily through public service: he served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, represented the state in the U.S. House from 1821 to 1825, and later became chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1835.

Alongside his legal and political work, he wrote poetry with a strong sense of place and history. His best-known literary work is What Cheer; Or, Roger Williams in Banishment, a historical poem centered on Roger Williams and the founding spirit of Rhode Island.

That mix of civic duty and literary interest gives his work a special flavor. He wrote as someone deeply connected to his state’s past, and his poems still appeal to readers curious about early American culture, public life, and the stories Rhode Island told about itself.