The Ear received an unusual request from DAVID MITCHELL, pictured above, who is the TOWN CRIER OF CHESTER, ENGLAND. Mitchell, who believes Chester to be “the only place which retains the tradition of regular midday proclamations,” says there is a “mysterious, poetic link between a former Chester City Crier and Astoria.”

“I have been handed a poem written in 1887 entitled “Old Jeffery, the City Crier,” Mitchell wrote. “This poem tells an intriguing story about JOHN JEFFERY, who was Chester’s Bellman from 1874 until 1897.” In the poem, Jeffery is approached by a stranger who pays the bellman to go through the city crying out a description of his lost dog. They chat, and the stranger says he is from ‘Yankee land.’ The dog search was unsuccessful, but the two of them go into the Coach and Horses hostelry for ‘a glass of Barlow’s noted beer.’

The poem goes on to say that Jeffery is excited to hear that the stranger is from Astoria, as his son had emigrated to ‘that same place’ many years previously. Soon it is revealed that the stranger is actually Jeffrey’s son.

“We know that the poem was written in 1887, by a JOHN ROBERTS living in King Street, Chester,” Mitchell wrote. “We also know that members of Jeffery’s family did, indeed, emigrate to Oregon, but maintained contact by letter, and by at least one 12-day sea voyage made by ROBERT LAMBETH JEFFERY in 1887, the very same year in which the poem was written. I would love to know more about the origin of the poem, and whether it was based on a real incident. And I am especially keen to know if any of John Jeffery’s descendants still live in the Astoria area. Can any reader help?”

If you have any information, please contact the Ear at (503) 325-3211 ext.257 or (ewilson@dailyastorian.com)