John RobyJohn Roby was an English banker, poet, and writer who lived from 5 January 1793 to 18 June 1850. Roby was born in 1793 in Wigan, England, to Mary Aspull and a schoolmaster named Nehemiah Roby. In Rochdale, Lancashire, he began his career as a banker.Edwin Waugh recalls in his work Lancashire Sketches that while Roby was working for the firm of Fenton & Roby in Rochdale, Waugh worked as an apprentice at the bookshop next door. In June 1850, Roby was killed in a shipwreck. Despite clear weather, the S. S. Orion collided with a rocky bottom at Portpatrick while traveling from Liverpool to Glasgow. In 1829, Roby published The Traditions of Lancashire, a two-volume study of English folklore. The book was a hit with the upper classes in the United Kingdom, and it was reissued within a year. In 1831, Roby released a second series. Francis Palgrave complimented Roby for his efforts and encouraged him to write more. Despite this, readers did not believe a banker could have authored the works, and suspicion pointed to various alternative authors, including Crofton Croker. The works were compiled into three volumes and reprinted for the general audience in 1841 under the title Popular Traditions of Lancashire. Roby stated in the introduction that he wanted to follow up with volumes on other prominent English traditions, but he never did. Read More Read Less
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