Derby Honors African-American Diplomat

Some people may think the E” in E. Bassett Lane stands for east. Well, it doesn’t.

It stands for Ebenezer,” as in Ebenezer D. Bassett, whose family moved him to Derby as an infant.

Bassett, a friend of Frederick Douglass, was the country’s first African-American ambassador, appointed U.S. Minister Resident to Haiti by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1869.

Marian O’Keefe, a Seymour resident and curator emeritus of the Derby Historical Society, wants to make sure everyone remembers that.

The abbreviation is confusing,” she said.

Now, thanks to a new roadside plaque on E. Bassett Lane, everyone will know Bassett’s connection to Derby. The plaque, which contains historical information on 
Bassett, was unveiled Sunday.

Today we are recognizing a great man. A great man raised in Derby,” Mayor Anthony Staffieri said during a dedication ceremony Sunday.

The marker has a quote from Bassett. It reads:

My success in life I owe greatly to that American sense of fairness which tended me in Old Derby.”

O’Keefe was one of the driving forces behind the plaque. She thanked Staffieri, Aldermanic President Ken Hughes and the Board of Aldermen for their assistance in creating the marker.

Bassett’s local roots weren’t really brought to the surface until 2004, when O’Keefe and other started to trace his history.

Click the video above to see complete remarks from Staffieri and O’Keefe. The video was posted on the Derby section of the Electronic Valley.

O’Keefe recently co-authored a 26-page booklet about Bassett, with Mary Myeck and Carolyn Ivanoff.

Copies of the booklet, funded through grants, were donated to each of the schools each of the Valley towns.

Bassett is a forgotten hero,” O’Keefe said. No one knew anything about him, but now they will.”

Hughes, meanwhile, said he is working on a program to recognize all the streets in the city with historical significance.

There are many streets in Derby where no one knows the history of the name,” he said. We want to get people involved.”

The program involves placing a descriptive sign next to an existing street sign to briefly explain the history of that particular street name.

Residents who want the sign would have to purchase the sign for $25 and the pole for an additional $25.

For more information about becoming involved in the project contact Hughes at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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