Storrs was born in
Braintree, Massachusetts. He bore the same name as his grandfather (1763–1819), pastor at
Longmeadow, Massachusetts, from 1785 to 1819, and his father (1787–1873), pastor at Braintree, Massachusetts, from 1811 to 1873 (except the years 1831–1836), both prominent Congregational ministers, who were descendants of
Richard Mather. He graduated at
Amherst in 1839, studied law in
Boston under
Rufus Choate, graduated at
Andover Theological Seminary in 1845, and was pastor of the Harvard Congregational church of
Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1845–1846, and of the
Church of the Pilgrims in
Brooklyn, New York, from 1846 until shortly before his death. He was a
conservative in theology, and an historical writer of considerable ability. From 1848 to 1861, he was associate editor of the
New York Independent, which he had helped to establish; from 1887 to 1897 he was president of the
American board of commissioners for foreign missions, and he was prominent in the
Long Island Historical Society. His great-grandfather, John Storrs (1733–1799), a chaplain in the
Continental Army, had been pastor of the Southold Church in 1763–1776 and in 1782–1787. ==Works==