Joseph Farr (Pittsfield), one of ten children was born in Acton, Massachusetts, August 30, 1743. He died in Pittsfield, February 24, 1796.

Joseph was both a surveying instrument maker and a clockmaker. I could only find two compasses made by Joseph Farr (Pittsfield). As luck would have it, one of the two is a Miller-Minute Compass. I also found a newspaper advertisement by Jospeh Farr (Pittsfield) saying that he made and sold Miller-Minute Compasses.


Jospeh Farr (Pittsfield) was probably apprenticed in the Boston area before arriving with his parents in Cummington. He married 21-year-old Sarah Susannah in Cummington, about 1768. A son, Joseph Jr, was born in Cummington in 1775.

A record of Joseph Farr's eight children was found in the Pittsfield Congregational Church baptism records of July 1, 1781:
Jonas
Eliel
Percy (Perez)
Betty (Betsy) -later married Willard Longworthy
Sally - later married Daniel W. Murphy
Joseph, Jr.
Polly
William

Pittsfield was a young and growing town during his early years, and he must have found greater opportunities there than in Cummington. Pittsfield affairs were conducted at the Congregational Church. "Existence of religious denominations other than Congregational was ignored. The town was simply a Congregational Parish."

Another male joined the family in Pittsfield between the July 1781 baptisms and a 1786 census. This brought the number of his children to nine.

Joseph Farr (Pittsfield) was a respected and prominent member of the Congregational Parish. Two references appear which place him in a role of influence:


On August 20, 1784, a meeting was convened at the Congregational church to decide on a complaint brought by a Deacon Wright. The issue concerned determining if sufficient evidence existed to support a complaint against on Colonel Easton. Colonel Easton allegedly had a criminal conversation with a Mrs. Dexter of Boston. Joseph Farr voted with the nine yeas. There were ten nays.

On June 3, 1788, a church committee was selected to attend matters regarding "parochial dissensions" of a divided parish. The committee was to prepare a report of resolve concerning whether the parish should separate or remain united over issues concerning assignment of church pews and the political conduct of the Rev. Mr. Allen. It was to be a "committee made up of influence and sound discretion…by those with wise neutrality." Joseph Farr served on the committee. The report was sent to the town on June 26 1788. All issues appeared to be harmoniously resolved…for a while.

Joseph Farr (Pittsfield) would have needed a substantial source of income to support his large family. Aside from the one high quality clock surviving, no other are known to exist. His clock production must have been so low that he either had to be independently wealthy of needed other endeavors to provide and income. An evaluation of his estate inventory indicates that he was very resourceful. He kept bees and probably sold honey. The large amount of wool, flax and flannel in his estate indicates that he and his wife probably made and sold cloth. Like other clockmakers, he may have provided blacksmithing services.

At the time of Joseph (Pittsfield) death at age 53 in 1796, the Farr children would have consisted of five under 15, one male and two females under 20, on male and one female under 25, and two males under 30.

From his estate inventory, we can surmise that the nest was emptied of the four older children, although his bed-count indicates that he could still sleep 10, if they did not leave. He had a good size fireplace with plenty of cooking utensils. The abundance of good furniture and silverware describes a family living comfortably.

At the age of 53, Joseph was a relatively young man when he died. Evidently, Joseph had been sick since 1794. His doctor, Timothy Childs, recovered a fee of $40.50 in the 1797 estate settlement.

His father died a year later at the age of 79.

All the above information comes from:
JOSEPH FARR, CLOCKMAKER By Raymond W. Fischer
Berkshire Genealogist, Volume 23 - Number 2 Spring 2002, page 39