Starr, Joseph, 1757-1840

Joseph Starr was born on 29 September 1757 at Norwich, Connecticut, the second son of Samuel and Abigail (Leffingwell) Starr. He was only two years old when his parents emigrated to Cornwallis, Kings County, Nova Scotia where he was raised until 1774 when his father sent him back to Norwich to attend school. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Joseph’s parents urged him to return to Nova Scotia. On his return trip, he was captured off Yarmouth, NS by the Revolutionary forces; however, he escaped and made it to Cornwallis where he was reunited with his family. Following the end of the War, he returned to Norwich to continue his education. Starr married his first cousin Joanna Starr, the daughter of Jonathan and Sarah Starr, on 7 June 1786. In March 1787, they returned to Nova Scotia and settled on a rented farm at New Minas. The couple had eight children. Following the death of his father, Joseph moved his family to the Starr farm at Starr’s Point, Kings County. Joseph died on 8 July 1840 and Joanna died on 29 August 1847.