In spite of that. Joshua Starr was an early settler in the Village of Cooperstown, arriving about 1792, and his red earthenware business operated during the circa 1792-1815 period. The actual site of his pottery was located less than one-half mile from downtown Cooperstown and the steps of the Baseball Hall of Fame, on the corner of Chestnut and Lake Street, directly in front of Otsego Lake.
The earliest published material referencing Starr's company is perhaps when the pottery was cited by famed author, James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) who was born in Burlington, New Jersey, but moved to Cooperstown at the age of one in 1790. In 1838, Fenimore's book, The Chronicles of Cooperstown was published, where he wrote, "On the evening of 20th November, 1795, a building attached to the pottery of Mr. Joshua Starr, a respectable inhabitant of the village was destroyed by fire. This is believed to be the first accident of the sort that ever occurred in Cooperstown."
Interestingly, Starr also appears to have owned a decent amount of property in Cooperstown, dividing some of his land assets in the early-nineteenth century; such was the case in 1826, "On 10 September 1842, Simeon Waterman of Cooperstown with Fanny his wife, sold property for $1,200 to Renselaer Waterman of the same, land on south side of Front Street, which Simeon had bought from Joshua Starr, 9 May 1826. Another land transaction is documented as having taken place in 1805: "Indices of the office of the Otsego County Clerk at Cooperstown, show that the trustees of Otsego Academy conveyed land October 22, 1796, to James Averill of Cooperstown. This was probably James, Jr.: and as "James Averill, Jr. Tanner," of Cooperstown, land is conveyed to him December 19, 1805 by Joshua Starr."
Furthermore, New York author, Ralph Birdsall (1871-1918) published some information about Starr, when The Story of Cooperstown was published 1917, where he also acknowledged past authors who had previously written about Cooperstown: "The local history has been already three times recorded, first in 1838 by Fenimore Cooper, whose work was brought down to date by S.T. Livermore in 1863, and by Samuel Shaw in 1886."
Nevertheless, Birdsall wrote, "Among the early settlers of Cooperstown there was one family not to be put off with any vagueness, whom Fenimore Cooper describes as "a respectable inhabitant of the village." To the mind of Joshua Starr, who survived the other members of his family, it was plain that if a proper grave should face east, it should face the east, and not east by south. Accordingly, the graves of the Starr family, a few steps northward from Samuel Griffin's, are notable among the tombs of Christ churchyard in being set with the foot due east, as by a mariner's compass. The wide headstones split the plane of the meridian; their edges cleave the noonday sun and the polar star. To the casual observer these three tombstones, are compared with all others in the churchyard, seem quite awry. In reality they alone are meticulously correct, a standing tribute to the exact eye of Joshua Starr, the potter."
Much like John Betts Gregory (1782-1842), who relocated from Norwalk, Connecticut and Huntington, Long Island, to run a pottery in Clinton, New York during the circa 1810-1829 period, Starr's production must have been predominantly intended for local consumption. While my search to locate some of Starr's red earthenware has been empty, thus far even though there must be surviving examples in existence, I can show this picture of where the Starr Pottery was once located in Cooperstown.
Aside from the site of the pottery, I have yet to determine where Starr learned the potter's craft, as well as the glazes he produced - and whether any of this production included slipware. Although, I believe he was probably trained somewhere in Connecticut - and he likely manufactured all the common household forms produced by domestic red earthenware potters in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.
Location of the Joshua Starr Pottery in Cooperstown, New York
Location of the Joshua Starr Pottery in Cooperstown, NY
The Pottery Operated Circa 1792-1815
Starr's Business Must Have Manufactured the Common Household Forms of the Period
Although it is Not Known if Any Slipware was Produced
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Joshua Starr (1757-1838)
Christ Churchyard in Cooperstown, NY
This is Where Joshua Starr was Buried in 1838
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Joshua Starr's (1757-1838) Tombstone in Christ Churchyard in Cooperstown, NY
"In Memory of Joshua Starr who died February 17th 1838 Aged 80 Years & 6 Months."
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