Early Years
Farr attended Roanoke College after the war but did not earn a degree. He returned to Fairfax County, where on April 18, 1870, the county court appointed him sheriff. Farr won election as county treasurer in November of that year, and he studied law and took his oath to practice in the county court on April 15, 1872. He also served twice as county surveyor and was active in several local organizations, including the Virginia State Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. In Washington, D.C., on February 12, 1879, he married Margaret E. Malone. They had four sons and one daughter. About that time Farr built a large brick house called Five Chimneys in the part of the county that later became the city of Fairfax.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Farr wrote often in the Educational Journal of Virginia to promote teacher education, shifting from ungraded to graded schools, a lengthened school year, improved school buildings, and access to free textbooks. He was emphatic throughout his tenure that African Americans receive an education equal in quality to that of white students. With cooperation from the Peabody Educational Fund, under the direction of J. L. M. Curry, he secured money with which to provide training for African American and white teachers. Always striving to improve the operation of public schools throughout the state, he instituted an annual conference to bring together all city and county school superintendents and high school principals. He also helped develop the Virginia Teachers' Reading Association to provide all of the state's teachers with a two-year reading course in educational theory and practice.
Later Years
Time Line
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November 30, 1845 - R. R. Farr is born in Fairfax County.
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November 2, 1863 - R. R. Farr enlists as a private in John Singleton Mosby's Confederate cavalry regiment.
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April 1865 - R. R. Farr is paroled in Winchester after service in the Confederate cavalry.
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April 18, 1870 - R. R. Farr is appointed sheriff in Fairfax County.
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April 15, 1872 - R. R. Farr takes an oath to practice law in the Fairfax County court.
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1877–1882 - R. R. Farr serves in the House of Delegates, representing Fairfax County.
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February 12, 1879 - R. R. Farr and Margaret E. Malone marry in Washington, D.C. They will have four sons and one daughter.
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1882 - About 172,000 white students and 85,000 black students are enrolled in Virginia public schools.
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1882 - R. R. Farr loses in his run for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Readjuster.
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January 13, 1882 - The General Assembly elects R. R. Farr the state superintendent of public instruction.
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October 30, 1884 - The State Female Normal School opens in Farmville.
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1886 - About 197,000 white students and 110,000 black students are enrolled in Virginia public schools.
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March 14, 1886 - R. R. Farr's four-year term as state superintendent of public instruction ends.
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May 1889 - President Benjamin Harrison appoints R. R. Farr U.S. marshal for the eastern district of Virginia.
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October 10, 1892 - R. R. Farr dies at his Fairfax County estate, Five Chimneys.
References
Further Reading
External Links
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Tarter, B., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. R. R. Farr (1845–1892). (2016, April 20). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Farr_R_R_1845-1892.
- MLA Citation:
Tarter, Brent and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "R. R. Farr (1845–1892)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: April 18, 2016 | Last modified: April 20, 2016
Contributed by Brent Tarter and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Brent Tarter is founding editor of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.