John Foss of Somersworth and Barrington, New Hampshire.

John Foss was born in 1732 and died in 1819. He was the son of Joshua and Lydia (Rand) Foss and was baptized in Rochester, NH, on September 18, 1732. According to William D. Knapp and his book Somersworth: An Historical Sketch and Joseph Tate's Journal 1769-1778 (now located in the New Hampshire Historical Society), John moved to Somersworth, which was part of Dover until it became a separate town in 1754. John Foss is recorded as being a pew holder at the time of building a new meeting house in 1772. He also purchased part of the estate of one Ebenezer Wentworth at a venue in 1773. John is noted to have moved from Somersworth to Barrington, New Hampshire, on February 14, 1777, and lived there until he died in 1819. He is buried in a family plot located in Locke's Mills.

John Foss is known to have made both 8-day and 30-hour clocks. All of the current examples known to us are all fitted with brass dials. Another example of his work is pictured in Distin & Bishops, The American Clock on page 33.