Zur Hawks grew up in a house on the main street of Deerfield, Massachusetts, which his father, Zadock, had purchased in 1762. Zur’s father was a tanner and a shoemaker, and behind the house was a pond used in the tannery business. Zur became a tanner and shoemaker like his father, and he eventually became the sole owner of his father’s house. He remodeled the 1712 house and rebuilt the center chimney, creating fireplaces with 19th century details. Zur Hawks served Deerfield as a selectman for four years between 1789 and 1807.