USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume I > Part 44
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Two days after this letter was written, the bill passed the House by a vote of 73 to 27, it having previously passed the Senate unanimously. It became a law on February 23, 1821. The act provided for the erection of Monroe County with the boundaries
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as they are at present, with a court of common pleas and a court of general sessions, and for the appointment of county officers. It authorized two assessments of $5,000 each for current expenses and for the erection of a court house and jail. James Seymour, of Clarkson; Elisha Ely and Levi Ward, of Brighton, were named as commissioners to select a site and supervise the construction of the county buildings.
Early in March the following county officers were appointed : Elisha B. Strong, judge of the Court of Common Pleas; Timothy Barnard and Levi H. Clarke, associate judges; Nathaniel Roch- ester, clerk; James Seymour, sheriff; Timothy Childs, district at- torney ; Elisha Ely, surrogate. One member of the Assembly was apportioned to the county, and at the election of 1821 Nathaniel Rochester was chosen for the office. Elisha Ely succeeded to the office of clerk, and Orrin Gibbs was appointed surrogate.
The first meeting of the board of supervisors was held May 8, 1821, at the house of John G. Christopher, in the village of Roch- ester. Gibbons Jewett, of Parma, was the only absentee. The other towns were represented as follows: Brighton, Ezekiel Morse; Clarkson, Aretus Haskell; Gates, Dr. Matthew Brown, Jr .; Henrietta, Elijah Little; Mendon, James Smith; Ogden, James Baldwin; Penfield, Henry Fellows; Perinton, Reuben Willey; Riga, Joseph Sibley; Rush, Peter Price; Sweden, Silas Judson; Wheatland, John Garbutt. At this meeting Samuel M. Smith was appointed county treasurer.
The new officials keenly felt the dignity of the new county and lost no time in establishing Monroe upon a solid base. County buildings naturally occupied their attention first of all. The formality of resolving to carry out the provisions of the act in this matter was consummated at the second meeting of the board, June 12, 1821. The three proprietors of the village-Rochester, Carroll and Fitzhugh-generously donated a lot fronting 166 feet on Main Street by 264 feet on Fitzhugh Street, and here the cor- nerstone of the first court house was laid September 4, 1821. The building, which cost only $6,000, was completed during the follow- ing summer. The cornerstone of the second court house, on the same site, was laid June 20, 1850, and the building opened with a session of the Supreme Court December 2, 1851. It was thought that this structure would be ample for the needs of the county during a long period of years, but it was not, and on July 4, 1894,
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the cornerstone of the third and present county building was laid. The latter was opened for business June 27, 1896.
One of the first things the new county needed was a jail, and one was built in 1821, on North Fitzhugh Street, then called Hughes Street. This structure contained a double row of cells and was surrounded by a stone wall. It was not a very preten- tious affair and was sold ten years later, when a second jail was constructed on the west side of the river, just south of Court Street. The site of this building is now occupied by the Erie Rail- road station. The present jail, located on Exchange Street, was completed in October, 1885, and an extensive addition was made in 1912.
The first county alms house was erected in 1826. In 1872 the old buildings, which originally stood upon a site almost three miles outside of the village, but which is now well within the city limits, were replaced by new ones. In 1853 Joshua Conkey, Sam- uel H. Davis, Lewis Selye and Ezra B. True, of the board of supervisors, were appointed a committee to locate and erect a penitentiary. They decided upon a spot just north of the alms house and the prison was completed the following year. Two fires have visited the institution-in 1865 and 1868-but each time it has been rebuilt upon broader lines. The Monroe County Tuber- culosis Sanatorium, a new institution, is located near the alms house and penitentiary. The State Hospital for the Insane, dat- ing back to a small building erected in 1857, is south of the alms house.
Monroe County has nineteen towns; changes have occurred in many of them, and some have been absorbed by the ever broaden- ing corporation limits of Rochester.
In 1806 a town called Boyle was erected, embracing the pres- ent towns of Brighton, Irondequoit, Penfield, Perinton and Web- ster. Five or six years later the name was changed to Smallwood. Brighton town was set off from Smallwood March 25, 1814, and then included Irondequoit. Repeated annexations to the city have left only a small portion of the original town. The village of Brighton was annexed to the city in January, 1905, and became the twenty-first ward. Mention has been made of the purchase made by Caleb Hyde and others of a large tract of land, which later became a part of Brighton. The first white settler in the
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town was John Lusk; others were Timothy Allyn, Enos Blossom, Oliver Culver, Calvin and Chauncey Hyde, Joel Scudder, Samuel Sheffer, Solomon Hatch, Milo Barnes, Enos and Israel Blossom, Hanford Boughton, Abner Buckland, William Crocker, Barnabas Curran, Abel Follett, Romanta and Roswell Hart, Erastus Stan- ley, Joseph G. Wheeler, the Cory and Dryer families. Early in- dustries of the town of Brighton included the gypsum beds, which were extensively worked, and some years later a large brick and tile works began operations in the southern part of the town, near the alms house.
On February 22, 1822, the town of Riga was divided and the eastern part was made into the new town of Chili. The first town meeting was held April 2d following, at the house of James Cole- man. The first house was built within the present town limits by Joseph Morgan, in 1792, and the second by Josiah Fish at the mouth of Black Creek. Other settlers before the year 1800 were Benjamin Bowman, Joseph Cary, Lebbeus Fish (son of Josiah), Daniel Franklin, John Kimball, John McVean and his six sons, Alexander, Daniel, Duncan, John, Peter and Samuel; Stephen Peabody, who built a distillery in 1796; Jacob Widner and his sons, Abraham, Jacob, Peter, Samuel and William, who came in 1797; Lemuel and Joseph Wood and Andrew Wortman. James Chapman opened the first store; James Cary built the first mill, and the first tavern was opened in 1811 by Elias Streeter on the Chili and Spencerport road. At about that time Joseph Sibley built a saw mill near Buckbee's Corners, and later a grist mill. Postoffices were established at Clifton and North Chili at an early date, and after the railroad was built through the town the latter office was moved to Chili Station.
On April 2, 1819, the town of Murray was divided, the eastern portion being taken to form the town of Clarkson; the remainder is now in Orleans County. The new town was named for General Matthew Clarkson, an extensive landowner, and when established it extended northward to Lake Ontario. The first town meeting was held at the house of Abel Baldwin April 4, 1820, when Aretas Haskell was elected supervisor. Moody Freeman is credited with having been the first settler in the town. James Sayres located at Clarkson Corners in 1804. Eli Blodgett came the same year. Henry McCall opened the first store in 1810; Dr. Noah Owen was the first physician ; Isaac Williams built the first frame house and
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was the first blacksmith, and the first school was taught by Char- lotte Cummings in 1812. Before the railroad was built, the Ridge road was the main route between Canandaigua and Lewiston and was an important thoroughfare. Several mills and distilleries were erected along the road. Clarkson, then called Murray Cor- ners, was the stage station, and here the horses were changed and the weary travelers given a chance to refresh themselves with food and drink ; it was a rendezvous for troops and a depot for military supplies during the War of 1812.
The town of Gates was created as Northampton, but on June 12, 1812, the name was changed to the present form in honor of General Horatio Gates of Revolutionary. fame. The first town meeting was held April 4, 1809, at the house of Jeremiah Olm- stead; Dr. Zaccheus Colby was chosen first supervisor. Among the early settlers of the town were Isaac Dean, who built the first mill; Daniel and Samuel Gilman, John Harford, Ezra Mason, John Sickles, Augustus B. Shaw and William Williams. William Jameson opened the first tavern in 1806; Ira West had the first store. Closely identified with the subsequent development of the town were Ansel Griffin, William Hinchey, Philip Lyell, David Frink, Everett H. Peck, Thomas Jameson, Lowell Thomas, Ira Waite, Ira and Cyrus Bartlett, Calvin G. Hill and Calvin Sperry.
The northern part of the town of Gates was cut off March 22, 1822, to form the town of Greece. The early settlement at Char- lotte and the interesting events there during the War of 1812 have been noted in another chapter. The village of Charlotte was incorporated June 24, 1869, and the first board of trustees was composed of Ambrose Jones, president; Joshua Eaton, John Farn- ham, George Hardison and A. Wilder; F. A. Jones was the first clerk. The first store within the village was opened by Child & Gardner in 1810, and about the same time Frederick Hanford had one at King's, later Hanford's, Landing. Bushnell & Guern- sey started another the following year. Charlotte was an im- portant port, even in an early day, as Porter Benton's vessel, com- manded by Captain Charles Sweet, made regular trips between Charlotte, Kingston and Ogdensburg. The village has become a part of the city of Rochester. Between the years 1800 and 1810 a number of settlers brought their families to what is now the town of Greece. Among them were John Bagley, Francis Brown,
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Daniel Budd, Joseph Bullock, James Dailey, Benjamin Fowler, Wheeler Heacock, Aristotle Hollister, Asa Hurd, Silas Lloyd, John Mastick, John Odell, Silas Smith and Thomas Wood, most of whom settled near the mouth of the Genesee River.
On October 11, 1852, the northern part of the town of Clark- son was set off as the town of Union. The name of Hamlin was adopted February 22, 1861, in honor of Hannibal Hamlin, who had been elected vice president of the United States the preceding November. The first town meeting was held at the house of John C. Patterson March 1, 1853, when Ebenezer Barringer was chosen supervisor. Aretus Haskell, who located here in 1810, is credited with having been the first settler, but there were others who came very soon after, including Stephen Baxter, John Nowlan, Joshua and Samuel Randall, Billings and Alanson Thomas and Daniel Pease. A little later the colony was joined by William Clark, Thomas and William Hayden, Caleb James, Joseph Knapp, Albert Salisbury and Joshua Green. Green, James Sayres and Haskell all constructed saw mills, and the first grist mill was put up by Alanson Thomas for LeRoy & Baird. Daniel Pease was the first merchant, and the first tavern was opened by A. D. Raymond. The first postoffice in the town was opened at Hamlin Center, where Henry Kimball was postmaster. At East Hamlin Elisha Wheeler first handled the mail bags, and, at North Hamlin, L. Hovey performed this service. East Hamlin is now known as Walker, and Hamlin Center as Hamlin.
The western part of the town of Pittsford was cut off March 27, 1818, and formed the new town of Henrietta, so named from Henrietta, countess of Bath, and daughter of Sir William Pul- teney. Among the early settlers of Henrietta were several Revo- lutionary soldiers. Major Isaac Scott received a land grant of 900 acres as a reward for military services in the Continental army. He located his grant on the east side of the Genesee River in 1790, but after two years of trying to found a settlement he gave up. Among the other veterans of the war, who afterward settled in the town, were Joel Clark, Robert McLeod, Daniel Phil- lips, Lyman Wright and Major Gilbert. In 1806 George Dickin- son, Moses Goodall, Gideon Griswold, Selah Reed, Charles Rice, Thomas Sparks and William Thompson settled along the river, and the following year another settlement was founded on the
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Wadsworth road by the Baldwins, Benjamin Hale, Ira Hatch, Jonathan Russell and a few others. Early industry assumed the usual character in Henrietta, consisting of a saw mill built by Jonathan Smith in 1811; a tannery by Daniel Richards in 1813, and a distillery by John Gooding. Sidney Warner very early had a small chair factory in the town.
The territory comprising the town of Irondequoit was taken from Brighton March 27, 1839, and at the first town meeting held April 2d following William Shepherd was made supervisor. Per- haps the first settler in what is now Irondequoit was William Walker, known as "Tory" Walker from the tradition that he had served with Butler's Rangers and with Brant in the Revolution. Walker located on the east side of the Genesee River at the mouth. He soon crossed to the west side and thence went to Canada. A mulatto named Dunbar, Jesse Case, John and Oliver Culver, Abel Densmore, Adonijah Green, Ransford Perrin, Elmer Reynolds, Samuel Spafford and Abner Wakely were others well known in the vicinity. In 1809 Caleb Lyon settled on the east side of the river, and in 1816 he was joined by Elisha B. Strong, the founder of ill-fated Carthage, mentioned in another chapter. Much of the original town of Irondequoit has been drawn into the city of Rochester.
When the town of Mendon was formed May 26, 1812, it was in Ontario County, its territory having been taken from the town of Bloomfield. For want of a better place perhaps, the first town meeting was held in April, 1813, in Thomas Ewer's barn. Jona- than Ball, Zebulon Norton and Peter Sines came from Vermont in 1790 and settled near the southern boundary. Norton erected the first mill where the village of Honeoye Falls now stands. Dur- ing the next three years a number of people came from New Eng- land, among them being Jonas Allen, Ebenezer Barnard, Joseph Bryan, Jason Cross, Charles Foote, William Hickox, Reuben Hill, Samuel Lane, Benjamin, John and Rufus Parks, Calvin Perrine, Ebenezer Rathbun and Samuel Sterling. One of the early mer- chants in this locality was James Dixon; Abraham Parrish operated the first tavern, and James and John Dunn established the first distillery. All of the activity of the time centered in the settlement which grew up around Zebulon Norton's mill, and which for several years was known as Norton's Mills. A post-
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office was established there in 1822 and given the name of West Mendon, which was changed to Honeoye Falls when the latter village was incorporated in March, 1838. This is the only incor- porated village in the town, has a population of 1,107, and is typical of the thriving villages of western New York. In 1797 Jonas Allen bought 125 acres of land from Ebenezer Barnard and founded the village of Mendon. He constructed a saw mill, and A. H. Rand put in a carding machine; both were destroyed by fire in 1816.
On January 27, 1817, the southern part of the town of Parma was set off as a new town, named Ogden for William Ogden, son- in-law of John Murray, the original proprietor. Some time in the early years of the nineteenth century James Wadsworth visited Haddam, Connecticut, to induce settlers to come to the new west- ern country. At a public meeting Daniel Arnold was appointed to visit the region. He made a favorable report, and in 1802 George W. Willey came from East Haddom, the first actual settler in the town of Ogden. Others who came from Connecticut shortly after- ward were Daniel Arnold, Jonathan and William B. Brown, Abra- ham, Eastman, Isaac and Timothy Colby, Benjamin Freeman, Henry Hahn, Josiah Mather, Austin, Daniel and William H. Spencer, Daniel Wandle and Benajah Willey. Ansel Chapman, John and Samuel Gott and a number of others soon joined the colony, settling near the southern border. The village of Spencer- port was laid out by William H. Spencer, through whose farm the Erie Canal passed. It was incorporated April 22, 1867, and the first trustees were C. S. Cole, E. D. Davis, George K. Field, Austin Reed and William C. Slayton. The founder of the village himself built the first sawmill; Charles Church was the first merchant in the town, but West & Richards opened the first store in the village. Daniel Spencer first dispensed local cheer in his tavern. Adams Basin is another small settlement in the town, and the first settler here was Stephen Ross, in 1816. He was both a farmer and cabinetmaker.
The first town west of the Genesee in what is now Monroe County was Northampton, which was erected April 4, 1797. On December 8, 1807, it was divided into the towns of Bayard, Fair- field, Northampton and Pulteney. The name of Fairfield was changed to Parma April 8, 1808, and then included what is now
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the town of Ogden. In the spring of 1796 three brothers, Beza- leel, John and Stephen Atchison, located near the present village of Hilton. Other early settlers were Michael Beach, Abner Brock- way, Jr., Hope and Elisha Davis, James Egbert, George Goodhue, George Huntley, Gibbons Jewett, Silas Leonard, Alpheus and Timothy Madden, Jonathan Ogden, E. W. Thayer, Jason Tyler and Jonathan Underwood. Thayer built a saw mill on Long Pond Creek about 1806. Jonathan Whitney and Bezaleel Atchison were the first to operate a grist mill, and the earliest tavern- keepers were Hope and Elisha Davis. The Ridge road was opened in 1816, and Samuel Hildreth & Company started a line of stages between Rochester and Lewiston. A postoffice was established that year at the general store kept by a Mr. Thompson, and was known as Parma. The office at Parma Center was started in 1831, and at Unionville (now Hilton) in 1845. Hilton was set- tled in 1805 by Jonathan Underwood and Jason Tyler. William Fosmire opened the first store here, and Samuel Smith kept the first tavern. Parma Center was settled about the same time by Austin and Roswell Atchison, also possibly a few others, including one Ross. Chauncey A. Knox was the pioneer merchant of the community.
About 1790 Phelps and Gorham sold the territory now com- prising the town of Penfield to Jonathan Fassett, of Vermont. The purchaser visited his land, but was driven back to Vermont by the prevalence of malaria here. He sold out at a loss to a man named Ham, of New Jersey. Ham kept 200 acres and disposed of the remainder to Silas Pepoon, who, in turn, sold to Samuel P. Lloyd. A few small tracts were sold by the latter, and in 1810 Daniel Penfield bought what was left. The town was erected on March 30th of that year and named for the landed proprietor. Caleb Hopkins settled near the Irondequoit Falls in 1791, followed by another named Maybee, but they did not remain any length of time. In 1801 Calvin Clark and Lebbeus Ross came into the town and, during the next five years, there came David and Jonathan Baker, Isaac Beatty, Joseph Hatch, Josiah J. Kellogg, William Mckinstry, Benjamin Minor, Brooks Mason, Henry Paddock and Daniel Stilwell. Mckinstry was the first merchant, and Stilwell kept the inn. These early settlers soon took advantage of the Irondequoit Creek water power, and as early as 1800 a man named Bronson put up a triphammer. Daniel Penfield built the
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first mills, Nathaniel Case and Nelson Fullam built mills soon afterward, William Mckinstry established the first distillery, and Henry Fellows started the first tannery.
In the early records pertaining to the town of Perinton the name is also spelled Perrington and Perrinton. It was erected May 26, 1812, and was named for Grover Perrin, the first settler, who built his cabin about a mile south of Fairport in 1789, or pos- sibly 1791. Before the close of the century several more settlers came in, among them Asa, Edward and Jesse Perrin, Gideon Ramsdell, John Scott, Levi Treadwell, Caleb Walker and Abner Wright. Richard Lincoln and Joseph Richardson built the first grist mills about 1810. Gregory & Dean opened the first store, and Grover Perrin had the first tavern. Peter Ripley built a saw mill on Thomas Creek about 1812, the first in the town; Bailey & Richardson followed with one on Irondequoit Creek a few years later. The first town meeting was held April 6, 1813, in the set- tlement known as Egypt. The village of Fairport came into prominence with the building of the Erie Canal in 1822. Goodell & Aiken opened the first store about that time, and Oliver M. Thompson soon followed with another. Cyrenus Mallett kept the first hotel about 1827. When the New York Central Railroad was constructed through the village, in 1853, it experienced the be- ginning of an era of prosperity which lasted for several years, during which time a number of manufactories were established. Fairport was incorporated under an act of the legislature ap- proved April 12, 1867. At the first village election Daniel B. DeLand, Charles H. Dickenson, Joel Y. Parce, H. S. Perry and Henry H. Van Buren were chosen trustees. Fairport has its own waterworks system, which was placed in commission in 1894.
The town of Pittsford was erected March 25, 1814, and then included the present town of Henrietta. Historians have in- variably referred to the tradition that Phelps and Gorham ac- quired the land in half of the present town for thirty dollars. As the story runs, Phelps and Gorham sold to Seth Dodge, Israel and Simon Stone in 1789 a large tract of land (including the present town of Pittsford) for about thirty-six cents an acre; the same year, before the land was entirely paid for, a settlement was started by the Stones; then Phelps and Gorham, noting the rapid increase in the value of Genesee Valley lands, sought to regain the
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tract. They offered the Stones and Dodge one-half of the land without further payment in consideration of a return of the other half; this was done, and, if true, the purchasers thus became the owners of about half of Pittsford at a cost of thirty dollars. Israel Stone constructed his cabin where the village of Pittsford now stands, and Simon located half a mile farther south. Other of the early settlers were William Acer, Israel Canfield, Thomas Clelland, David Davis, Alexander and Amon Dunn, Joseph Farr, Henry Gale, Ebenezer Graves, William Jones, John Mann, Ben- jamin Miller, Noah Norton, Silas Nye, Ezra Patterson and Sam- uel Stone. Simon Stone put up the first saw mill, usually one of the first industries in a pioneer community, and was followed by John Mann in 1805, who chose a location on the Irondequoit. The village of Pittsford was incorporated April 7, 1827, and at the first election, just a month later, Carmi Hart, Samuel Hopkins, Philo Hurd, John Lane and Simon Stone were chosen trustees. Augustus Elliott opened the first store in the village in 1810; Charles Richardson and Thomas Benedict were other early mer- chants. Although having a population of only about 1,500, the village of Pittsford is at present an important trading and ship- ping point, due to its excellent transportation facilities. The vil- lage of East Rochester, located on the border line between Pittsford and Perinton towns, was incorporated October 31, 1906.
The town of Riga was erected April 8, 1808, from the town of Pulteney, and the first town meeting was held April 4, 1809, at the home of Henry Waidener. Thomas Hill was the first super- visor. Prominent among the early settlers of Riga were Samuel Baldwin, Ezekiel Barnes, Thomas Bingham, Henry Brewster, Elihu, Richard and Samuel Church, Dr. John Darling, Joseph Emerson, Amasa and Nehemiah Frost, Benjamin Holbrook, James Knowles, Enos Morse, Eber and Chester Orcutt, William Parker, Samuel Shepherd, Joseph Thompson and Henry Waid- ener. Elihu Church built the first house in the town; the firm of Thompson & Tuttle opened the first store, and the earliest tavern- keeper was Joseph Thompson. The village of Churchville was named for Samuel Church, who built the first house there. The village was incorporated in 1855, with J. M. Jameson, John Mark- ley and Zephas Willard as trustees; it was reincorporated May
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27, 1867. The first saw mill in the village was built by Samuel Church; the first store was established by Linus Pierson.
On March 13, 1818, the northern part of Avon, then in On- tario County, was set off as the town of Rush. The first town meeting was held during the following month at the house of Benjamin Billings, and William Markham was elected super- visor. As early as 1788 James and John Ganson, sons of a Revo- lutionary soldier, came from New England, cleared a few acres of land and built a log house near the Genesee River, which formed the western boundary of the town. The next year their father, Captain John Ganson, came and built a mill. It is said that his first grist was a sack of buckwheat, brought by Jared Boughton from Boughton Hill, a distance of twenty miles. Cap- tain Ganson first came to this country as a soldier under Sullivan in 1779. He was then impressed with the potential value of this country ; consequently his return here in later years. Other early settlers were John Barnes, John Bell, Benjamin Campbell, Thomas Dailey, Joseph Morgan, Ransom Smith, Christie Thomas and Abraham Wright. The last named was a mulatto and the place where he located afterward became known as Abraham's Plains. The three small villages of Rush, North Rush and West Rush are located closely together. William Roderick established a blacksmith shop at Rush in 1812, and Daniel Green had opened a tavern there a year or so previously. Peck & Skinner were the first merchants. John Webster came to the village about 1810, built a flour mill and carding machine, and also opened a store. The first store in North Rush was that of Arnold & Jefford in 1835. The postoffice there was established in 1856, under the name of Hart's Corners, and Willett Van Wayne was the first postmaster. The State Agricultural and Industrial School was removed from Rochester to Rush in 1907 and located at Industry, a short distance northwest of the village of Rush.
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