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 II > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
950
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
and town, and John Rorbach, Lockwood L. Doty and Craig W. Wadsworth were appointed a committee to secure the ground and erect a building. Colonel Doty's removal from the village brought about his resignation and his place was taken by James S. Orton. The town of Geneseo gave $45,000, the village $15,000 and the Wadsworth family contributed $10,000 more. The first name given to the school was the "Wadsworth Normal and Train- ing School," which was afterward changed to the Geneseo Nor- mal and Training School. It was opened September 13, 1871, with William J. Milne as principal. He continued as its head until 1889, when he was succeeded by his brother, John M. Milne. The latter held the office until his death in 1905. The next prin- cipal of the school was Dr. James V. Sturges, who retired in 1922. Dr. Winfield A. Holcomb, from the State Educational Department, opened the school in the fall of 1922, and before the end of the year had been confirmed as principal.
The school at Lima known as the Genesee Wesleyan Semi- nary was established in 1849 as Genesee College, at which time a large building, known as College hall, was constructed. This was the principal college of western New York and so continued until the founding of Syracuse University; then began a move- ment to remove the college to Syracuse. A bill to this effect was introduced in the 1868 legislature, but was withdrawn, and then the supreme court restrained the removal. However, the col- lege ceased to operate and a law was passed by which all its prop- erty was vested in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, on condition that the latter assume the obligations of the college. This placed the seminary on a sound financial basis, and so it has continued with success to the present time. It is conducted as an adjunct of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHAPTER XXXIV
LIVINGSTON COUNTY: RELIGION
In the Genesee Valley, as in other pioner settlements, atten- tion was given to religious matters from the beginning. The Connecticut legislature, in 1792, passed an act to obtain contri- butions from all churches of that state for three years to sup- port missionaries and promote religion in the frontier settle- ments in the north and west. This organization was known as the Missionary Society of Connecticut and was the first of its kind in the United States. Eight missionaries were dispatched to the settlements in 1794, one of whom, Rev. Aaron Kinne, came to the Genesee River on horseback. He preached at Canawau- gus, Big Tree, Williamsburg and other settlements. He revisited this section in 1795. His work and presence were eagerly sought by the pioneers, who traveled great distances in many instances to attend his meetings.
It is said that the missionaries hesitated to go to the west- ward of the Genesee River, as the land beyond that waterway was deemed a hopeless field for religious effort; the common remark of the day is said to have been, "the Sabbath day never crossed the Genesee River."
In 1802 the Hampshire Missionary Society of Massachusetts sent missionaries to the frontier settlements, including the Indian villages along the Genesee. Samuel Magee, one of the early residents of Williamsburg, wrote: "The first sermon we listened to after our arrival was in what was known as William- son's big barn, at Hermitage, some two hundred feet long, built to accommodate horses that came to the races, since owned and used by Judge Carroll. Rev. Samuel Mills preached to an atten- tive congregation." Rev. Andrew Gray, a Presbyterian min- ister, preached in Sparta in 1806, and afterward was a mission- ary among the Indians near Livonia. James Scott and family came to Sparta in 1806. His son thus describes an early church
951
952
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
service : "The Sabbath following our arrival in Sparta, my father, one of the girls and four of us boys attended meeting at the house of George Mitchell, a log domicile two and one-half miles south of Scottsburg, where Samuel Emmett, a Methodist minister, preached a sermon to a congregation of twenty-five or thirty persons, who had gathered from a circuit of two or three miles. His text was Ecclesiastes X, I. I had heard the good man preach in Pennsylvania five years before, and seeing him here re- newed agreeable associations. His voice was loud enough to lift the bark roof from the low-browed house, and he had all the earnestness of early Methodism. There was much shouting, and some of his hearers fell with 'the power', as it was called. The doxology was sung, but no benediction was said except 'meetin's over'."
In the year 1806 a small number of the residents of the town of Hartford formed the Second Baptist Church at Hartford, and Elder William Firman was called as pastor. In 1808 this society became the Baptist Church of Avon; and, in 1827, the First Baptist Church of Avon. Reuben Winchell, David Tenant, Phil- ander Kelsey, S. Goodall, J. G. Stearns, E. Stone, S. M. Bain- bridge, William Curtis and S. F. Campbell were its early pastors.
The First Presbyterian Church of Avon, first known as the Presbyterian Church of East Avon, was organized in 1795 by Rev. Daniel Thatcher, as already stated. In 1810 it was reorg- anized as a Congregational Church, but again became Presby- terian in 1844. Rev. John F. Bliss was the first pastor, in 1812, the same year that the first church building was erected at East Avon.
Zion Church at Avon was organized in 1827 and a building near the public square erected. The first rector was Rev. E. G. Gear. Other pastors of the early days were R. Kearney, Beards- ley Northrop, Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, Bailey, Samuel G. Appleton and P. P. Kidder.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Avon was organ- ized in 1835. Circuit preachers supplied the pulpit until 1839 when Rev. Calvin Coates became the first regular pastor. Elea- zer Thomas, James M. Fuller, Richard L. Wait, D. Hutchins and J. K. Cheeseman were other early pastors.
St. Agnes, Roman Catholic Church of Avon was organized
953
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
about 1850, when Father Maguire bought the old Baptist Church, which was afterward rebuilt and enlarged. A brick church was erected in 1869 and was extensively remodeled in 1923. Father Maguire was the first pastor and after him have been Fathers O'Brien, Quigley, Bradley, O'Keefe, Ferron, Darcy and Wall.
The Central Presbyterian Church of Avon was established May 9, 1876, with forty-two members, and Reverend Bogue was the first installed pastor, and served the church for twenty-one years. A church building was completed in 1878.
The first church in Caledonia was organized in March, 1805, and three elders, thought to have been Donald McKenzie, Dun- can McPherson and Donald Anderson, were chosen. The church became a part of the Geneva presbytery. This was the society to which Colonel Williamson had promised two hundred acres of land, eventually the church received the land, but it was the source of much trouble, and split the organization into two bitter factions, between which the land was divided; two acres had been given as a site for the church and manse, and here, in 1805, the first house of worship was erected. Alexander Denoon was the first pastor, and remained such for forty-four years. The first church building was burned in 1855, and was replaced by the present structure.
The group of Inverness Scotch who settled on the Forty Thousand Acre Tract attempted to amalgamate with the Cale- donia Presbyterians, but a division soon occurred; several years later, hovever, after many attempts, a congregation was estab- lished. This was the beginning of the First United Presbyterian Church of Caledonia. In 1813 Rev. John Campbell became the first minister.
The St. Columbia Roman Catholic Church of Caledonia was started in 1905, with Rev. George J. Eisler. Rev. J. A. Kennedy succeeded him. The church at Mumford is supplied from Caledonia.
The first religious services in the town of Conesus were con- ducted under Presbyterian auspices in the latter part of the eighteenth century and were usually held in private homes. The first resident minister was Rev. Ingraham in 1808, although Reverend Goodale had preached here as early as 1795. The Methodists built the first church in the town in 1836. The latter
954
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
began to hold meetings about 1810, and within a short time were followed by the Baptists. A Christian, or Disciples church was organized at Foot's Corners in 1818, but existed only a short time. In 1815 Rev. John Hudson, a Methodist preacher, came to the town and a church was organized at Conesus Center, of which he became the first pastor. A church building was put up in 1836 and burned in 1871; it was rebuilt in 1876. The first Universalist Church of Conesus was organized December 19, 1835, and a church erected at Union Corners the next year, fol- lowed in 1873 by a new church at Conesus Center. Reverends O. Roberts, Tompkins, O. B. Clark, J. A. Dobson and W. B. Randolph were resident ministers in charge.
St. William's Roman Catholic Church in Conesus was erected in 1876 and has been mostly supplied from other parishes.
In July, 1795, Rev. Daniel Thatcher organized a Presby- terian church in Lima (then called Charleston), one at Avon, and one at Geneseo. The Lima society was reorganized in 1799 as a Congregational Church. In January, 1802, the Charles- town Congregational Society was formed, to succeed the imper- fect organization of 1795. Rev. Ezekiel J. Chapman was the first preacher. Rev. John Barnard, who took charge in 1891, served the church thirty-seven years. The first church building was completed in 1816. The name of the church was changed in 1839 to the Lima Congregational Society, and in 1851 to the Lima Presbyterian Society. Jonah Davis began Methodist meet- ings in Lima in 1800, when he came here from Delaware and settled three miles south of the village. He and occasional cir- cuit riders held services for a number of years. In 1827 Rev. John Parker held services in the town hall and sufficient interest was aroused for the formation of the Methodist Church at Lima Corners. The Lima Baptist Church was organized in 1854 and the first pastor was Rev. B. R. Swick.
The first Catholic settler in Lima was Thomas Martin, in 1834, and soon after came James Egan, Michael Coneen and John Brennan. The first mass in the town was celebrated in 1842. Other priests visited the town at intervals and the first Catholic church was built in 1848. Rev. S. Fitz Simons became pastor soon after 1873 and served until 1912, when Fr. John F. Farrell assumed charged.
The First Universalist Church of Lima, located at North
955
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Bloomfield, was founded in March, 1825; Rev. Henry Roberts was the first pastor.
The Protestant congregations of the village of Leicester are now joined in one union church, the Presbyterian. The earliest Presbyterian Church of the village, then known as Moscow, was organized by Rev. Abraham Foreman, of Geneseo, in June, 1817. There were nine original members; Elihu Mason was the first preacher. Services were held in the old academy building until a house of worship was built in 1832. Methodists came into the town of Leicester very early, but their records are not available. The Methodist society was organized May 3, 1829. Reverend Lock, a resident of the village, was one of the early preachers. A brick school house served as a place of worship until the church building was constructed in 1829. The First Baptist Church of Moscow was organized in 1843; the first pastor was O. D. Taylor. The society existed until 1875, then was discontinued, and in 1897 the church building was taken over by St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church of Leicester, which was organ- ized in that year. The church was supplied by the priests from Mount Morris until the coming of the first resident pastor, Rev. Herman J. Schafer, in 1916. The United Presbyterian Church of Cuylerville, was first called the Associate Reformed Church, was organized in 1844; Rev. James B. Schevler was the first regular pastor, in 1847.
The first church in the town of Livonia was the Second Con- gregational Church, established at Pittstown in 1806 by Rev. Aaron C. Collins. In 1813 it was renamed the First Presby- terian Society of Livonia. The original members were Jeremiah Riggs, Aaron Childs, Selah Stedman, Thankful Parsons, Lucy Childs, Dumeras Blake, Mary Stedman, Irene Clark, Benjamin Cook, Oliver Woodruff, Rachel Gibbs, Nancy Benton, Lydia Gibbs, Anna Woodruff, Sally Farrand, Sally and Rebecca Blake. Meetings were held in homes and school houses until the erec- tion of the first church building in 1814. The Christian Society of Lakeville was organized in 1818, with ten members, under Rev. Joseph Badger. The First Baptist Church was established in 1816. A Mennonite Society was started in the town in 1827, and a Universalist society in 1831.
St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church at Livonia Center had
956
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
its beginning in 1848, when several Catholic families settled in the town. Mass was celebrated that year in a cooper shop by Father O'Connor and he made Livonia a charge, visiting it regu- larly. St. Joseph's Parish, in the village of Livonia, was set off from St. Michael's about 1912, with Rev. Patrick A. Smyth first in charge; he also supplied St. William's mission at Conesus.
The first church in the town of Ossian was the Presbyterian, organized by Rev. Robert Hubbard, of Angelica, in 1816. The first members were James Haynes, Mary Haynes, William Boyles, Esther Boyles, Samuel McCray, Catherine W. Porter, Catherine N. Porter, Nancy Vorhees, John Shay, Jeremiah Flynn, Jonathan Haynes, John Haynes, Jane Haynes, Anna Conk- right, John Perine, Polly Perine, Jacob Clendennin, Lucy Hurl- but, Rhoda Clendennin. A Methodist Church was built in Ossian about 1852; Parker and Piersall were the first preachers.
The First Presbyterian Church of Mount Morris was organ- ized April 29, 1814, with fourteen members, and the first min- ister was Stephen M. Wheelock, who remained three years. All of the other pastorates have been more or less brief except that of Rev. Levi Parsons, who was installed in 1856 and remained pastor until his death, in 1901. There was a Sunday school in conjunction with this church as early as 1814, and it was per- manently organized three years later. Indian children were fre- quently in attendance. Church services were held in a school house on an open square until January, 1832, when the first church structure, on the north side of the square, was erected. This was burned in 1852, and a brick edifice replaced it.
The pioneer Methodist preacher in Mount Morris was Rev. J. B. Hudson. He came to Allen's Hill from Allegany County in 1804, and made the village of Mount Morris a preaching place on his circuit. The Methodist Society was organized in 1822, with thirteen members, and for a number of years services were held in school houses. Among the early pastors of this church were Wilbur Hoag, Merrit Ferguson and Jonathan Bensom. The first church building was finished in 1833; the original Episcopal church building was acquired in 1856 and remodeled.
St. John's Episcopal Church of Mount Morris was incorpo- rated as a church in 1833. Rev. Thomas Meachem, of St. Mark's Church, Hunt's Hollow, had been holding meetings in the village
957
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
school; he became the first rector of St. John's in 1834. The first house of worship was built on the southeast corner of Chapel and Stanley streets. The second church building was constructed in 1856.
No records exist of the very first Baptist organization within the village of Mount Morris, but on March 1, 1839, the Baptists of Groveland Church united with those of Mount Morris to form the first Baptist Church, in the latter place ; a building was erected there in 1842. The first Baptist Church of the town was organ- ized at the Ridge in June, 1823; meetings were held in school houses and private dwellings until 1827; then a log church was erected where the present church stands. After a prosperous experience of more than a quarter of a century the society was abandoned and the building transferred to the Methodists.
The Second Presbyterian Church of Mount Morris was organ- ized in 1830; Rev. Elam Walker was the first minister; it was housed in a school building five miles south of the village. The Dutch Reformed Church of Mount Morris was organized in 1841 and existed actively until about 1860; the property was sold to the Methodists of Union Corners in 1880. The Presbyterian Church of Tuscarora was organized in 1844 as a Reformed Church by Rev. Isaac Hammond. The Free Methodist Church of Tuscarora was started in August, 1875, with seventy members, by Rev. R. M. Snyder ; it is now out of existence.
Roman Catholicism was established in Mount Morris in 1838, when Father Maguire ministered to the Catholics of the village; a number of other priests came here and said mass in private residences. The building of the Genesee Valley Canal eventually warranted the erection of a small church at Tuscarora, then called Brushville; this was abandoned when the members came back to Mount Morris in 1842. Under Father Maguire the first church was built on the site of the present parsonage facing Chapel Street; Rev. James Ryan was the first resident pastor. Fathers Donnelly, Day and Breen were the pastors for many years ; Father Charles E. Muckle is now the priest in charge. Under Father O'Brien the corner lot at Chapel and Stanley streets was bought, the old church moved back, the house on the corner moved to the vacated site and a new church erected on the corner lot; it was finished in December, 1873.
20-Vol. 2
958
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
The Assumption Catholic Church of Mount Morris, Italian, was established in 1914; Father Colonna was the first pastor, fol- lowed by by Fathers Ciaccio and Pieretti.
The Presbyterian Church of Dansville was organized in 1825 with eleven members, and Rev. Robert Hubbard was the stated supply until 1834. A church building was erected in 1831. In 1840 the church society was divided and a new church estab- lished, but a reunion took place in 1861. A new house of worship was constructed in 1891-1892. This was during the twenty-five year pastorate of Rev. George K. Ward, which ended in 1898.
The first preacher of the German Evangelical Lutheran faith in Dansville was Reverend Markel, in 1809; a large number of Germans belonging to this church had settled in the town. Rev- erend Wilbur, the first regular pastor, came in 1823. The date of the organization of the society in the village is uncertain, but it was one of the very earliest, and the first to erect a church building, the dedication of which occurred in November, 1826. The society combines both the English and German Lutherans.
The first Methodists settled in Dansville some time prior to 1811, and in the next two or three years the first preaching of that persuasion was done by Robert Parker. In 1819 the annual con- ference formed the Dansville circuit, including twenty-four preaching places from East Sparta to a point five miles below Bath. Micah Seager and Chester V. Adgate were the first preachers appointed for this circuit. Robert Parker was ap- pointed in 1828. The first Methodist church building in Dans- ville was that erected on the square in 1829; this was followed in 1876 by the brick church on Chestnut Avenue.
The parish of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church of Dansville was organized April 13, 1831. William Welch and Amos Bradley were the first wardens, and Justus Hall, James Smith, Sedley Sill, Benjamin C. Cook, Alonzo Bradner, George Hyland, David Mitchell and Horatio C. Taggart the first vestry- men. In April, 1843, after years of outside supply, Rev. Na- thaniel F. Bruce came as the first resident pastor. Services were held in the school house on the square until 1846, when the pres- ent church building was erected.
About 1835 St. Paul's English Lutheran Church was estab- lished in Dansville, those of the joint church preferring to have
959
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
all the preaching in the native language -- German. Rev. L. Stern- berg was the first pastor, beginning in 1839. The church edifice was built in 1847 on the square.
The Dansville Baptist Church was organized October 23, 1850, at the house of Barnett Brayton. There were fourteen members. Meetings were at first held in the Dansville Academy. Rev. Howell Smith was the first regular pastor, coming in 1851, and the next year the church building was erected.
Although dates are not available, it is known that Rev. Ber- nard O'Reilly was the first priest to visit the Dansville section, and he ministered alike to German and Irish. Other priests came at irregular intervals. The first resident pastor was Rev. Ed- ward O'Flaherty and under him the erection of St. Patrick's Church, at the corner of Liberty and Church streets, was begun. Previously, the town hall had been used. This was about 1850. The next pastor, Charles Tierney, completed the building. The church building of St. Mary's Parish was erected in 1845, and was used until the present St. Mary's was built in 1915. Both of the Catholic parishes of Dansville have at different times been in charge of the same priest, although they are two distinct parishes, the division dating from about 1829.
The first church in the town of Portage was the Presbyterian, organized in January, 1820, and located at Hunt's Hollow. The first minister was Reverend Lindsley. The church was consoli- dated with the Oakland Church in 1848 and a building erected in 1850. This burned in 1871, and the members scattered to other churches, many of them went to the Nunda Church.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church was organized at Hunt's Hollow in 1826. The first rector was Rev. Richard Salmon; a church building was built in 1828. The first wardens were Sanford Hunt and Walter Bennett, and the first vestrymen were Joseph Bennett, Minor Cobb, Thomas T. Bennett, Henry Bagley, Roswell Bennett, Samuel R. Hunt, Greenleaf Clark and Lewis Peet.
The Nunda Baptist Church was organized at Hunt's Hollow in 1819, while Portage was a part of Nunda. Eleven members comprised the original society. In 1828 the Portage Baptist Church was organized with eighteen members. In 1848, the church building of the Presbyterians was purchased and there- after used as a meeting house. Elder Samuel Messenger acted as the first preacher.
960
HISTORY OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY
Concerning the early churches in Springwater, the following is taken from the Doty history, and is the statement of Elder John Wiley : "On reaching the valley (1814) I found Elder John Cole, a Baptist minister, there. He was the first clergyman who settled in the town. Of the Methodist society, Phineas Gilbert, a native of Massachusetts, who located in Springwater in 1810, was the class leader when I reached there. The society then consisted of half a dozen persons. The Methodist circuit then embraced Bloomfield and Springwater, or Hemlock Valley, as our place was then called, and was supplied by Rev. Elisha House, a man of superior parts, assisted by James S. Lent, a son-in-law of Lemuel Jennings, of Geneseo. The first quarterly meeting ever held in the town was under charge of Abner Chase, presiding elder of Ontario district, in 1820 or 1821, in the barn of Jonathan Law- rence. The society met at private houses until the school house accommodated it better. There was no Presbyterian Society, nor any member of that church in the town when I reached there. Rev. Bell, a Presbyterian missionary, preached a sermon in the house of Mr. David Henry in 1816, the first sermon preached by a Presbyterian minister in the town, I think." Early meetings of the Christian Church were held at the Waite school house in Canadice. In 1830 a number of the members organized a society under Rev. Amos Chapman. Meetings were also held at this time in the Williams schoolhouse in Canadice, and, in 1834, the two groups united. A church building was erected in 1839. The Presbyterians formed a society February 10, 1821, with twelve members. Rev. Lyman Barrett, of Naples, preached the first ser- mon; a house of worship was dedicated in 1841.
One of the first religious societies of the town of Nunda was the Baptist, organized May 21, 1819, with twelve members. Dea- con Rawson, Schuyler Thompson, Nathaniel Coe, Reuben Pierce and Daniel Ashley were prominent among the early members. In 1823, Elijah Bennett was ordained and made pastor of the church. In 1827 a church was built, and in 1840 the brick church was constructed.
The First Presbyterian Church of Nunda was organized Octo- ber 6, 1831, and for a time services were held in a school house two miles northeast of the village. In 1833 the first building for this church was erected, on the corner of East and Church streets;
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.