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No. 1. 



HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



nuxax f! ionccr Association 



CITY OP ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY, N. Y. 



AN ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED BY THE REV. FERDINAND De W. WARD 

OF GENE9EO, N. Y. 
BY HE QUE ST, 



BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION AT ITS ANNUAL GATHERING AND 
FESTIVAL, OCT. 26, 1859, AND RE-DELIYEKED, BY 
BEQUEST, BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION AND 
CITIZEN OF KOCHESTEPv, AT CORIN- 
THIAN HALL, DEC. 12, 1859. 



ROCHESTER: 

PUBLISHED, FOR THE ASSOCIATED MEMBERS, BY D. M. DEWEY. 

CHARLES B. NORTON, NEW YORK. 

1860. 



3TR0N3 k CO., PRINTERS, ROCHESTER, ». ». 






No. 1. 



HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



cm ♦ 



Mtax mautt %Hvmtin 



CITY OF ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY, N. Y. 



AN ADDRESS, 

DELIVERED BY THE REV. FERDINAND De W. WARD, 

OF GENESEO, N. T. 
B~y REQUEST, 



BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION AT ITS ANNUAL GATHERING AND 
FESTIVAL, OCT. 26, 1S59, AND RE-DELIVERED, BY 
REQUEST, BEFORE THE ASSOCIATION AND 
CITIZENS OF ROCHESTER, AT CORIN- 
THIAN HALL, DEC. 12, 1S59. 



ROCHESTER: 
PUBLISHED, FOR THE ASSOCIATED MEMBERS, BY D. M. DEWEY. 

CHARLES B. NORTON, NEW YORK. 

1860. 



r„ 



yp. 









ADDRESS. 



In an Address delivered at the laying of the corner-stone 
of the First Presbyterian Church of this city in the spring 
of 1823, the Rev. Joseph Penney, after alluding to the pos- 
sible prosperity and coming greatness of what was then but 
an humble village, thus eloquently exclaims : 

" The future, who can tell ? This spot may, after a few 
years, be a populous mart, or — a wilderness again. The 
j)resent appearances, to the fondness of human fancy, promise 
that here the blessings of piety and virtue, of peace and 
plenty, of civilization and liberty, may be long enjoyed ; and 
giving scope to imagination in the regions of probability, we 
may see rising from this place divines and legislators, philoso- 
phers and heroes, who shall adorn their country — shall 
adorn mankind.' 1 

Two score years are hastening to their close since these 
hopeful words were uttered. Of those who gathered on that 
occasion, many have seen the last of earth ; while he who 
gave them expression, lies, like a wounded leader upon the 
battle field, waiting the summons to a celestial robe and 
crown.- The sentences quoted from his gifted pen, suggest 
the topic to which, in various aspects, the following pages are 
devoted, viz : the contributions which Rochester has made, 
through native citizens and long residents, reflecting honor 
upon the place of their abode, and promoting the welfare of 
the world. 

"What, as first in relative importance, to the Christian Re- 
ligion?— What, to Morality and Philanthropy ? —What, to 

* Eev. Dr. Pen-net, closed his life of honor anil usefulness March 20, 1 860, his funeral 
being attended in the Church edifice, at the laying of the corner-stone of which an Address 
was delivered, of which the above quoted is a brief extract. 



4 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CnURCH. 

Science and Literature? — "What, to Law and Medicine? 
What, to Politics and Statesmanship? — What, to Manufac- 
tures and Trades? — "What, to Finance and Commerce? 
"What, to the Fine Arts? — leaving a few specialities which 
do not arrange themselves under either of the preceding 
titles. The illustrations of each topic must, of necessity, be 
brief. 

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 

" The child is father of the man." ■ With what emphasis 
does this aphorism hold respecting the religious character of 
a city or town! Apply it to our own case. They who 
earliest made this wilderness their home, brought with them 
the Bible, in obedience to which the sanctuary was early 
erected, the Sabbath reverently observed, and the Gospel 
Minister called to teach the doctrines, inculcate the duties, and 
administer the sacraments of our holy faith. As a necessary 
result, Rochester took that position at the outset, which it has 
ever maintained, in relation to morals and piety. Atheism, 
infidelity and attendant forms of error, have ever found 
this a most unwelcome soil. The following is a brief sketch 
of the city churches, their names, date of organization and 
pastors, together with their respective contributions to the 
ministry : 

The oldest is " The First Presbyterian," organized August 
22d, 1815. Its Pastors have been, successively: Comfort 
Williams (deceased,) Joseph Penney, D. D., Tryon Edwards, 
D. D., Malcolm K McLaren, D. D.,and Joshua II. Mcllvaine, 
D. D., the present incumbent. From this church have gone 
forth, a-s ministers and missionaries : Jonathan S. Green, mis- 
sionary to the Sandwich Islands ; F. De W. Ward, ten years 
in India ; James Ballentine ; L. Merrill Miller ; T. Dwight 
Hunt, missionary to the Sandwich Islands; Henry B. Chapin; 
Frederic Starr, Jr.; Henry E. Peck; Chas. G. Lee (deceased); 
Wm. K McCoon; Everard Kempshall; Chas. R. Clarke; 
Robert Proctor, and Geo. Dutton. Miss Delia Stone (Mrs. 
Bishop,) to the Sandwich Islands; Miss Maria W. Chapin 



ST. LUKE S FIRST BAPTIST FIEST METHODIST. 5 

(Mrs. Eli Smith,) to Syria (deceased); Dr. and Mrs. De 
Forest, to Syria (former, deceased.) 

The next church in order of time is " St. Luke's," Episcopal, 
which was organized July 11th, 1817, by the He v. H. 
U. Onderdonk, D. D., then of Canandaigua, but subsequently 
Bishop of Pennsylvania, and since deceased. The following 
have been the successive Rectors : Francis H. Cumming, D. D., 
Henry J. AVhitehouse, D. D., Thos. C. Pitkin, D. D., Henry 
W. Lee, D. D., Benjamin "Watson, and Eobert Bethell Clax- 
ton, D. D., the present Rector. Of the ten original Wardens 
and Vestrymen, but three are living — Messrs. Oliver Cul- 
ver, Silas O. Smith and Elisha Johnson. " St. Luke's" has 
given to the ministry: Henry Lockwood, missionary to China; 
W. S. Stanton; Kendrick Metcalf, D. D., Professor in Hobart 
Free College ; J. A. Bray ton ; Ethan Allen ; E. Spalding 
(deceased); G. P. "Waldo; Josiah Perry; Chas. B. Stout; 
Geo. McKnight; "W. Fisher and J. Rice Taylor. 

The same year saw organized a " Society cf Friends," 
with a meeting house on Fitzhugh street. 

In 1818, July 13th, was constituted the "First Baptist 
Church," having as its successive Pastors: Rev. Asa Spencer, 
O. C. Comstock, Pharcellus Church, D. D., Justin A. Smith, 
Eleazer Savage, Jas. R. Scott, and Richard M.JSTott, recently 
installed. From this church there have gone into the ministry: 
Rev. Z. Freeman (deceased) ; Grover L. Comstock, missionary 
to Burmah (deceased); R. E. Patterson, D. D.; Joshua An- 
drews; Silas Randall; J. "W. Spoor; Niles Kinnie, Prof. J. 
F. Richardson, now of the Rochester University, and 
Augustus H. Strong. 

The " First Methodist Episcopal Church" was established 
September 20, 1820. The custom of ministerial rotation, 
annual or bi-annual, forbids the naming of all who have pre- 
sided over the churches of this denomination. The present 
pastors alone can be named; that of the " First" being Rev. 
H. Kellogg. The ministry has been re-in forced from the 
several churches of this body through Delos Hitchins, J. 



6 FIRST ROMAN CATITOLIC — BRICK (rRESBYTERIAN.) 

Chandler, M. St. John, W. M. Ferguson, O. Squier, II. B. 
Beers, K. Pratt, J. Shafer, E. II. Grover, J. H. Whalon, D. 
D. Buck, P. Tower, J. K. Tinkkam, L. Hebard, S. B. Moore, 
B. C. K. Bliss, B. Chase, P. B. Miller, J. E. Lee, J. McKinn, 
S. Van Benschoten, S. McGerald, W. Way. 

The " First Roman Catholic Church " was organized April 
29th, 1820, under the title of "St. Patrick's," having had as 
Priests: Rev. J. McNamara, Rev. Bernard O'Reily, D. D., 
and Rev. Michael O'Brien, now in charge. 

From this and other Roman Catholic Churches in the city 
there have entered the ministry: Rev. Michael Purcell, 
Richard Story, Hugh Mulholland, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. 
McGuire, Mr. Gleason, E. C. O'Donongk and Mr. Henry. 

These, with that of the " Christian," in 1823, and the 
" Methodist Society," in 1822, were the eight religious 
societies in existence during the first ten years of our history 

Let us now notice the Colonies. First in order was 
an offshoot from the " First Presbyterian Church," under 
the present title of the " Brick Church," Nov. 20, 1825. Its 
Pastors have been : Rev. Win. James, D. D., Wm. Wisner, 
D. D., Geo. Beecher, (accidentally shot at the West), and the 
present Pastor, Jas. B. Shaw, D. D. This church has given 
to the ministry : Rev. Edwin Hall, missionary to the In- 
dians ; Worthington Wright ; Alvan Ingersoll ; Henry 
Cherry, missionary to India ; Jas. T. Pierpont ; Darwin 
Chichester ; Ansley D. White ; Amos D. McCoy ; Thos. II. 
Johnson ; P. C. Hastings ; Jonathan Ketchnm ; M. Evarts ; 
John Spink ; Chas. R. Burdick ; James II. Phelps ; Lemuel 
Clark; David Dickie, and George W. Mackie. 

Respecting the Sunday School of this church, Col. John 
II. Thompson, Superintendent for twenty years, thus writes: 

" During my connection with the school, there have been 
nearly eight thousand scholars, and seven hundred teachers- 
During this period there have entered the church, from the 
school, one hundred and thirty -five teachers, and five hun- 
dred and sixty-eight pupils — aggregating six hundred and 
ninety-three." 



THIRD — CENTRAL — ST. PETER'S — ST. LUKE'S. 7 

Four years subsequently, (Feb. 28, 1827,) the " Third Pres- 
byterian Church" was organized, on the east side of the 
Genesee river, which has been under the pastorates of Rev. 
Joel Parker, D. D., Luke Lyon (deceased), Wm. C. Wisner, 
D. D., Wm. Mack, D. D., and Albert G. Hall, D. D., at 
present in charge. The ministry has received from this 
church: Rev. A. G. Hall (present Pastor); Alanson C. Hall, 
missionary to India (deceased); Richard De Forest; J. Cope- 
land ; Samuel Bayliss ; Chas. Ray ; S. Chipman, and James 
F. Bush. 

The " Central Presbyterian Church" (originally the " Free 
Bethel,") dates August 3d, 1836, its Pastors, in order, being: 
Rev. Geo. L. Boardman, D. D., Milo J. Hickok, and F. 
F. Ellinwood, now its Pastor. Former communicants now 
in the ministry: Rev. Sereno E. Bishop, Seaman's Chaplain to 
the Sandwich Islands; D. D. Hamilton; C. M. Torrey, and 
Simon J. Humphrey. Also, Miss Isabella Atwater, mis- 
sionary to China ; Mrs. McKinney, missionary to Africa. 
The average of Sunday School scholars, during nine years, 
has been two hundred and six. 

"St. Peter's" is the fourth colony from the " First Presby- 
terian Church," organized Dec. 12th, 1853, its Pastors being: 
R. H. Richardson and Joseph H. Towne, D. D.- 

A fifth is " Calvary Church," corner of South Avenue and 
Jefferson street, (organized in 1847 as the South St. Paul 
Street Congregational Church,) under the pastorate of Rev. 
Chas. Ray, Principal of Geneseo Academy, and subsecpuently 
under the charge of Rev. Mr. Taylor. 

"State Street," organized August 30, 1841, and "West- 
minster" Churches (Presbyterian), are without Pastors. 

" St. Luke's" (Episcopal) has thrice colonized, viz : 

1. " St. Paul's," (now "Grace,") having had as Rectors: 
Rev. Sutherland Douglass, who died in England ; Chauncey 
Colton, D. D.; Burton II. Hickok; Orange Clarke; Washing- 



* Dr. Towne has been succeeded by Rev. JOHN T. C'oit. 



8 TRINITY CHRIST METHODIST CATHOLIC FIRST BAPTIST. 

ton Yan Zandt; J. J. Yan Ingen, D. I).; M. Yan Eensselaer, 
D. D., and Israel Foote, the present Eector. Grace Church 
has given to the ministry the Rev. James S. Bush. 

2. "Trinity Church," organized Oct. 27th, 1845, under 
Rev. Yandervort Bruce, Chas. D. Cooper, Robert J. Parvin, 
A. B. Atkin, and Geo. N. Cheney, the present Rector. From 
this 'Church the ministry have received: Rev. B. T. Noakes, 
J. B rivers and Orlando Witherspoon. 

3. " Christ Church," organized May 7, 1855, under its first 
Rector, Henry A. Keely, from which has entered the minis- 
try : L. Ward Smith. 

The " First Methodist Church" has seven offshoots, which, 
with their present or recent Pastors, are : 

St. John's, Rev. John Rains, Jr. organized Sept. 26, 1836. 

Frank Street, Rev. J. Yan Benschoten, " 1852. 

North Street, Rev. J. Mandeville, " 1852. 

Cornhill, Rev. A. C. George, " 1853. 

Alexander Street, Rev. Alpha Wright, " 1853. 

Zion's, (African,) Rev. — (Vacancy,) " Oct. 1-1, 1835. 

First African, Rev. Henry McRee, " 1827. 

Offshoots from "St. Patrick's," are the following : 

ROMAX CATHOLIC CHURCHES WITH THEIR PRESENT PASTORS. 

St. Joseph's, (German,) Father Scheffel, organized August 1*7, 1836. 

St. Mary's, Rev. Daniel Moore, " Oct. 26, 1842. 

St. Peter's, Rev. Father Sadler, " April 23, 1843. 

Immaculate Conception, Rev. Francis McKeon, " 184S. 

St. Bridget's, Rev. Mr. Parker, " 1854. 

St. Mary's, Rev. Mr. LaVare, " 

A colony from the First Baptist Society migrated to the 
East side of the river, and purchased the building erected 
by the Third Presbyterian Church, occupying it to Dec. 10th, 
lS59,when, on Saturday evening, it was totally consumed by 
fire. Of it could be said, " This and that man was born 
there." Organized Sept, 26th, 183G. Its several Pastors 
have been: Elon Galusha, Elisha Tucker, Y. R. Hotchkiss, 
D. D., Charles Thompson, Henry Davies, W. G. Howard, D. 
P., and Geo. D. Board man, the present Pastor. From this 
church there have entered the ministry : Otis J. Ilackett, 
and W. Walker. 



PLYMOUTH — MISCELLANEOUS. 9 

The "Free-Will Baptist Church," organized June 25th, 
1S45, has no Pastor. 

The " German Baptist Church," on Andrews, near North 
Clinton street, is now under Peter Inglehardt. 

" Plymouth Church" (Congregational) dates its commence- 
ment to 1S55. Its first and present Pastor is Eev. Jonathan 
Edwards. The ministry has received from this church: Revs. 
Henry Fowler and Geo. J. Means. 

To these may be added : 

First Reformed Presbyterian, organized June G, 18S9, Rev. David Scott. 

United Presbyterian, " Sept. 1848, Rev. Thos. II. Boyd. 

German Ev. United Protestant, " Rev. Chas. Gleason. 

Reformed Dutch, " Rev. Win. C. Wast: 

German Ref. Presbyterian, " Rev. Mr. Strass. 
First Universalist, " April, 1846, Rev. G.W. Montgomery. 

Lower Falls Presbyterian Ch., " 1848, Rev.A. H. Bloodgood. 

Friends, (Orthodox,) " 1848, B. Sprague, R. Wells. 
Friends, (ITicksite,) on N. Fitzhugh street, near Allen. 

Hebrew Synagogue, organized 1854, Rabbi, M. Tuska. 

Advent Church, " Rev. J. B. Cook.' 
Society of Christians, " 

Society of Brothers in Christ. " Teacher, J. E. Morris 

Second Ev. Association, " 1849, Pastor, Levi Jacobi. 

.Rochester has, at the close of 1S59, forty-six religious 
societies; forty of which have the stated ministrations of the 
Gospel in accordance with their respective tenets of faith and 
modes of worship. When we consider the copious streams 
of holy influence which have flowed from these numerous 
fountains, and that nearly one hundred have passed from these 
communions into the ministry, of whom a score have gone 
to Syria, China, Burmah, India,, Oceanica, Africa and 
the American Indian tribes, we find ample proof of the 
position taken that Rochester has made no inconsiderable 
contribution to the Christian cause in this and other lands. 

The religious development of Rochester has always par- 
taken largely of the emotional type. But to illustrate the 
intellectual ability of the occupants of our pulpits, a list is 



10 MINISTERIAL TRANSFERS BIBLE SOCIETY. 

here presented of those who have passed to stations of larger 
scope and wider fame : 

Eev. Dr. Penney, to the Presidency of Hamilton College. 

" " Whitehousc, to the Bishopric of Illinois. 

" " Lee, to the Bishopric of Iowa. 

" " O'Reilly, to the Bishopric of Connecticut. 

" " Patterson, to the Presidency of Waterville College. 

" " Mack, to the Presidency of Tennessee College. 

" " Colton, to the Presidency of Bristol College. 

" " Van Rensselaer, to the Presidency of De Veaux College. 

" " Parker, to the Presidency of Union Theological Seminary, N. Y. 

" " Comstock, to the Chaplaincy of the United States Senate. 

" " Luckcy, to become a Regent of the University of New York. 

" " Wisner & Son, Moderators of General Assembly. 

[Since the delivery of the Address, Rev. Dr. McIlvaixe has accepted the 
appointment of Professor, in " Nassau Hall College," Princeton, N. J.] 

MORALITY AND PHILANTHROPY. 

Though true that a Religion without fervor is but a body 
without a soul, it equally holds that " Faith without works 
is dead." "Be good and do good," is the truly scriptural 
motto, and one which the churches of this city have striven 
to exemplify. In all those schemes of philanthropy which 
distinguish our nation and age, Rochester has always taken 
an active, and in some instances, a leading part. Let a few 
instances be named. 

Is there an enterprize of more commanding importance 
than that of placing a copy of the Sacred Scriptures in every 
house? In this most, illustrious scheme of our times, this 
city took the lead. The " Monroe County Bible Society" 
was formed in this place, May, 1821, with Levi Ward, as 
President. At its fourth anniversary, a proposition was made 
to place a copy of the sacred volume in every house in the 
county. Some, of course, deemed the attempt premature, 
though in itself highly desirable. The late Josiah Bissell 
urged its adoption, with all the enthusiasm of his energetic 
nature ; promising to " secure the canvassing of the popula- 
tion and distribution of the books, if the Society would sane- 



TEMPERANCE. 11 

tion the movement ;" predicting, as expressed in his own 
glowing words, that "the example would induce other conn- 
ties to do a similar work, and the contagion of its influence 
would cause the State Society to supply all the destitute 
in the State ; and the American Bible Society to supply 
the United States ; and the influence would never cease, 
till a union of Bible Societies would undertake the supply of 
the world !" The resolution passed ; the books were ordered, 
and the distributors went forth upon their mission, with Mr. 
BrssELL at their head, not passing by one house, which was 
willing to receive a copy of the heavenly book. The promise 
was fulfilled. Zeal accomplished the work : and what might 
have seemed to some a rhetorical flourish, became a blessed 
reality. The Parent Society, is now engaged with earnest- 
ness in doing what the Auxiliary of this city inaugurated. 
If there be an element of grandeur in our history, it is this. 
Let the citizens of Rochester cherish it, in grateful and proud 
recollection. 

TEMPERANCE. 

Another association of modern philanthropy, has for its 
motto — " Total abstinence from the use of ardent spirits as a 
leverage." Here again, we find Rochester in the vanguard 
of a most needful and important movement. The first pub- 
lic resolutions ever adopted in advocacy of total abstinence, 
were passed by the Ontario Presbytery, in August, 1827, 
with which body three of our city churches were ecclesiasti- 
cally connected. Before the year closed, " Kittredge's First 
Address,' 1 was scattered by thousands throughout the region. 
Societies were now formed in town and village, and public 
sentiment strongly excited against intoxicating drinks, and 
the vicious habit of intoxication. In this direction of benevo- 
lence, as in many others, our city is largely indebted to the 
generosity of Arista pcuus Champion, Esq.; who lives to see 
the happy results of his munificent benefactions in various 
departments of morality and piety. It was this townsman 
who sent forth one of our citizens, Samuel CmrMAN, to make 



12 THE SABBATH. 

personal examination of prisons, penitentiaries, poor-houses 
and asylums, with a view of attesting by incontrovertible 
facts, the havoc made by the free use of ardent spirits. 
Another citizen, (Gen. A. "W. Riley,) has, during the last 
twenty-five years, traveled as many miles, made as many ad- 
dresses, and secured as many names to the temperance cause 
and pledge, as any person in the Union. A clergyman of 
this city, (Dr. Jos. Penney,) was first to proclaim the true 
temperance principles in Ireland ; and through his instru- 
mentality, the first efforts, of a public nature, were com- 
menced in that kingdom. Other facts might be added by 
way of illustrating the prominent part which this city 
early took, and vigorously prosecuted, in advocacy of the 
temperance reformation. 

THE SABBATH. 

How blessed is the Sabbath day : interposed between 
the waves of worldly business, like the divine path of the 
Israelites through the upraised Jordan ! In a sense most 
comprehensive, it was " made for man." "With its observ- 
ance or neglect, are found public health, prosperity and 
goodness, or the reverse. Rochester has manifested its re- 
spect for the day, in ways abundant and emphatic. The 
year, 1S27, saw established " the Hudson and Erie " line of 
Sabbath keeping canal boats, and a line of stages, " the 
Pioneer" both doing good service in directing attention to 
the too long neglected subject, and aiding in the formation 
of that public sentiment which now forbids traveling on that 
sacred day, except for works of " necessity and mercy." In 
these movements we again see the energy and munificence 
of Messrs. Champion and Bissell. Dr. Beecher's celebrat- 
ed Review of Senator Johnson's Report on Sabbath Mails, 
was republished here in 1S29, and sent gratuitously to all 
parts of the land. It is to be hoped that at a time like the 
present, when so many efforts are making to secularize the 
day, devoting it to mere pleasure, if not business, Rochester 
will not be unfaithful to her past history, or to her present duty. 



SABBATH SCHOOLS. 13 

SABBATH SCHOOLS. 

A Sabbath School was first organized in Rochester in 
the summer of 1818, and has continued to the present hour ; 
except a few months after its original establishment. The plan 
at first adopted, required each pupil to learn the largest pos- 
sible number of verses. I have had shown me by Col. 
Thompson, a list of scholars then in the schools, many of 
whom would learn their ten or twelve hundred verses per 
week. Subsequently, the present method came into vogue. 

In 1825, the " Monroe Sabbath School Union " was 
organized, with Hon. Ashley Sampson, as president. In 
1827, the " Genesee Sabbath School Union" under the pres- 
idency of Josiah Bissell, Esq., enlisting the energy and 
eminent qualifications of Mr. L. B. Touslet, than whom 
the country does not possess a more successful advocate of 
this branch of christian effort. A lamented accident, which 
occurred about two years ago, has disabled this gentleman 
from further prosecution of this labor of his heart and life. 
The " Rochester City Sabbath School Union" with James 
Yick, as president, has under its supervision, five Presby- 
terian, four Baptist, two Episcopal, five Methodist, two Con- 
gregational, one Free Baptist, one Free Catholic, two German 
Mission, two German Evangelical, one Protestant Methodist, 
and five District Schools, the City Jail, the County House, 
the Protestant Orphan Asylum, the House of Refuge, and 
the Penitentiary, which all report to it, making thirty-five 
schools ; and probably some district schools have been added 
lately. It has, in these schools, about seven hundred and 
fifty teachers, seven thousand five hundred pupils, nearly 
ten thousand volumes in the various Sunday School Libra- 
ries, and nearly six thousand religious periodicals are given 
out in monthly distributions. More than twenty-five thous- 
and pupils have been instructed in these schools, since their 
organization ; about two thousand of whom have been 
hopefully converted, and united with their several churches. 



14 FEMALE CHARITABLE SOCIETY — ODE. 

EELIEF OF THE POOE. 

" The poor ye have always with you, and whensoever ye 
will, ye may do them good." To make provision for the 
children of poverty, is among the first demands of humanity, 
as of religion. To this call, Rochester early responded, in 
the establishment of the " Female Charitable Society" 
which was founded in February, 1822, having for its benevo- 
lent object, the " relief of indigent persons or families in 
cases of sickness or distress." Its arrangements are such as 
bring each family of the city, under the notice and atten- 
tion of one among its many c; visitors.'''' Fast approaching 
its fortieth anniversary, its career has been as of Him "who 
went about doing good." Many associations of like design, 
have arisen, and passed away ; but this continues its career 
of well doing, never with more appliances to fulfil its benign 
mission, than at this hour. 

Here I append an Ode, from the pen of Judge Harvey 
Humphrey, sung on the occasion of an Annual Sermon, 
preached in its behalf, by Rev. Dr. Parker, now of New 
York City. 

" All bail to thee, Charity ! daughter of heaven . r 
Best, sweetest of mercies to lost mortals given 1 
Oh, dark were our journey, through life's weary day, 
Without thy bright s»ille y to illumine our way. 

Like the rainbow that arches the troubled sky, 
To the grief-stricken soul, is the light of thine eye ! 
Thou smil'st on the blest of this world ; and thy power 
Lends a holier light, to the loveliest hour. 

What have we, God, that we did not receive ? 
It is bless'd to receive, thou hast said; 'but to give I ' 
Oh, the dim .eye of sorrow shall smile, and thy love 
Descend on the giver — like dews from above. 

All praise to thy goodness, in sunshine and showers, 
For friendship and love — for each bliss that is ours. 
But oh! how it brightens each joy of the heart, 
That joy, to the lone child of woe, to impart I" 



SUMMARY OF BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES — MISSIONS. 15 

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 

Omitting details, I would put on record the names of our 
City " Benevolent Institutions, 1 ' and their presiding officers 
at this time. 

Female Charitable Society, Mrs. J. K. Livingston. 

Home of the Friendless, '' Selah Mathews. 

Orphan Asylum, " Silas 0. Smith. 

Industrial School, Chas. J. Hayden. 

House for Idle and Truant Children, - - - W. Pitkin. 

Eoman Catholic Orphan Asylum, - Rev. M. O'Brien. 

Monroe County Bible Society, Frederick Starr. 

Sabbath School Union, James Vick. 

Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society, Mrs. C. E. Marsh. 

St. George's Society, J. B. Walker, 

" Alphousus' Society, (German,) - George Ochs. 

" Bonifacius' Benevolent Society, ... Charles Stupp. 

Sons of Hermann, (German,) ----- Daniel Keuener. 

St. Joseph's Benevolent Society, (German,) - - Andrew Wegman. 

German Turners, Louis Kleutging. 

St. Rupert's Benevolent Society, - - - 

" Vincent de Paul Society, St. Patrick's Church, - Philip Little. 

" Mary's Hibernian Society. .... Michael Hcavey. 

" Vincent de Paul Benev. Society, of St. Mary's Ch., Daniel Heavey. 

Young Mens' Mutual Aid Society, ... - Peter Burns. 

St. Patrick's Literary and Benevolent Association, P. S. Malone. 

" Patrick's Young Men's Mutual Aid Association, - Thomas O'Brien. 

Cartman's Benevolent Association, - - - T. 0. Dudley. 



HOME AND FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

Our city has ever been a large contributor to the cause of 
Missions, home and foreign. In 1818, the " Female Mission- 
ary Society " was formed, with Mrs. Backus, as first presi- 
dent — " The first of the Benevolent Institutions of Roches- 
ter." In 1821, followed the " Young Men's Domestic Mis- 
sionary Society," both this and the former having as their 
fields of exertion, parts of Niagara County. The Foreign 
Society, Evangelical, was formed about the year 1827. It 
were impossible to approximate the aggregate of pecuniary 
contributions which this city makes annually, to the various 
causes of benevolence. "Were there no other reason, his 



16 SCIENCE AND LITERATURE — AUTHORS. 

munificent contributions, through many years, to enterprises 
of humanity and piety, ecclesiastical preferences aside, well 
entitle our townsman, Mr. Akistarchus Champion, to the 
distinguished station he holds as President of the American 
Home Missionary Society. 

SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. 

• This topic may be best illustrated by a reference to the 
volumes which had their parentage in our goodly city. As 
a fit commencement, there may be mentioned a work on 
" Political Economy," by E. Peshine Smith, respecting 
which that learned and influential Review, the " Princeton 
Repertory," remarks thus : " The author, adopts the views of 
Mr. OareTj and has done for them, what the propounder 
never did — he has reduced them to a well defined and scien- 
tific form ; and has thrown over his work, the charm of a 
clear, and fluent rhetoric, infusing into it a vitality, which 
such books too often lack." It is complimentary to our 
townsman, and through him to his native city, that this 
volume has been translated into the French language, and 
placed in the Parisian Academies. In the department of 
Law, we have a " Treatise on Ways," &c, by Wii. S. Bishop ; 
" Laws of New York State, relating to Powers and Duties 
of Supervisors," by Thos. B. Husband; (a similar work by 
Senator Ephraim Goss, of Pittsford) ; "Reports of Cases 
in Chancery," under the late Judge "Whittlesey, by Chas. 
L. Clarke, (both Judge and Reporter being of this city) ; 
" Reports" in the " Court of Appeals," by Hon. Henry R. 
Selden and E. Pesiiine Smith. 

Under the head of " Medicine," we find a " Manual of 
the Medical Practitioner, with Instructions and Prescriptions," 
by G. Arink, M. D.; "Physical Education and Manage, 
ment of Children," by Miles M. Rogers, M. D.; to which 
may be added, articles contributed to Medical Reviews, 



SCIENCE AND LITERATURE — AUTHORS. 17 

containing discoveries and suggestions, original, and of 
highest practical importance. 

To this last class belongs an article in the " Transactions 
of the Medical Society of the State of New York, for 1852,' 
entitled, "Dislocation of the Hip Joint Reduced without 
Pulleys or any other Mechanical Power, by ¥m. W. Reid, 
M. D., of Rochester." Whoever has witnessed the pro- 
longed agony attending the usual method of restoration, 
must be thankful that a discovery like this, from a towns- 
man, has been made. Commencing his experiments ten 
years ago, so great success has attended them here and else- 
where, that Dr. Thos. M. Markoe, one of the surgeons of the 
New York Hospital, remarks : "Every thing in our exp 
ence, thus far, seems to indicate that this method of reducing 
luxations, while it is far more available, and without pain, 
is as safe, if not safer than that of pulleys." Dr. E. receives 
our gratulations, as he will the benedictions of many a vic- 
tim of this sad accident. " Dr. Ely's Ball and Socket-jointed 
Artificial Leg" has been awarded a diploma and medal at 
the New York State Fair. It has received the endorsement 
of surgeons in this city and State — Drs. Mott, Post. Wood, 
and others — and is coming into general use. 

Rev. Joseph Penney, for many years pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church, should have a place among our early 
promoters of Science and Education. His gifted mind 
qualified him to take an active part in the youthful and 
plastic period of the then village. The public manifested 
their estimation of this valuable man by causing his por- 
trait to be placed in the Atheneum. 

Educational Institutions have received a volume of great 
learning, ingenuity and practical usefulness, from the pen of 
the late Mrs. Brewster — better known as Miss Bloss — 
entitled, "Bloss' Ancient History," illustrated by map? and a 
chronological chart. Also, from the same authoress. " Hero- 
ines of the Crusades." 
2 



13 SCIENCE AND LITERATURE — AUTHORS. 

Turning to Theology and Practical Religion, we find, 
■• Lectures on TJniversalism," by Joel Parker, I). D., (now of 
IN ew York) ; " Treatise on the Sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper,'' by S. Luckey, D. D. ; "Differences between Old 
and New School Presbyterians," by L. Cheeseman, D. D. 
(now of Philadelphia) ; " Philosophy of Benevolence," and 
l - Cause and Cure of Dissensions among Christians," by 
Pharcellus Church, D. D. (now editor and proprietor of the 
New York Chronicle) ; "A Christian Gift, or Pastoral Let- 
ters," by F. De W. Ward. 

Under the head of General Literature, we may range 
such volumes as the "League of the Iroquois," by Louis II. 
Morgan — standard authority upon all that pertains to that 
once large and illustrious race ; " Sketches of Rochester and 
Western New York," by Henry O'Reilly — a volume of 
rare interest and worth to the citizens of this region, the pre- 
paration of which being one of many things which place our 
community under obligations of lasting gratitude to the 
respected author ; " Mexico and her Religion," and " The 
History of the Conquest of Mexico," by Robert A. Wilson, 
in which, with much learning and valorous spirit, the author 
aims heavy blows against the popular productions of the 
late Mr. Prescott ; "India and the Hindoos," and "Sum- 
mer Yacation Abroad," by F. De W. Ward — the former of 
which has been re-published in Britain ; " The Orphan's Sou- 
venir," published in aid of the Orphan's Asylum, containing 
thirty essays and poems, from city residents ; "The Roches- 
ter Token," or "Select Original Poems," by Geo. G. W. 
Morgan ; " Yolumes for the Special Benefit of the Young," 
by Mrs. A. C. Judson, Mrs. Dr. Barnes, Mrs. Dr. Arink, Mrs. 
Jenny Marsh Parker, Miss Ellen Guernsey, Mrs. B. B. JSTor- 
throp, Rev. Philo Tower, and Rev. John Parker; together 
with volumes of great learning from the Professors in the 
University, which will be noted hereafter. 

Thus largely has Rochester contributed to the reading 



, ATHENEUM AND MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION. 10 

public of various tastes and attainments ; and the end is 
not yet, if we may judge from what our young' men are 
doing in the realm of travel, research and study. Henry .V. 
Ward, after making extensive journeys and explorations 
from the remote points of Minnesota, Florida, and Buy of 
Fundy, with intermediate territories, passed four years in 
scientific study at the National Academies of Paris ; sub- 
sequently he traversed almost the entire States of Europe, 
from Moscow and St. Petersburg!] to the Mediterranean, 
crossing which, he penetrated far into Africa, and over much 
of Asia Minor, and closed with a survey of Great Britain, 
from the Giant's Causeway and Scottish Mountains to Land's 
End. As the result, he is bringing to his native city, it is 
said, the largest, rarest, and most valuable collection of geo- 
logical and fossil specimens ever collected by any one per- 
son in this country. Augustus II. Strong, son of one of the 
co-publishers of the Democrat, was valedictorian of his class 
at Yale, and has just returned from a tour of observation in 
foreign lands, preparatory to an honorable career, we do not 
doubt, in his native country. Chas. R. Clarke was valedic- 
torian at the College of New Jersey, and subsequently As- 
sistant Professor in Rhetoric. Henry E. Peck holds a Pro- 
fessorship in Oberlin College, Ohio. Henry Lockwood has 
been for a score of years Professor of the Greek and Latin 
languages, at Genesee College, Lima. Geo. H. Mum ford 
has just received the first Junior prize of ^40, in Harvard 
University ; while others have sustained commendable posi- 
tions in College, graduating with honors, and are now 
acquitting themselves manfully in the battle of life. 

THE ATHENEUM AND MECHANICS' 
ASSOCIATION. 

The last ' ; Annual Report*' opens with the following allu- 
sion to the past history of this popular and excellent 

institution : 



20 ATHENEUM AND MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION. ' 

" The earliest attempt in our city to establish an Association similar in ob- 
ject to our present Atheneum, consisted in the organization of the Franklin 
Institute, on the 3d day of October, 182G. During that year, Prof. Eaton, of 
Troy, delivered a course of lectures on Chemistry in the then village of Ro- 
chester, which seems to have been well supported, for at the close of 
course, the Managers found themselves in possession of a surplus of two or 
three hundred dollars. This they resolved to devote to the establishment of 
a Public Library, which was accordingly organized and opened in room.- on 
the corner of Main and Canal streets (now Water street); this was in the 
building formerly occupied by the Eagle Bank. 

" The affairs of the Institute were conducted by a committee of seven, who 
were chosen annually. The first committee consisted of Rev. Joseph Penney, 
Rev. F. II. dimming, Levi Ward, Jr., Elisha Johnson, Jacob Graves, Giles 
Boulton and Edwin Stanley. At the commencement of the year 1S27, 'the 
Association consisted of about seventy members, and had obtained a small 
•t of minerals, a library and several models of machines, and had com- 
menced a system of cultivating knowledge in the Arts and Sciences by lec- 
tures, experiments, and such examinations and inquiries as the means of the 
Institute would admit of.' At that early day the privileges of such an Asso- 
ciation were more highly prized, as the fee of admission to membership was 
$5, subject to an annual tax of $2. 

"Shortly after the foundation of the Franklin Institute, in 1829, the Ro- 
chester Atheneum was organized, and being incorporated in 1830, continued 
for some years. Its first rooms were in Reynolds' Arcade. At this time the 
Library consisted of four hundred volumes, and the papers received were 
eleven daily, four semi-weekly, and thirteen weekly. After that time it fell 
into a languishing condition, its books stored away, and its members inactive. 
It continued thus until 1838, when, by a union with the Young Men's Literary 
Association, (which had been founded a short time before,) new life was infused 
into it, and the two Associations continued for some time to enlist the inter- 
est of our citizens. In lS-f-i (their rooms being then in Smith's Arcade) the 
Library consisted of 2,700 volumes. After some time, however, the interest 
in the Association decieased, and in 1849 it was deemed advisable to effect a 
coalition with the Mechanic's Literary Association, which had been organized 
in February, 1836, and incorporated February 25, 1839. This Institution 
was in possession of a Library of about 1,500 volumes. It had regularly 
kept up a series of weekly debates, and had also held several exhibitions or 
fairs of mechanical inventions, &c. The Diploma awarded to exhibitors on 
such occasions, is here presented, and was really a creditable production for 
the time, though as you will readily perceive, the locomotive is of rather a 
primitive construction. Immediately after the combination of the two soci- 
eties, they removed to their rooms (in Corinthian Hall Building), and the first 
lecture before the Association was delivered by the Rev. J. II. Mcllvaine, on 
the 28th June, 1S49." 



UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER. 21 

For the admirable arrangement of its Library, Reading 
Room, and Lecture Hall, (the Corinthian, now so favorably 
known among- lecturers, orators, and musicians,) the public 
are indebted to the enterprise and taste of the proprietor. 
Mr. "Win. A. Reynolds. The energy of the father, Abelard 
Reynol'ds, in erecting the first frame dwelling in Rochester, 
seems to have been transmitted to the son, and is exempli- 
fied in this the best audience room in the State. 

UNIVERSITY OF ROCLIESTER. 

Our city has expended large sums for educational estab- 
lishments abroad. As an instance : when Dr. Penney be- 
came President of Hamilton College, his salary was pledged 
to him, by the citizens of Rochester, to the amount of the 
interest of $20,000 ; and our citizens made liberal donations 
to Hobart Free College, at Geneva. The Rochester Univer- 
sity was founded in 1851. It opened with seventy pupils, 
one half of whom and four of the faculty being from Madi- 
son University, an able and long tried corps of teachers, and 
a complete organization of classes. As a pecuniary patron, 
the late John N. Wilder, Esq., of Albany, takes the lead : 
who, in addition to a subscription of $10,000, devoted to the 
Institution a warm heart and earnest spirit to the hour of his 
lamented death. Let the citizens of Rochester never forget 
this distinguished stranger, whose death we have but lately 
been called to mourn. The total number of graduates dur- 
ing the ten years of its history, is 193 — a larger average 
per annum than of any other College in the country, at the 
same period of its history. Financially, the University is in 
a very satisfactory condition. Though not largely endowed, 
the funds at command suffice to meet the current expen 
and allow the erection of a building, now contracted for, on 
lands generously donated by Hon. A. Boodt, which will be 
an ornament to the city and to Western New York. The 
present Faculty are : 



22 UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER — FACULTY. 

Martin P.. Anderson, LL. D., President, &c, &e. 

Asahel D. Kendrick, D. D., Professor of Greek Language and Literature. 

John F. Kichardson, D. D., Professor of Latin Language and Literature. 

Chester Dewey, D. D. and LL.D., Prof, of Chemistry and Nat. Sciences. 

Sewall S. Cutting, D. D., Professor of Rhetoric and History. 

Isaac F. Quimby, A. M., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy. 

All of whom are well known through their writings on both 
sides of the waters. Drs. Anderson and Cutting long dis- 
tinguished themselves as editors of leading journals of New 
York. Dr. Kendrick is the author of several Greek text 
books, and has recently edited, with great labor and learning, 
the Commentary of Olshausen on the New Testament. Prof. 
Richardson has issued a small but elaborate treatise on 
Roman Orthoepy, which is attracting much attention among 
scholars in this country and in England. Prof. Cutting has 
lately sent forth a valuable volume touching some questions 
connected with the Baptist denomination, and entitled " His- 
toric Vindications." Prof. Fowler, now of Auburn, when 
occupying the chair of Political Economy, furnished the 
reading world with a racy, interesting volume, entitled 
" The American Pulpit." Oldest in the Faculty, by far the 
longest resident in the city, is Dr. Dewey — a household name 
among the "savans" of both hemispheres, and himself a 
Tii csaurus upon his favorite branches of chemistry, mineral- 
ogy, and geology. A sketch of Rochester as it is and has 
been for thirty years, would be greatly defective without 
special notice of this eminent scholar. Coming to the city 
in the year 1836, as Principal of the High School, he at 
once took the place to which he was well entitled, in the fore- 
ranks of the friends of education throughout Western New 
York. Dr. Dewey's scientific writings are voluminous, hav- 
ing been for forty years a large contributor to " Silliman's 
Journal," to which distinguished receptacle of American 
Science our townsman has contributed articles upon topics 
like these : " Aurora Borealis," " Best Methods for Making 
Meteorological Observations," " Sunsets," " The Temperature 



UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER — THE CLUB. 23 

of Lake Ontario," " Cartography," (a plant of the g< 
carex, or sedge.) forty articles; "Conduction of Water." 
••Mineralogy and Geology of "Western Massachusetts and 
parts adjacent," and " The Polished Rocks of Western New 
York." The meteorological articles in our own city jour- 
nals, oyer the familiar signature of " C. D.," illustrate I 
affluent and observing mind. 

The Rochester Theological Seminary is under the able 
instruction of- — 

E. G. Robinson, D. D., Professor of Biblical and Pastoral Theoiogy. 
V. R. Hotchkiss, D. D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Exegesis. 
G. X. Xortbrop, A. M., Professor of Ecclesiastical History. 

The catalogue of the current year contains the names of 
thirty-one students, with six in the German department, un- 
der Prof. Pauschenbusch, graduates of eight colleges, ag; 
gating 37. Since its organization, in the year 1851, the 
. aiuable library of the late distinguished Xeander was 
secured to this Institution. The benefit of a general kind 
which the community receives from such academic schools 
as these, is obvious to all ; they need no mention at tl 
time. The graduates, collegiate and theological, are aire 
making their mark for learning and goodness throughout the 
Union and across the sea. Among the many who have 
entered the ministry, it is enough to mention the name of 
Pev. A. Kingman Nott, whose lamented death has evol 
the exclamation — 

" God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform !" 

and whose memoirs, prepared by his brother, the 
Pastor of the First Baptist Church in this city, have but in- 
creased the regret, that he who was so well fitted for a lon< 
and useful life, should be called so early away. 

THE CLUB. 

To the University more than to any other immediate s< 
is Pochester indebted for a literary and scientific club, which.. 



24 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS — PEPJODICALS. 

for the attainment of its important results, is entirely suc- 
cessful. Organized on the 13th of July, 1851, its career thus 
far has fully answered the most sanguine expectations of the 
j ersons thus associated for literary and scientific purposes. 
The gatherings are semi-monthly, during the University term 
at each of which a member, in alphabetical order, reads an 
article upon whatever topic he chooses, which is then made 
the theme of criticism and conversation. There have already 
been held over a hundred sessions,- at which various ttnd 
learned articles have been read. 

PUBLIC AND PEIVATE SCHOOLS. 

Does the University meet the necessities of those who are 
cm the way to the highest learning, the demands of the 
masses are supplied through the seventeen Public Schools, 
with their commodious buildings and accomplished teachers. 
The High School, under Mr. Edward "Webster, takes the 
most diligent and studious from those of the lower grade, 
and the Academies, from which we may name : 

" Collegiate Institute," Messrs. Benedict & Satterlee. 

"Boys' Training School," Rev. James Nichols, A. M. 

" East Avenue Collegiate Institute," M. G. Peck. 

" Commercial College," G. W. Eastman. 

"Robinson Episcopal School," the Misses Robinson. 

" Chapman's Commercial School," J. V. R. Chapman. 

" Tracy Female Seminary," Miss Lucilia Tracy. 

" Rochester Female Seminary," Mrs. James Nichols. 

"Curtis' Female Seminary," Mrs. P. H. Curtis. 

" Clover Street Seminary," Miss Amy Moore. 

" Allen Seminary," Miss Mary B. Allen. 

"Porter School," the Misses Porter. 

" Academy of the Sacred Heart," Madame Kennedy. 

PEPJODICALS. 

In our city the Printing Press found an early and impor- 
tant place, which it has retained with great credit to itself 
and usefulness to community. The first weekly newspaper 



PERIODICALS. 



25 



was established in 1816, by Messrs. Dauby & Sheldon, under 
the title of the " Rochester Gazette." This was subsequently 
changed to the '-'Rochester Republican" under Messrs. 
Derick and L. W. Sibley, and Messrs. Frederick Whittlesey 
and Edwin Scrantom. The next, in 1818, entitled the 
" Rochester Telegraph" with the late Everard Peck as pub- 
lisher. The first daily paper established west of Albany was 
the " Rochester Daily Advertise!*" having as editor Luther 
Tucker, (now of Albany,) aided by Henry O'Eeilly, both 
of whom deserve, as they receive, a large place in our mem- 
ory and grateful esteem. Their enterprise was unique and 
promotive of our lame far and wide. Sixteen periodicals 
now issue from Rochester, as follows : 



" Rochester Daily Union & Advertiser," ^ 
" Tri-Weekly," [ 

"Weekly Republican," J 

"Rochester Daily Democrat & American," ^ 
" Tri-Weekly Democrat & American," 
"Monroe Democrat and Weekly Ameri- f 
can," J 

" Rochester Evening Express," 
"Weekly Express," 
"Rural New-Yorker," 
"Genesee Farmer" and "Rural Annual," 
"Frederick Douglass' Paper," (Weekly.) 
" Douglass' Monthly. 
"Expositor & Advocate," 
" Journal of the Home," 
"Genesee Observer," (German) 
" Intelligencer of the North," (German) 



Curtis, Butts & Co, 

A. Strong & Co. 

Hebard, Tracy & Co. 

D. D. T. Moore. 
Joseph Harris- 
Frederick Douglass. 

Joseph Marsh. 
Mrs. N. S. Barnes. 
Adolphe Nolte. 
Kramer & Felix. 



Leaving not one house without the opportunity of informa- 
tion upon subjects of common and current interest. 

As depots of scientific and literary productions of every 
variety, what need we more satisfactory than the Rook 
Stores of Messrs. Allings & Cory ; Darrow & Byo. ; D. M. 



26 LAW AND MEDICINE. 

Dewey ; Adams & Dabney ; Steele, Avery & Co. ; G. "W". 
Fisher ; L. Hall ; and G. H. Clark. 

LAW AND MEDICINE. 

In the two-fold departments of Counsel and Advocacy the 
Monroe Comity Bar is eminently distinguished. The first 
County Court was held in May, 1821 ; the first or presiding 
judges in succession, being Elisha B.. Strong, Ashley Samp- 
son, Moses Chapin, E. Smith Lee, Samuel L. Selden, John 
Bowman, Joseph Sibley, Ashley Sampson, (2d term,) Pat- 
rick G. Buchan, Harvey Humphrey, George G. Hunger, 
John C. Chumasero. 

By way of legal reminiscence, let a few names and facts 
pass under notice : Under the former Constitution, Mr. 
"William B. Rochester (subsequently a candidate for the 
chair of State,) and Mr. Addison Gardiner (late Lieutenant 
Governor,) had seats upon the bench of the Circuit Court ; 
and Mr. Frederick Whittlesey held the office of Yice Chan- 
cellor, and for a short time that of Justice of the Supreme 
Court. Under the present Constitution our city has furnished 
two Justices of the Supreme Court, for this district, (Sam- 
uel L. Selden and E. Darwin Smith,) and two members of 
the " Court of Appeals," (Addison Gardiner and Samuel 
L. Selden,) neither of whom has permitted the reputation 
of this, the place of his home, to suffer at his hands. Of 
the thirty-seven lawyers residing in this place twenty years 
ago, ten are deceased. One (lion. Chas. P. Doolittle,) re- 
moved to Wisconsin, which State he now represents in the 
United States Senate — and eight have been honored with 
seats on the Judicial bench. One name adorns the an- 
nals of our City and County Court, which it were wrong to 
pass without special notice. Vincent Mathews, took up 
his residence in Rochester in 1821 ; having been at the Bar 
of Chemung and Steuben counties since 1809, filling stations 
of honor at Washington and Albany. With such antece- 



LAW AND MEDICINE. 27 

dents, it is no matter of surprise to find him at once upon 
arrival in possession of public respect and confidence, and 
as Assembly man, District Attorney, &c, justifying expecta- 
tions awakened in advance. Upon his decease, the junior 
members of the Bar secured a portrait of their venerable 
friend, which now graces the Court-room, reminding the ob- 
server of one who as a lawyer was firm, faithful and pro- 
found ; as a citizen, was public spirited and generous ; as a 
parent and church communicant, all that these terms imply, 
of affection, integrity and devotion. 

The Medical Profession has not at all fallen in the rear of 
the Legal, as to the learning and skill of its members. "We 
find that out of thirty or more of an early class in active 
duty, Messrs. S. Hunt, A. G. Bristol, Wm. W. Eeid, P. G. 
Tobey, II. Bradley, T. Havill, P. G. Shipman, alone remain. 
Among the early practitioners, there may be named without 
invidious distinction : Dr. Fred"k F. Backus, son of Presi- 
dent Backus, of Hamilton College, was a resident of this 
city for more than forty years, during which period he stood 
in the foreran k of his profession. Of great benevolence, 
never neglecting the most humble who sought his aid ; of 
persevering industry, to the latest hour of his active life ; 
pursuing the most recent medical works, and replete with 
genuine humor ; ambitious to succeed, and to excel, detest- 
ing quackery, in all its forms, with warm attachment to his 
fellow men, an exemplary and intelligent christian — his 
name is imperishably identified with the history and fortunes 
of Western New York. It was to his industrious accumula- 
tion and skillful arrangement of facts and arguments, em- 
bodied in a report presented while a member of the Senate, 
that the public are indebted for that most needed and blessed 
institution,— the Asylum for Idiots — while the like influence 
was a powerful means of securing the location here of the 
House of Refuge — the street in front of which bears his 
honored name. Dr. Anson Coleman - , is a name not to be 



28 MEDICINE POLITICS AND STATESMANSHIP. 

passed without a grateful recollection. Distinguished for his 
ardent devotion to his profession, he exhibited in its practice, 
an indomitable energy and perseverance, regarding it 
as worthy of his highest effort and greatest sacrifice. When 
that sad pestilence, the Asiatic Cholera, was among us, his 
efforts to quiet the popular alarm, and restore the stricken 
invalids, were appreciated at the time, and are still remem- 
bered, with grateful satisfaction, by his many friends. Dr. 
John B. Elwood, after years of distinguished ability and 
success in the department of medicine, and especially of 
surgery, has retired to private life, which he leaves only at 
the demand of imperitive duty or long cherished affection. 
The respect and confidence which he has ever enjoyed 
from his fellow citizens, were never more deservedly won. 
Contemporary with Dr. Elwood, and for a considerable 
period a partener in business, was Dr. John D. Henry, who 
has a just place in the recollection of our early citizens as a 
skillful practitioner, an exemplary christian, and a hind 
neighbor. He has accompanied Drs. Brown, Ensworth, 
Gibbs, Day, McCracken, Ezra Strong, and McGregor, to the 
"house appointed for all the living." Doctors Frank H. 
Hamilton, Thos. F. Rochester, and Edward M. Moore, oc- 
cupy distinguished places in the medical department of the 
"University of Buffalo." The late Dr. Webster, during 
several years previous to his death, occupied the chair of 
surgery, in Geneva Medical College. Since the passing 
away of the diseases incident to a new settlement, lioches- 
ter has ranked among the healthiest cities of the Union, and 
is now well supplied with learned and able physicians. 

POLITICS AND STATESMANSHIP. 

Rochester has taken an active and influential part in the 
discussion and direction of affairs, State and National. It 
was here that the Hon. John Quincy Adams received his 
first nomination to the presidency ; a fact to which he often 



POLITICS AND STATESMANSHIP. 29 

referred. Anti-Masonry, which entered so largely into pol- 
itics thirty years ago, bringing into notice persons whom the 
nation has honored already, and may much more in time 
to come, find early and devoted friends here. The Hon. 
Addison Gardiner and Hon. Henry E. Selden have presided 
over the Senate as Lieutenant Governors. A recent acting 
Governor of Nebraska, Thomas B. dimming, was a native 
of Rochester. So, also, is the Hon. David K. Carter, lately 
a member of Congress, from Ohio. The Hon. D. D. Bar- 
nard, now of Albany, recently United States Minister to 
Prussia, formerly represented this District in Congress, and 
passed in Rochester, the early years of his prosperous life ; 
as also, Hon. John Covode, now Member Congress, of 
Penn. ; Messrs. Samuel G. Andrews, Isaac E. Elwood, and 
Samuel P. Allen, have efficiently discharged the duties of 
Clerk of the State Senate. L. Ward Smith, a native of 
Rochester, was Adjutant General of the State of New r York, 
in 1851-52. We cannot dismiss this topic without a notice 
of one person whose name has a national fame ; I refer to 
Thurlow Weed, Esq. This gentleman commenced his pub- 
lic career among us as Editor of the " Rochester Telegraph," 
about the year 1827. Desiring a wider arena, he removed 
to Albany, to edit the well known " Evening Journal? 
though not without a fond, and oft-uttered attachment to 
his early home. He entered life with but the fragment of 
an education ; but by dint of incessant study, and attention 
to single objects, he has accomplished what is impossible to 
the mere student of books. Though declining official posi- 
tion, he made himself known and felt in every city and 
village of the Union. In the language of a metropolitan 
editor, " when he passes away, in the fulness of years, he 
will leave no larger, more genial spirit, to take his place on 
the busy stage of human affairs." 



30 MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 



MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 

The Genesee River, with its "Rapids," and "Falls" of 
260 feet, early attracted emigrants to a spot which, from that 
feature alone, it was supposed, must become one of man- 
ufacturing importance. The future has justified these ex- 
pectations. Of the large tract of land given by the Indians 
to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, " cne hundred acres were 
donated by those gentlemen to Indian Allen? on condition 
that a Grist Mill should be erected.. This mill was built in 
1780. It was small, ill-constructed, and, in best order, could 
grind but 60 bushels a day ; but for a considerable time, it 
answered all demands, for 30 miles around. The stones 
used in this mill, were made from rock taken from the bed 
of the river adjacent, and were subsequently removed and 
used in a mill at Allen's Creek, in the town of Brighton, 
where they are yet preserved ; and steps are being taken to 
place them in the Court House yard, in this city. Such 
were the beginnings of what has been during two score 
years, the center of fiour manufacture ; which, for amount, 
excellence and reputation, has no superior in any land. 
Some of the Rochester mills are on a scale of magnitude 
unsurpassed in the world. There are several single runs of 
stone which can grind 100 barrels per day. During the 
year ending August 1st, 1835, eighteen mills, with 78 runs 
of stone, manufactured 460,000 barrels of flour, which was 
sent to every part of the habitable globe. Ten of the largest 
and most perfect of these mills were erected under the di- 
rection of Robert M. Dalzell, of whom, it has been well 
said, that if the architect of palaces be worthy of notice in 
history, it cannot be improper to render justice to the scien- 
tific mechanic, whose skill has largely contributed to the 
fame of the city of his residence. Rochester, with her twen- 
ty-one flouring mills, containing 116 runs of stone, (ex- 
clusive of custom mills,) still manufactures more fluur, 



MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 31 

it is believed, than any other place in the world. Not- 
withstanding the temporary check to this branch of her 
manufacturing business occasioned by the partial failure of 
the Genesee wheat crop during the last five years, her facili- 
ties are so great for deriving ample supplies of wheat from 
Canada and all the Western and South- Western States, that 
should the present sanguine expectations fail as to the speedy 
restoration of Genesee wheat in its former abundance and 
excellence, she will easily supply her numerous mills, and 
continue to hold her eminence not only as to the extent of 
her manufactures, but the premium character of some of her 
brands of flour — a position which is now unsurpassed in the 
world. The flouring mills, though dealing more with capital, 
in proportion to labor, than some other branches of manu- 
facture, furnish employment direct and indirect to a popula- 
tion greater than that of any village in this region. A 
medium sized flouring mill, if in operation most of the time, 
disburses, for labor and other incidentals, not less than 
$12,000 per annum, giving employment to about fifty men, 
including coopers, which, with their families, (estimating five 
in each house,) amount to between two and three hundred 
souls, sustained by each mill, or some five thousand in the 
ao-orecrate. These facts and figures illustrate one source of 
our prosperity, and justify our favorite sobriquet of " Hour 
City.''' 1 Let us not close this reference to the mills of Eochester 
without a grateful mention of some who early embarked in 
this important branch of public prosperity. At the head 
stands Ebenezer Allen, in 1789. In the year 1807, we find 
the name of Chas. Hanford ; 1812, Francis Brown & Co. ; 
1811, Messrs. E. & H. Ely, and Josiah Bissell ; 1817, Wm. 
Atkinson, E. B. Strong, Herman Norton, and E. Beach ; 
1818, Palmer Cleveland ; 1821, Thomas 11. Kochester and 
Harvey Montgomery ; 1826, Elias D. Shelmire and Benj. 
Campbell ; 1827, E. S. Beach, Thomas Kempshall, Henry 
Kennedv, Warham Whitney, Silas O. Smith, and F. Bab- 



32 MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 

cock ; 1S28, H. Ely ; 1831, Charles J. Hill, E. D. & H. P. 
Smith ; 1835, James K. Livingston ; 1836, H. B. "Williams, 
Mack & Patterson, II. L. Achilles, and Joseph Strong. 
These were the active ones, in this direction, during thirty 
years of our history. We will never forget them. The 
present millers : Thomas Kempshall, Charles J. Hill & Son, 
John Williams, Louis Chapin, G. "W. Burbank, Joseph Put- 
nam, William Richardson, Hiram Smith, W. W. Carr, Ben- 
nett & Conolly, George W. Smith, George S. Eiley, H. Nr 
Peck, Cornelius Way dell, Main & Chapman, A. Longmuir 
& Co., P. Conolly, Kennedy & Bostwick, J. M. Whitney & 
Co. ; and several custom millers. 

Look at the larger establishments, for the manufacture of 
Boots and Shoes: Pancost, Sage & Co., Geo. Gould & Co.i 
L. & H. Churchill, J. W. Hatch & Son, L. A. Pratt, H. F- 
VanDake, JaquiCh & Co., P. Biglow, H. E. Whittlesey, J. 

F. Conklin, W. Rhoades, P. & J. Barley, Woollard & Leat, 

G. P. Grant, John Groh, with a few smaller establishments, 
aggregating one thousand five hundred persons in constant 
employment. .One of these houses sends out, daily, one thou- 
sand pairs of boots and shoes. Thirteen States and Terri- 
tories bring custom to this market. A gentleman well in- 
formed tells me that upon reliable data he bases his estimate 
that five thousand persons in this city are sheltered, fed and 
clothed through this branch of industry alone. The oldest 
tannery was that of the Messrs. Graves ; that of Messrs. 
Fitch & Allings (just consumed by fire, but re-commenced 
in another place) is, with two exceptions, the largest this 
side of New York City. 

Another extensive branch of manufacture is that Of 
Garments, and their exportation to half the States of the 
Union. Among the principal dealers in this article are : 
Stettheimer & Co., Greentree & Wile, B. P. Robinson & 
Co., Wollf & Bachmann, George Shelton, I. F. Reed, Mad- 
den & Campbell, Clark & Storms, Cornwall & Stace, Geo. 



MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 33 

Oarkson & Son, and J. W. Armitage. A single establish- 
ment employs two hundred persons, with a business of over 
$300,000 per annum. 

Mr. D. K. Barton commenced the Edge Tool Business in 
1834. He has now in his establishment one hundred and 
fifty persons, manufacturing articles which are sought for by 
customers from all parts of this country and from Europe. 

Go to the workshops of Messrs. Kidd & Co., and you will 
find 100 persons engaged in the manufacture of Car Wheels 
Rail Road and other Castings, for the Southern market, con- 
suming nearly 4,000 tons of iron, and aggregating sales to 
about $300,^ '0 per annum. Go to the Stove Manufactories 
of Messrs. French & Co., Bennett & Co., DeWitt & Galusha 
— the first employs 60 persons per day, almost the year 
around, working up 30 tons of iron, into 250 to 300 stoves 
per week, the annual sales amounting to about $300,000. 
And the extensive Iron Eailing and the Covert Bank Lock 
Works of Martin Briggs. Forget not that at the /Scale 
Works of the Duryee & Forsyth Manufacturing Company, 
and Messrs. Forsyth & Co., may be found articles in variety 
and size, from a bank lock to a hay scale. Look in at the 
Paper Mills of Mr. Jones. Step within Messrs. Boughton & 
Chase's Shingle Factory ; and the various Chair Factories of 
Hayden & Bromley, the Charles Kobinson Chair Manufac- 
tory of M. C. Mordoff & Co., and others, on State street. 
Omit not the ' extensive Steam Engine manufactory of 
Messrs. D. A. Woodbury & Co. ; and the Carriage depots 
of J. Cunningham, and Messrs. Elliott & Lodewick ; and 
the " Iron Fence Works" of J. P. Fisher. Go into a room 
at " Fiske's Building," on Mill street, and you will find Mr. 
Daniel Hughes, an ingenious mechanic of the city, conduct- 
ing a lar^e establishment for the manufacture of Genesee 
hickory into Stirrups, which are sent by thousands to South 
America, Mexico, and the Western plains. 

Pass across the bridge, to the east side of the river, and 
3 



34r MANUFACTURES AND TRADES. 

make observation there. "Well do I remember when the first 
JPiano Forte was brought to this, then, village. It was 
'the lion' of the place. .But now we see our townsman, 
Frederick Starr, conducting an establishment for the manu- 
facture of these instruments — (now no longer a luxury, but 
a necessity. in every well furnished house,) which find pur- 
chasers all over the State, receiving commendations even 
from B »ston artists, and taking the prize wherever exhibited. 
Visit the suburbs, and you will find about 4,000 acres of land 
devoted to the culture of trees, shrubs and flowers — the an- 
nual sales ranging from $750,000 to $1,000,000. Rochester 
c >ntains the largest Fruit and Ornamental Nurseries in the 
world, exporting trees, &c, to every part of the Union — to 
Canada and the far countries of Europe. Among the 
many engaged in this trade, we do not hesitate to name the 
firm of Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry, who were the Pioneers 
of this department, and still retain the pre-eminence ; to 
which may be added the firms of 11. E. Hooker & Co. ; 
A. Frost <fe Co.; Hooker, Farley & Co.; C. J. Ryan & Co.; 
T. B. Yale & Co. ; Silas Board man ; W. M. Hoyt & Co. ; 
C. J. Mills & Co.; C. W. Seelye ; S. Moulson, &c, &c. 
Bring into one view these various establishments of industry 
and enterprise : these manufactories of wheat, into all 
grades of flour ; and of iron, into stoves, tools, cutlery, ma- 
chines, safes, scales, engines, fences ; of leather, into boots, 
shoes, harness, trunks, fire-engine hose, machine and carriage 
gear ; of cloth, into garments of every variety and taste ; of 
timber, into boats that float on all our inland waters, — and 
furniture into all forms of beauty and usefulness ; and you will 
find that the city has resources aside from the many flouring 
mills, and those which would answer the demands of a larger 
population though not a run of stone were ever again to move. 
To the one who asks, What supports such a population I 
what sustains so many Banking establishments? what 
builds the dwellings which grace the avenues, and the cot- 



FINANCE AND C0MMKECE. 



35 



tages which beautify the humbler streets? what patronizes 
the eloquent lecturer, and the sweet singer? — we point to 
these scores of workshops and say, Ecce Signa ! These arc 
the heart which sends the animating fluid all through the 
body, domestic and commercial. 



FINANCE AND COMMERCE. 

In a place with so many departments of individual indus- 
try and associated enterprise, financial institutions must be 
many, and commerce large. Such has been, and is still the 
case. The first Bank was the " Bank of Rochester." It was 
incorporated in 1824, with a capital of $250,000, its first 
four Presidents being : Nathaniel Rochester (deceased,) 
Elisha B. Strong, Levi Ward, and Frederick Bushnell (de- 
ceased.) The present Banks, Presidents, and Cashiers, are 
these : 



Commercial, 

Farmers and Mechanics', 

Flour City, 

Traders', 

Monroe County, - 

Perrin, 

Rochester, 

Rochester City, 

Union, 

Monroe County Savings, 

Rochester Savings, 



PRESIDENTS. 

Asa Sprague. - 
Jacob Gould. 
F. Gorton. 
Simon Brewster. 
Freeman Clarke. 
Darius Perrin. 
H. G. Warner. 
Joseph Field. 
Samuel Rand. - 
E. T. Smith. 
William Kidd. 



II. F. Atkinson. 

W. R. Seward. 

E. II. Vredenburgh. 

E. C. Galusha. 

L. W. Clarke. 

IT. J. Perrin. 

P. W. Handy. 

B. F. Young. 

Geo. E. Jennings. 

J. E. Pierpont, Sec'y. 

E. Whalin, Treas. 



With an aggregate capital of $2,500,000. To the credit of 
our finance, skill, prudence, and integrity, be it remembered 
that, during thirty-five years of large operations, including 
the disastrous 1837 and 1S56, Rochester has never seen the 
failure of one of Iter Banks — the only possible exception 
being the " Genesee Lumber Company," an institution owned 
and largely conducted by non-residents. Much successful 
business is done through the private Banking houses of 



30 FINE ARTS. 

Messrs. Rochester & Bro., "Ward & Bro., Powers, Amsden, 
Fairchild, and Keeler & Northrop. 

The Commerce of Rochester, of any importance, opened 
with exports to Montreal and other Canadian ports, of flour, 
pot and pearl ash, pork, and whiskey. The aggregate value 
in 1818, was $380,000 ; in 1819, $100,000 ; in 1820, $375,900. 
The present means of transport of the abundant city 
products, are : the Erie Canal and New York Central Rail 
Road, East and West ; Genesee Valley Canal and Genesee 
Valley Rail Road, South and to New York ; Rail Road to 
Charlotte, and thence to the Canadas by Steamers. Twenty 
years ago it was written that nowhere west of the Hudson is 
the annual receipt of Canal tolls so great as at the city of 
Rochester. The same holds now in addition to exports of 
trees and shrubs by Rail Road, sent from one establishment 
alone, (Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry's,) to the amount, during 
the last fall, of nearly four hundred tons. 

FINE ARTS. 

Under this head, Music holds a first j)lace. Where (not 
Boston excepted,) do the Jenny Linds, the Madams Bishop 
and Sontag, the Carl Formes, and other vocal celebrities, call 
a larger and more appreciative audience than here? And so 
it has always "been. Twenty -five years ago, a young man 
from Canada, was employed by the First Presbyterian 
Church as organist. It soon appeared that we had among us 
a person of no ordinary talent. He began to write songs, and 
give concerts which were listened to by delighted crowds. 
Their fame w T as published, far and near. He removed to the 
city of New York, and there wrote ballads, which have lost 
none of their popularity with the lapse of time. The ear 
never wearies of hearing " Woodman, Spare that Tree" — 
" The Old Arm Chair 1 '—" Wind of the Wintry Night"— 
" Life on the Ocean Wave." When at the height of his 
fame, a metropolitan editor put this on record — "Through 



FINE ARTS. 37 

the discrimination and liberality of Rochester, the distin- 
guished vocalist and ballad composer, Henry Russell, was 
brought into notice." In 1835 the " Rochester Academy oi 
Music" was organized, with Addison Gardiner as Presi- 
dent ; Messrs. F. F. Backus, L. B. Swan, N. T. Rochester, 
&c, as officers ; having for its object, the " cultivation of 
sacred music generally — particularly in churches, and for 
charitable purposes." This had much to do in forming the 
cultivated taste which now prevails. Were a tablet to be 
erected to Dr. F. F. Backus, the fact that he presided for 
forty years over the oldest choir in the place, leaving it only 
when compelled by declining health, should be specially no- 
ticed. While in the department of Landscape Painting, 
our city can boast no celebrity, yet the county of Monroe 
has sent forth one who has a world-wide reputation — Church 
— the artist of the "Niagara" and "Heart of the Ancles." 
The distinguished portrait painter, G. S. Gilbert, has re- 
sided in Rochester for nearly thirty years. He has no su- 
perior in his profession. Among his many successful delin- 
eations is the portrait of the Rev. Dr. Penney, before alluded 
to, which graces the walls of the Atheneum. Examples of 
fine Architecture, are, the Rochester Savings and Union 
Banks ; and among the churches, — the Central, St. Peter's,. 
Grace, Plymouth, and the Third Presbyterian. Many of 
our private residences are unusually elegant — our business 
blocks have no equals in the State, out of the city of New 
York. Take your position on the dome of the spacious 
Court House, on some fine day in June, when the atmos- 
phere is clear, and name, if you are able, that place which is 
more fitly entitled the "Garden City," than Rochester. The 
view is most picturesque, and is admired by all beholders. 

PATENTS. 

The suggestive genius of Rochester has been exemplified 
in the Patents which originated from this place. If the 
adage be true that " he who makes two blades of grass grow. 



3S SPECIALITIES. 

where but one grew before is a public benefactor," not less 
so is he who invents machinery, which accomplishes what 
human limbs could not. within any reasonable limits of time 
and means. I am informed, upon highest authority, that the 
patents granted to citizens of Rochester, number not far 
from one Tiundr> d and fifty. A list of patents now lies be- 
fore me with the names of the inventors. Did limits allow, 
it would give me pleasure to put the whole on record. To 
select would seem invidious. Let it suffice to say. that the 
first recorded patents bear date in 1821, and are, John Gr. 
Yought's Pills ; and Elisha Ruggles Starrs' Fire Fenders ; 
also, patents for Raising Canal Boats, five ; Rotary Steam 
Engines, four ; Smut Machines, thirty-three ; Threshing 
Machines, four ; and Rail Road Car Wheels, two. While 
many among them do little else than illustrate the inventive 
genius and eminent skill of the originator, others, like Jud- 
son's and Bush & Snow's " Engine Governors ;" and Jack- 
son's •• Hotel Bell Indicator ;"' and the -'• Erickson Pro- 
pelling "Wheel," (originally patented by Benjamin M. Smith.) 
are of greatest importance and remuneration. The gentle- 
man who. with no little labor in searching volumes of records, 
furnished the above list adds, that next to Patterson. X. J., 
this city has been most productive of any in the land, of 
curious and useful inventions. 

SPECIALITIES. 

It was observed at the commencement of this narrative, 
that there were a few items, which do not properly belong 
to either of the classes named. Here we might introduce 
many incidents, and anecdotes, grave, amusing and ludic- 
rous, which have a place in the memory of our older citi- 
zens : which do better to talk and laugh over at the " anni- 
versary table,"* than to commit to the historic page. I will, 
however, insert a lively description of one incident as re- 
cently published in one of our public journals over the sig- 



SPECIALITIES. 



39 



nature of Joel Parker. D. D., of Xew York: "A colony 
had migrated from the west to the east side of the river, 
and organized the 'Third Presbyterian Church,' '" says Dr. 
P.. the then Pastor : u The little school-house, in a period 
of six weeks from the assembling of the first nucleus of the 
congregation, was full. "We met on a Monday morning, to 
provide for a larger place of worship. No larger and yet 
suitable place could be found. ' Let us build one," said Mr. 
BisselL 'Yes,* replied several. 'But we want one for next 
Sunday.' 'Let us build one for next Sunday.' was the an- 
swer. Expressions of astonishment at the extravagance of 
the man were uttered on every side. The reply was charac- 
teristic. It was a call for zeal, and an exhibition of his own 
ardor, as a means of awakening it in others. It was one ot 
his effective speeches. • Brethren,' said he, ' if we could 
make 81,000 by building a commercial storehouse and 
completing it by Saturday night, we should think it could 
be done, and would find means to do it. Things have 
come to a pretty pass if we cannot do as much for our 
Master as for mammon.' One replied. 'I ad; 
Bissell's zeal, but wisdom is profitable to direct. The tim- 
ber for the frame is yet standing in the woods, the neces- 
sary funds are not provided ; it cannot be done.' 'There 
is no real difficulty,' was the reply. • One set of men 
can be employed to fell the timber, another to square it, 
another to draw it to the spot, and another still to frame ir. 
The seats can be contracted for at one carpenter's shop, 
the glazing and doors at another, while other sets of men 
can be employed at boarding and in laying the floor. 
Then, with large stoves for warming, we can dispense with 
plastered walls and ceiling for the present, since the summer 
is nigh.' 'But it cannot be done,' rejoined another. 'It 
can be done,' said Mr. Bissell. -Make me the buii 
committee, and I will raise the means and complete the 
building ; and, God helping us, we will worship in our 



40 SPECIALITIES. 

sanctuary next Sabbath.' The Society could do no other 
than authorize an attempt, in which the projector assumed 
all the burden. The meeting was dissolved at ten o'clock 
Monday morning. Tuesday, the axmen's blows were heard, 
and before night the squared timbers commenced to appear 
on the ground and the framers were seen at their work ; 
Thursday, it was raised and partly boarded in ; Friday, the 
boarding was completed and the floors laid ; Saturday morn- 
ing the windows and doors, benches, pulpit, stoves, and all 
things necessary to the completion of the edifice were in 
their places ; and on Sunday morning four hundred persons 
crowdedinto the new Sanctuary /" Yes, and there are gentle- 
men now among us who listened to many a discourse de- 
livered beneath the roof of that six-day-built Sanctuary. 
Where is the equal to this expedition and enterprise the land 
over ! 

Am I reminded that if Rochester was the birth-place of 
so much that is beneficial and of good report, so is it of 
Spiritual Eappings and of Sam Patch hardihood ? So be it- 
It only illustrates the imperfections adhering to all sub- 
lunary things, however excellent. We would that these 
" spots " had not obscured the brightness and defaced the 
beauty of our "sun," but fall back upon the adage, " Errare 
humanum est" confident that the vast ocean of the true, and 
right, and useful, will swallow the scum upon the billowy 
surface. 

This Address having been prepared for and delivered be- 
fore the " Junior Pioneer Association of Rochester and 
the County of Monroe," and, at their solicitation, repeated 
at this time, it is due to the occasion that a few remarks be 
made by way of reminiscence and suggested counsel. 

When Governor De Witt Clinton (vencrabile nomen) 
passed this way, in the year 1S10, it was to find this spot 
without a human habitation. An emigrant of the next 
year, (Enos Stone, now deceased,) as described by O'Reilly, 



SPECIALITIES. 41 

lived to see the spot where he killed the mischievous 
bear, the center of a dense population, and the site of impos- 
ing erections. The first allotments for a village were made 
in 1812, when uSTathaniel Rochester, Charles II. Carroll, 
and William Fitzhugh, surveyed and laid out the " One 
Hundred Acre Tract" for settlement, under the name of 
" Rochester." This was part of the larger tract of twelve 
by twenty-four miles, on the west side of the Genesee River, 
which Messrs. Plielps and Gorham obtained from the In- 
dians for the purpose of a mill-yard! During the same 
year, other allotments were made in a northerly direction 
by Messrs. Matthew and Francis Brown, and Thomas 
Mumford, under the name of "Frankfort." Opposite this 
tract, on the east side of the river, lay another allotment, 
made under the direction of Messrs. Samuel J. Andrews, 
and Moses Atwater. This was an eventful year to Roches- 
ter and to the country. War being declared with Great 
Britain, the patriotism and valor of this new settlement, 
were soon to be put to the test ; for, in a few months after- 
wards, Sir James Yeo made his appearance at the mouth of 
the river, with a fleet of thirteen vessels, threatening imme- 
diate and dire destruction, unless the provisions and mili- 
tary stores supposed to be gathered at Charlotte, were at 
once delivered up. How the gallant baronet's proposition 
was received by commanders Brown, Ely and Stone — 
with what adroitness and success ten citizen soldiers were 
multiplied into scores of disciplined troops — with what 
lofty indignation and burning words the insolent demand of 
the invader was rejected — and how quickly his Majesty's 
legates left the harbor to report to his superior the failure of 
his enterprise, and, mayhap, receive an official reprimand 
for being outwitted by the Yankees ! You will find it all in 
O'Reilly's graphic pages. — Go, read them there. This was 
the cradled infant but with manly spirit in his early years. 
Time passed on, adding muscle and sinew, promising a 



42 



SPECIALITIES. 



long, earnest and useful life. In 1817, the first Trustees 
were elected under the village charter ; the presiding offi- 
cers during the next seventeen years, being — Messrs. Francis 
Brown, Matthew Brown, Jr., John "VV. Strong, Elisha John- 
son, J. Medbery, 1ST. Rossiter, J. Thorn, and F. M. Haight, 
several of whom were re-elected. In 1S34 a City Ciiarte, 
was obtained, with Jonathan Childs as first mayor, whose 
venerable form and courteous manners have but till lately 
met us in the public street and the social circle. The same 
high office has been held in succession, by Messrs. Jacob 
Gould, A. M. Schermerhorn, Thomas Kempshall, Elisha 
Johnson, Thomas H. Rochester, Samuel G. Andrews, Elijah 

F. Smith, Chas. J. Hill, Isaac Hills, John Allen, William 
Pitkin, John B. Elwood, Jos. Field, Levi A. Ward, Samuel 
Richardson, Hamlin Stilwell, Nicholas E. Paine, Samuel 

G. Andrews, Rufus Keeler, John Williams, Chas. H. Clarke, 
Maltby Strong, Chas. J. Hayden, S. W. D. Moore ; and the 
present incumbent, Hamlet D. Scrantom. 

Such, is a rapid view of our city during the first half 
century of its eventful history. Such, junior citizens of 
Rochester, is the goodly heritage which has passed into 
your hands, from those who reclaimed this region from na- 
tive rudeness and barbarism into its present form of beauty 
and civilization. 

Among the older residents may be recognized — f 



Oliver Culver, 
Enos Stone,* 
Hamlet Scrantom,* 
Ira West,* 
Silas 0. Smith, 
Henry Skinner,* 
Abelard Reynolds, 
I. W. Stone, 
Thomas Muinford * 



Thomas Kempshall, 
Willis Kempshall, 
Aaron Newton, 
Raphael Beach,* 
F. F. Backus,* 
J. B. Elwood, 
A. Coleman,* 
0. Gibbs,* 
John Henry,* 



Abner Wakelee. 

Robert Wilson,* 
Everard Feck,* 
R. M. Dalzell, 
Jacob Gould, 
Daniel D. Hatch,* 
Erastus Cook, 
Moses Chapin, 
Preston Smith, 



t The above list comprises many of the leading men among the early Pioneers. It has 
>een found about impossible to make a correct list, hence any omissions must be pardoned- 
1 1| ceased. 



SPECIALITIES. 



43 



John Mastick,* 
Azel Ellsworth,* 
Francis Brown,* 
Matthew Brown,* 
William Brewster, 
Charles Ilanford, 
William T. Ilanford, 
Daniel Mack, 
Samuel Andrews,* 
Hastings R. Bender,* 
Jonah Brown, 
Gideon Cobb, 
William Cobb,* 
Jacob Graves, 
Daniel Graves, 
Jehiel Barnard, 
Solomon Cleveland,* 
Palmer Cleveland,* 
Nathaniel Rochester,* 
John C. Rochester, 
John W. Strong,* 
L. Ward, 
Jonathan Child, 
Warham Whitney,* 
Jonathan Packard,* 



S. Hunt, 
A. G. Smith,* 
John G. Bond, 
Elisha Ely,* 
Hervey Ely, 
Ebenezcr Ely, 
Ariovcster Hamlin,* 
A. V. T. Leavitt, 
William H. Ward * 
Russell Ensworth,* 
Russell Green, 
William Atkinson,* 
Ebenezer Watts, 
Harvey Montgomery, 
Elisha Johnson, 
Nathaniel Draper, 
Josiah Sheldon,* 
Boswell Hfirt,* 
SethSaxton,* 
James Frazer, 
Erasmus D. Smith, 
Joseph Spencer,* 
Charles Magne,* 
David II. Carter,* 
James B. Carter,* 



Ashley Sampson,* 
Frederick Starr, 
Matthew Mead, 
Rufus Meech, 
Charles J. Hill, 
William Pitkin, 
Enos Pomeroy, 
William Charles, 
Stephen Charles, 
Roswell Babbitt,* 
Elisha Lee,* 
Charles M. Lee,* 
John A. Cathcart, 
Deri'ck Sibley, 
L. W. Sibley,* 
Reuben Bardwell,* 
Edwin Scrantom, 
Thutlow Weed, 
J. W. Smith,* 
A. G. Dauby, 
William Buell, 
Erastus Shepard.* 
L. L. Miller,* 
Jesse Mason. 
Enos Blossom.* 



" Some, from their weary toil are now at rest ; 
Some, withered, old and weak, yet trembling wait 
A little season, and they too shall rest— 
They cannot labor now. But ye whose feet 
Have entered on their labors, reverence 
These men. You praise the bravery of him 
Who dares face death upon the battle field ; 
But far beyond such bravery, is his, 
Who in his youth dares face the wilderness: 
Dares build his cabin upon lands whose trees 
Reach to the Heavens, and hopes to live on those 
Same forest lands, and his own toil alone. 
Yet his is no ignoble toil : he gives 
The sun to shine on lauds and streams, which for 
A thousand years have not his beams beheld. 
1',. gives all grains to grow on pleasant fields, 
Where, but for him, wild beasts of prey had roamed— 



44: TO THE JUNIOR PIONEERS. 

A terror still. Then reverence these men ! 

Look but abroad ! The scene, how changed, 

Where fifty fleeting years ago, 

Clad in their savage costume ranged, 

The belted lords of shafts and bow. 

In praise of pomp, let fawning art 

Carve rocks to triumph over years; 

The grateful homage of the heart 

Give to our living Pioneers.' 1 '' [Humphrey. 



Members of the Junior Pioneer Association of Rochester, and 
the County of Monroe : 

Objects more important fitting and hopeful of benefit to 
yourselves and community, could hardly be named, than 
those that gave you an associated existence, and which call 
for the most earnest prosecution and untiring efforts for com- 
plete success. And what are they ? First, the collecting 
and reporting of minute facts respecting the beginning of 
this city. To the historian of any community, the first ten 
years possess a value greater than any subsequent term. It 
is over these that an impenetrable obscurity is likely to rest. 
To the superficial thinker it may seem a small matter to dis- 
cuss such questions as " Who made the first purchase?" 
" Who felled the first tree ?" " Who erected the first dwell- 
ing?" "Who opened the first store?" "Who built the first 
mill?" "Who presided as the first officer?" "Who was the 
first born?" and the like. But, it is these first facts which, 
like the foundation stones of a massive palace or temple, un- 
derlie all true history. Let not a point suggested be deemed 
too trivial to examine. At your annual gatherings take up 
these things which belong to the past, (for that is your voca- 
tion,) inquire among yourselves, enter into correspondence, 
search with all diligence, and rest not until well certified 
as to the least among these events. 

Second, The preservation of whatever illustrates the condi- 
tion of this locality previous to its occupancy by civilized and 



TO TIIE JUNIOR PIONEERS. 45 

Christian emigrants, together witli the incipient steps to past 
or present prosperity in any department of handicraft or 
trade. 

I am told that there exists within our limits the mill-stone 
used for manufacturing the first flour produced here. That 
is a relic which should be preserved ; associated as it is with 
a branch of industry which has given us a world-wide repu- 
tation. I have seen an engraving of the Upper Falls, by a 
French artist, taken before the American Revolution. These 
are but instances of multitudes like them, which should be 
sought out and taken in charge, ere destroyed by decay, or 
removed to distant places. 

A Third, and not the least important object of your Socie- 
ty, is the opportunity a forded at its annual gatherings for 
friendly recognitions and greetings. You meet in the ap- 
pointed place ; politics, trade, and like dividing matters, are 
all laid aside. The past is the engrossing theme ; in our 
youth things were thus and so ; such was the condition of 
this place, and such the aspect of that spot ; where is he who 
built this house? occupied that home? would that they were 
with us to-day. And then the dinner, conducted on princi- 
ples characteristic of our temperate city : and the toasts : and 
the addresses : and the last grasp of the hand, with the mu- 
tual promise to be together, if living, a twelve-month hence. 
Let outsiders smile as you march from the Court House to 
the hotel, led by spirit-stirring drum and fife, (the centena- 
rian, Alexander Millener, beating the same strokes he did 
at Bunker Hill, in the war of the Revolution.) You know 
that the anniversary of this association is one which you 
would not willingly forego. 

There is one necessity which you should institute mea- 
sures to meet without delay, viz : a building, or at least a 
hall, devoted wholly to the interests of the Association. 
Upon the walls should be suspended those portraits that 
are now in the Court Room, and others that might be ob- 



40 TO THE JUNIOR PIONEERS. 

tained. You could inaugurate no measure more certain 
than this to give your cherished Association that place in 
public regard to which it is well entitled. 

Respected Friends, — My attempt to portray Rochester, as 
it is in the closing days of 1859, is ended. Had my ability 
been equal to my desire, the narrative had been more com- 
plete. To collect and arrange these materials has been to 
me most truly a labor of love, affording more pleasure than 
it can bestow. Though not a native of Rochester, I am at- 
tached to it with filial reverence and affection. In my ear- 
liest childhood I accompanied my parents to this their home, 
and for two score years have observed its ever-occurring 
changes, and hailed with joy the eminence it has won of 
honoi' and usefulness. My wanderings over the earth have 
been abundant, and my absence, in one instance, long con- 
tinued. But whether treading the sands of India, or visit- 
ing that most beauteous spot, the metropolis of Africa, or 
climbing the rocky heights of St. Helena, or traversing the 
British kingdoms, or enjoying the embowered walks of the 
French Capitol, or beholding the teeming wonders of the 
Italian cities, or journeying through the far states and terri- 
tories, the forests and prairies of our own Republic, or toss- 
ed upon the restless bosom of the Atlantic and Southern 
Oceans, or borne upon the arrowy Rhone — the castellated 
Rhine — the friths and lochs of noble Scotland — the majestic 
Mississippi, and island-studded St. Lawrence ; mingling 
with Asiatics and Africans, Europeans, Britons or Ameri- 
cans, Christian, Mahomedan, Parsee or Pagan ; wherever I 
ha\e been, of Rochester I could say, "My heart, untraveled, 
still returns to thee /" It has been well said, that any subse- 
quent departure from the home of our childhood is hardly- 
less painful than the first : such is my experience of this fair 
and loved city. I have seen it pass from a mere villa to be- 
come the abode of 50,000 inhabitants. Here I formed my 
first friendships, heard my first understood words of wisdom 



Junior ttoneer association of monkoe county. 47 

and experience, accepted as my guide the divinely inspired 
volume, and went forth to do battle for truth and God. But 
as an incentive to do good service for humanity and heaven, 
this thought had no unimportant place, that what I did was 
to have an effect for good or ill on my early and cherished 
home. 

I go to your beautiful Cemetery and read the sculptured 
names of many whom I once knew to respect, admire and 
love ; associates of boyhood in study and sports — of man- 
hood in co-operative efforts to bless the world. As I recall 
the excellency of their characters, the usefulness of their 
lives, my heart goes out in supplication, that when the 
journey of life is with me ended, I too may find a resting- 
place on that Mount of Hope', my spirit rejoining the 
spirits of relations and friends to become a co-dweller in 
that heavenly city, of which the most beautifuland attractive 
city of earth is but the faintest type. 



JUNIOR PIONEER ASSOCIATION OF ROCHESTER 
AND THE COUNTY OF MONROE. 

The Association bearing this name, was organized at the 
City Hall, in Rochester, July 15, 1855. Twenty names were 
enrolled as members. An adjourned meeting was held on 
the 20th of August, 1855, at which a constitution was adopted 
and permanent officers elected. Ezra M. Parsons, Esq., was 
the first President. The 26th day of October in each year, 
it being the day of the completion and official opening of 
the Erie Canal, was chosen as the clay for the annual meet- 
ing and festival. The Association receives all as members 
who sign the constitution and pay one dollar, who were 
residents of the County on or before the 26th day of October, 
1825 ; and, as honorary members, all who were born or 
resided in the County before January 1, 1830, whether male 
or female. Meetings have been regularly held from year to 



MAY 29 190T 



48 PIONEER ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN NEW YORK. 

year, and there are now seventy-one members of both sexes. 
At each annual meeting there is a festival or public dinner. 
There is an annual payment of one dollar dues from each 
member, which constitutes the revenue of the Association. 
It is a provision in its organization that the Association shall 
attend the funeral of any deceased member, in a body. It 
has a committee of ten members to manage its general con- 
cerns, and a committee of five members on historical collcc 
tions and biographies of members ; also, a committee of 
three members upon Annual Address. Its general design is 
to collect and preserve memorials of the earlier settlers of 
the city and county. 

President — H. L. Achilles. 
' Vice Presidents- -John C. Nash, Ephraim Goss, John H. Thompson, Caleb 
H. Bicknell, and E. II. Grover. 

Recording Secretary — Hiram P. Hatch. 

Corresponding Secretary — L. Ward Smith. 

Treasurer^!) elos Wentworth. 

Chaplain— Rev. F. D. W. Ward. 

Executive Committee — Jacob Howe, George Byington, Jonathan Foster, 
Seth Green, Lorenzo D. Ely, William C. Smith, T. A. Newton, Newell A. 
Stone, Elisha Y. Blossom, and Marcus Jewell. 

Committee on Historical Collections — Frederick Starr, Jarvis M. Hatch, 
Ezra M. Parsons, Thomas J. Paterson, Isaac V. Moshier. 

Committee on Annual Address — John C. Nash, John H. Thompson, and 
Samuel Miller. 

PIONEER ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN NEW 
YORK. 

This society was formed in Rochester in 1847, and now 
consists of about ninety gentlemen and forty-two ladies. 
Annual meeting, at the Court House in Rochester, on the 
second Tuesday of June in each year. The portraits of 
about sixty members of the Association are now hanging in 
the Court Room. 

President — Gideon Cobb. 

Vice Presidents — Preston Smith and James Sperry. . 

Secretary and Treasurer — Aaron Newton. 

Executive Committee — Fisher Bullard, Jonah Brown, and Nathaniel Draper. 



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