December 2

December 2, 1814: Mortimer F. Reynolds is born in the Reynolds' home, becoming the first childbirth in what was then the new settlement of Rochester.

However, among the early settlers in the area of what would ultimately become the present Rochester, the first child birth was that of James Stone, son of Enos Stone, on May 4, 1810.  Enos Stone built a house and then saw mill in 1809 on the east side of the river and would purchase the first lot of the 100 Acre Tract for $50 from Col. Rochester in 1811 on the west side of the river to build a log cabin.  A bridge crossing the river and connecting the communities would not be completed until 1812.  The first child born on the west side of the river was Benjamin Evans in 1811.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 36
2. Illustrated history of the Rochester Trades Assembly and the Building Trades Council, Rochester, N. Y., Rochester Trades Assembly, Building Trades Council (Rochester,N.Y.), Boyd Press, 1897, pp 79
3. The Lives and Reminiscences of the Pioneers of Rochester and Western New York, Kelsey, John, 1854, pp 8   
4. A directory for the Village of Rochester (1827), pg 87

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