July 8

July 8, 1788: Oliver Phelps convinces the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy to sell title to their lands in New York east of the Genesee River plus the Mill Yard Tract, a section of land on the west side of the Genesee extending approximately 12 miles west of the river and 24 miles south from Lake Ontario.

Sources and Further Reading:

• History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 23
• Wikipedia: Phelps and Gorham Purchase
• Wikipedia: The Mill Yard Tract

July 4

July 4, 1817: Settlers from both sides of the river gather for a feast and to celebrate Independence Day with twenty blasts of ordinance.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History (1942); vol 4, no 1, pages 10-12

May 17

May 17, 1831: Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Rochester's founder, dies after several years of illness at the age of 79. His monument at Mount Hope Cemetery reads: Si Monumentum Requiris Circumspice (If you would behold this monument, look about you).

 

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History (1962) v. 24, n. 1, pg 23

 

December 22

December 22, 1813: News arrives at Reynold's post office that British and Indian forces have taken Fort Niagara and of a massacre at the village of Lewiston. The local militia is dispatched to assist and, shortly thereafter, surviving refugees arrive in Rochester seeking shelter.

Sources and Further Reading:
Rochester History (1942), vol 4, no 4, pg 13

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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November 20

November 20, 1811: The first lot in the 100 acre tract on the west side of the Genesee River is sold for $50 by Col. Rochester to Enos Stone, who had already constructed a log cabin there.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 99-100

November 20, 1886: Rochester customers of the the Bell Telephone company initiate a telephone strike in response to the increase in rates to $50 for 500 messages and 6 cents per additional message. Most of the over 1000 subscribers hung up their receivers and the city council revoked the company's license to use of city streets for wire poles. The strike continued for over a year, without service, before a settlement was reached. 
     Dissatisfaction with the Bell company remained and eventually lead to the found of independent Rochester Telephone in 1899, which in the 1990's would become Frontier Corporation.
 
Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 35
2. Wikipedia: Rochester Telephone (New York)

November 8

November 8, 1803: Col. Nathaniel Rochester, Maj. Charles Carroll, and Col. William Fitzhugh lease the 100 acre tract along the west bank of the Genesee River from the Pultney Association for $1750. Finding the original mills built by Inidan Allen in ruins, the trio began making lots available to the early permanent settlers.

 

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Wikipedia: History of Rochester, New York
2. The History of Rochester and Monroe County, NY (1908); Peck, William; pg 32

 

October 8

October 8

1961: The first match of the Rochester Curling Club is held.

Further Reading

RochesterCurling.org: History


1815: The first wedding in Rochester was celebrated between Delia Scantom and Jehiel Barnard, owner of the first tailor shop.

Further Reading

History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 40