County Characters

Part of learning about the history of a village, town, city, county or country is to learn about the people who lived there.  In this section the lives of various Monroe County residents from the past will be presented.  Many of these people helped to make Rochester and Monroe County the place it has become.

Some of them were colorful characters like Sam PATCH, or important to the development of Rochester and Monroe County as was Nathanial ROCHESTER, or instrumental in boosting the economy with their inventions as was the case with George EASTMAN, or an influence upon it's citizens, introducing controversial thoughts and ideals as Susan B. ANTHONY and Frederick DOUGLAS did.

Even so, as influential as many of these noted Monroe County citizens were, they were small in number to the total population.  A population made up of thousands of immigrants from Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Poland and so many other countries that the list would be too long to add here!  The point, though, is that these common ordinary people also added to the development of Monroe County, making it what it is today.

They were hard working, many of them ambitious and successful.  They brought with them their hopes and dreams for a better way of life and the courage to settle in a new land.  They built their own businesses, farmed the land, and developed Rochester and the surrounding areas to become the first boon town of the US.

Learning about these people, the famous as well as the every day folk is essential in understanding the history of Rochester and Monroe County.

In an effort to offer some insight into the people of Monroe County, presented here are biographies and articles about Monroe County Citizens.

Biographical Sketches

Taken from the History of Rochester and Monroe County New York From the Earliest Historic Times to the Beginning of 1907 by William F. PECK, The Pioneer Publishing Company, New York and Chicago, 1908.

These sketches are about both well known and lesser known Monroe County residents.  Mr. PECK included a vast assortment of people from various professions and backgrounds.  A large number of the those included were deceased at the time his book was published, and those incidents, some of the information included may be second hand or what genealogists would consider a secondary source. 

Notable Residents

These of course include some of the individuals mentioned above as well as many others who were well known outside of Rochester and Monroe County.