LIVINGSTON & WYOMING COUNTIES

ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET

The early days of Livingston County and Wyoming County, NY, and their various towns and townships are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this NEW 25 Page Booklet, reprinted primarily from two hard-to-find books: the 1841 edition of Historical Collections of the State of New York by John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, and New York, a Guide to the Empire State, a WPA project.
The spiral-bound booklet, sold exclusively on eBay, is one-sided on 60# paper, with the print enlarged for easier reading. A clear vinyl sheet has been added to protect the front cover.
The communities mentioned (alphabetized by first letter only) include:Attica, Avon, Arcade, Bennington, Castile, China, Covington, Caledonia, Conesus, Cowlesville, Cuylerville, Dansville, East Avon, Geneseo, Gainesville, Groveland, Java, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Middlebury, Mt. Morris, Nunda, Orangeville, Perry, Portageville, St. Helena, Sheldon, Strykersville, Sparta, Varysburgh, Warsaw and Wethersfield.
Among the many and diverse topics in the booklet are: Mary Jemison, known as "White Woman", who was adopted by the Indians; Medicinal Springs in Avon; Indian Wars; James Wadsworth, founder of Geneseo; Campaign of Gen. Sullivan in 1779; Gruesome torchure of Lt. Boyd and a soldier named Parker by Little Beard; the Ancient Mound at Mt. Morris; Ebenezer Allen "a monster in human form"; the Letchworth State Park and Museum, containing Indian relics; the Genesee Valley Hunt; the Retsof Salt Mine; Cornplanter, Indian chief, and his brother Handsome Lake, Indian prophet; Sudden appearance of a stream in Dansville, and many other interesting bits of history and trivia.
The booklet has no index, but some of the names and surnames mentioned are: Phelps, Gorham, Amariah Hammond, Samuel Stillwell, Alexander Fullterton, Frederick Covert, Richard Porter, Daniel Faulkner, Seth Gates (abolitionist), Rev. William Arthur (father of Pres. Chester Alan Arthur), W. T. Oline, David Starr Jordan, Belva Ann Lockwood (first woman candidate for President), Isabella McDonald Alden (author), and Col. Simcoe Kerr (grandson of Joseph Brant).
ILLUSTRATIONS depict a View of Geneseo, Mt. Morris village, a view of Dansville, and a view of Perry village.
The Howe/Barber history covers the development of this area until about 1841, while excerpts from the WPA book, give a nostalgic glympse from a 1940 vantage point, including interesting historical notes, especially as they relate to sightseeing possibilities. There's also a small map of the area from a 1948 booklet printed by the New York Telephone Company.