Nathaniel Rochester
Encyclopedia
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and land speculator
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
, most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
Early years
Rochester was born in Westmoreland County, VirginiaWestmoreland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,718 people, 6,846 households, and 4,689 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,286 housing units at an average density of...
. His father died when he was two years old and five years later his mother remarried. In 1763, Rochester moved with all but his eldest brother to Granville County, North Carolina
Granville County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 59,916 people in 20,628 households residing in the county. The population density was 111.6 people per square mile . There were 22,827 housing units at an average density of 42.5 per square mile...
.
He found a job with a local Hillsborough
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
merchant at age 16, and became partner in the business within five years. In his early working years, Rochester also served as clerk for the local vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
, as a committee member for a civic organization, and, most notably, as a delegate to North Carolina's first Provincial Congress
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government.-First Provincial Congress:...
.
Military, politics, and business
Hailed as a leader in local political circles, Rochester was appointed a MajorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the North Carolina militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
and served as a paymaster
Paymaster
A paymaster often is, but is not required to be, a lawyer . When dealing with commission payments on contracts dealing with large amounts of money , most banks in the United States are very wary of handling such large amounts of money...
. He suffered a physical breakdown (likely exhaustion), however, and was forced to resign from the service.
Once recovered, Rochester returned to Hillsborough and was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly of 1777
North Carolina General Assembly of 1777
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 met in two sessions in New Bern, North Carolina, from April 7 to May 9, 1777, and from November 15 to December 24, 1777. This was the first North Carolina legislature elected after the last provincial congress wrote the first North Carolina Constitution...
, where he served as county clerk. Also that year, Rochester was appointed Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the North Carolina militia, and Commissioner in charge of building and managing an arms
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in Hillsborough. Once again, Rochester resigned from most of his duties (including vacating his Assembly seat) and entered into a business partnership with Thomas Hart, a notable and wealthy merchant and land speculator.
Rochester and Hart relocated to Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
in 1780, taking up an estate on the southern edge of the town. He served on the vestry of Saint John's Church
Saint John's Church (Hagerstown, Maryland)
St. John's Church, or St. John's Episcopal Church, founded in 1786, is an historic Episcopal church located at 101 South Prospect Street in the South Prospect Street Historic District of Hagerstown, Maryland...
. Here he married Sophia Beatty in 1788, and they had twelve children, among them Judge and Congressman William B. Rochester
William B. Rochester
William Beatty Rochester was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
and Mayor Thomas H. Rochester
Thomas H. Rochester
Thomas Hart Rochester was the 6th son of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and the 6th mayor of Rochester, New York.Rochester was born in Hagerstown, Maryland and moved with his family to Dansville, New York in 1810...
.
Hart and Rochester owned and operated numerous businesses during their time in Hagerstown, including a slavery-dependent business, grist mill, nail and rope factory. Nathaniel Rochester was an early trucker taking wagon loads of goods up into New York State, where he located the land he bought that became Rochester. Although the partnership dissolved in 1792, Rochester continued to operate the mill.
Rochester served one term in the Maryland General Assembly
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...
, and two years as postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
. He was elected as a judge in 1797, but recognizing that he did not have the proper legal training, resigned the post. He served as Washington County's Sheriff from 1804 to 1806.
In 1807, Rochester helped found the Hagerstown Bank, serving as its first president.
Land speculation
Two of the directors of the Hagerstown Bank, Colonel William Fitzhugh and Major Charles CarrollCharles Carroll
Charles Carroll may refer to:*Charles Carroll , Continental Congressman from Maryland*Charles H. Carroll , U.S...
were, like Rochester, wealthy landowners interested in acquiring land in the new "frontier" of the U.S. In 1800, Fitzhugh and Carroll convinced Rochester to travel with them on a prospecting visit to the frontier lands of New York State, and specifically to the lands along the upper portion of the Genesee River
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....
. Fitzhugh and Carroll acquired land along the river on their trip, but Rochester, sensing the opportunity to develop a town, chose a 120 acre (0.4856232 km²) tract along Canaseragea Creek near the hamlet of Dansville
Dansville, Livingston County, New York
Dansville is a village in the town of North Dansville in the eastern part of Livingston County, New York, United States. As of the census, the village population was 4,832. The village is named after Daniel Faulkner, an early settler. Interstate 390 passes next to the west side of the village.-...
. Upon a return trip to the area, they travelled farther up the river to a small abandoned tract of land near the river's Upper Falls. The men saw a business opportunity here as any goods which travelled up the river would need to be unloaded here and portage fees could be charged. They purchased 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land around the falls for $1,750.
Rochester's interest in the land he now owned along the Genesee, in part, prompted him to decide to relocate his family there in 1810. In early June of that year, the family reached Dansville and established a homestead.
Life on the Genesee
Rochester quickly became a leading citizen of Dansville upon his arrival, establishing numerous businesses and mills and playing an active role in the early politics of the town. So busy was his life in Dansville that he offered to sell his share of the Upper Falls tract to Major Carroll. Carroll, however, convinced Rochester to keep his interest.Rochesterville
In 1811 Rochester began the process of establishing a town on the Upper Falls tract. He laid out streets and established plots of land for municipal, church, and business use. Later that year, he began to offer the plots for sale and named the would-be settlement "Rochesterville" after himself.The War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
helped Rochesterville grow as settlers living along the coast of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
sought to move farther inland. In 1812, Rochester moved his family from Dansville to Rochesterville to enable sale of the remaining Dansville property and to provide settlers in Rochesterville assurances that the settlement was here to stay. Numerous skirmishes and war activities were taking place throughout western New York and Rochesterville served as a waypoint for troops heading west as well as a depot for military supplies.
The exposure was good for the settlement, as many people who had travelled through it bought lots or tracts in or near the village.
Rochester was a presidential elector in 1816
United States presidential election, 1816
The United States presidential election of 1816 came at the end of the two-term presidency of Democratic-Republican James Madison. With the Federalist Party in collapse, Madison's Secretary of State, James Monroe, had an advantage in winning the presidency against very weak opposition...
, voting for James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
and Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman, the fourth Governor of New York , and the sixth Vice President of the United States .-Name:...
.
In 1817 Rochester served on a committee to petition the state to build what would become the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
on a proposed northern route that included a route across the Genesee River at Rochesterville. The eventual decision by the state's government to accept this northern route became a predominant factor in the growth of the future city. In late 1817, Rochester helped petition the state for the incorporation of Rochesterville. Although the first petition failed due to opposition from neighboring jurisdictions, a second petition passed. Rochester's village was incorporated that year.
In 1821 Rochester played a pivotal role in the creation of Monroe County
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
, which Rochester named after President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
. When the county was officially formed, Rochester became its first county clerk and was elected as the county's first representative to the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
.
Later years
Rochester remained an active participant in the growth of the town and county he founded, playing many pivotal roles in the development of its economy and status. He played an active role in politics, helped found churches and banks, and served as the first president of the Rochester Athenænum (which would later become Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
). During the last two years of his life, Rochester made few public appearances, but rather spent most of his time with his now rather large family, including his 28 grandchildren still living at the Colonel's 79th birthday.
Suffering from a protracted and painful illness, Rochester died May 17, 1831. He was interred at Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester
Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, founded in 1838, is the United States' first municipal rural cemetery. Situated on 196 acres of land adjacent to the University of Rochester on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people...
in Rochester. His gravestone features a paraphrase of Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
's epitaph: "SI QUÆRIS MONUMENTUM, CIRCUMSPICE" ("If you seek his monument, look around you").
Legacy
Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
has a dormitory named Nathaniel Rochester Hall, the third tallest of the campus' four dormitory towers. The intersection of South Avenue and Alexander Street in the South Wedge neighborhood is home to Nathaniel Square Park, which boasts a statue of Nathaniel Rochester sitting on a bench.
External links
- Rochester's Gravesite at Find A Grave
- North Carolina Historical Marker
- Sheriff Nathaniel Rochester's Records, Washington County, 1804-1806 Western Maryland Regional Library.