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Lafayette’s probable path from Rochester to Canandaigua, 1840 Map of New York State by Henry S. Tanner. Source: oldmapsonline.org
By 1825, the road from Rochester to Canandaigua was a well-travelled road. Samuel Hildreth saw to that, although he didn’t live long enough to see it first-hand.
Hildreth might be considered a first generation Western New Yorker. He was born on March 20, 1778, in what would become the town of Phelps in Ontario County. His parents had moved there from New Hampshire.1 He moved to Pittsford in November 1814. There, he quickly established himself as a mover and shaker. He ran a store, rented to others, and operated a tavern. More important, he set up the Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: Dispelling Mendon Myths”
The Necessary Outsider: Why We Need The Searchers’ Ethan Edwards (But Never Thank Him)
Eyes glued to this stark black-and-white world of morality plays, we definitely knew what was right and what was wrong. Our hearts raced as the masked man burst onto the scene. But when the dust settled, the townsfolk barely nodded, and he rode off alone. At seven and eight years of age, we wondered, “Why didn’t they invite him to stay?”
Life was easy back then. The good guys wore white hats. The bad guys wore black hats. It didn’t matter the show or the leading man. He was undeniably the hero, the good guy, the stalwart star who always Continue Reading “The Necessary Outsider: Why We Need The Searchers’ Ethan Edwards (But Never Thank Him)”