Montgomery and Angell Family Papers

Harvey Montgomery was a pioneer settler in the Genesee Valley. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1789, he had moved to Dansville, New York by 1812, as he married Mary Eleanor Rochester (daughter of Nathaniel) in May of that year. He relocated to the young settlement of Rochesterville with his family in April of 1816. In Rochesterville, Harvey would further connect himself to the Rochester family, partnering with John Rochester in a sawmill and Thomas Hart Rochester in a flour mill. These enterprises established the Montgomery family amongst the leading families in early Rochester. Harvey and Mary Eleanor went on to have 15 children together. She passed away in 1849, while Harvey lived on until August 12, 1869. They are buried together in a family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery.

The Montgomery family would go on to play prominent roles in Rochester society for several generations. The collection also includes correspondence and documents from members of other notable early Rochester families who intermarried with the Montgomeries - the Rochesters, Caldwells, Sawyers and Talmans. Finally, the collection contains a series of correspondence and papers from Mortimer F. Delano, a pioneer Rochester lawyer and second judge of the Surrogate Court of Monroe County.

Brief biographies of individuals associated with this collection may be found under the appropriate series for their individual papers.