Ontario County Town Petitions

The following table has been adapted from a booklet published in 1999 by the Office of the Ontario County Historian titled Creating Local Government in Ontario County, New York, 1789-1801, by Gilbert Tremain Smith.  

Following the table are links to digitized Town Petition files held and maintained by the Ontario County Department of Records, Archives, and Information Management Services. These documents are but a portion of primary resources held by RAIMS that are utilized by researchers like Gilbert Smith to understand the history and evolution of early Ontario County government. 

TOWN NAME PETITION DATE
Seneca none found
Jerusalem original district, gore added 1791
Augusta (Middlesex) May 26, 1796, on list when organization authorized
East Town undated petition granted, on list when organization authorized*
Sullivan (Phelps) none found, name change undated
Farmington on list when organization authorized*
Toland (Palmira a part) October 27, 1796 for Palmira
Sodus (remainder of Toland) on list when organization authorized*
Northfield April 28, 1795
Bloomfield June 3, 1795
Charlestown (Lima] on list when organization authorized* annexation to Town, June 9, 1798
Hartford (Avon) on list when organization authorized*
Canandaigua original district, Range 3, Town 7 added 1793 gore added, June, 1791.
Bristol October 28, 1796
Middletown (Naples part) October 27, 1795
Pittstown (Richmond)** February 9, 1796
Sparta February, 1796
Geneseo original district, new Town October
31, 1796, also on list with Towns.*

Northampton (several) October 24, 1796

*an undated list of Court actions appears to be from part of the November 1796 term, (perhaps from one day of two creating towns.)

**erected and organized as the Town of Honeoye.

Ontario County Records and Archives holds the following petitions to the Ontario County Court of General Sessions for the creation or alteration of towns within Ontario County from 1789-1801. 

  1. ONTARIOCOUNTY_COURTOFSESSIONS_1790_DIVISION OF OC INTO DISTRICTS AND TOWNS
  2. TOWNPETITIONS_1791_JERUSALEM
  3. TOWNPETITIONS_1793_TOWNSHIP7,RANGE3-ITALY
  4. TOWNPETITIONS_1795_BLOOMFIELD
  5. TOWNPETITIONS_1795_MIDDLETOWN
  6. TOWNPETITIONS_1795_NORTHFIELD
  7. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_BLOOMFIELD
  8. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_BRISTOL
  9. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_GENESEO
  10. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_HONEOYE
  11. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_NORTHHAMPTON
  12. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_PALMYRA
  13. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_POTTERS TOWN - AUGUSTA
  14. TOWNPETITIONS_1796_WILLIAMSBURGH-SPARTA
  15. TOWNPETITIONS_1798_BLOOMFIELD
  16. TOWNPETITIONS_1798_JERUSALEM, DIVISION OF THE DISTRICT
  17. TOWNPETITIONS_1799_JERUSALEM
  18. TOWNPETITIONS_CHARLES TOWN
  19. TOWNPETITIONS_EAST TOWN
  20. TOWNPETITIONS_ERVIN-WILLIAMSON
  21. TOWNPETITIONS_FARMINGTON,CHARLESTOWN,AUGUSTA,HARTFORD, ETC.
  22. TOWNPETITIONS_SODUS
  23. TOWNPETITIONS_SULLIVAN - PHELPS