The Village of Rushville and Its Records
Rushville was incorporated in 1876 and lies in both Ontario and Yates
Counties, in the towns of Gorham and Potter respectively.
The first settlement within what are now the village limits was made
in 1791 by Elias Gilbert, who purchased the extreme northwest lot in
the town of Potter and built a house there of poplar poles, on a site
already cleared by the Indians for the growing of corn, with a few of
their apple trees still remaining. His house was near an old Indian
trail which became the main road between the settlement and Canandaigua,
then and now the seat of Ontario County which at that time included
most of western New York.
Many of the settlement's first settlers were from Massachusetts and
it was known initially as Federal Hollow from the Federalist politics of
the inhabitants. After the turn of the century, however, the
Jeffersonian party grew more popular, and the place was renamed after
Dr. Benjamin Rush of Revolutionary fame, said to be the first place in
America to be named for Jefferson's good friend.
The first tavern in Rushville was opened by Beza Whitman, and in 1801
his son Marcus was born in a house belonging to the elder Whitman's
brother-in-law Henry Green. The boy, who grew up in Rushville, pioneered
the Oregon Trail in 1836; his wife Narcissa Prentiss and her sister were
the first white women to cross the Rockies. Not too far from Whitman's
tavern was a store opened in 1812 by Philander Woodworth. The store was
in a small house that still stands on Main Street; the county line
passes right through it.
The village was incorporated in 1876. Its commercial section and the
majority of its population (about 400 persons) are located within Yates
County. The village hall is at 1 Main Street, on the east side nearly
opposite the intersection with Gilbert Street.
RECORDS ON MICROFILM
The following series of records have been microfilmed and with the
exception of the vital records registers may be viewed at the village
office, at the County Historian's office in Penn Yan, or at the NY State
Library in Albany.
MINUTE BOOKS
1876 - 1909; 1916 - 1946; 1947 - 1968; 1969 - 1984;
1985 - October 1993
VITAL RECORDS REGISTERS
Births, deaths and marriages 1887-1913 [INDEX]; Births 1914-1936 and deaths 1914-1940;
Deaths 1940-1968; Births 1982-1989 and deaths 1968-1986; Marriages 1988-89
and deaths 1980-1993
CEMETERY RECORDS
Village cemetery record 1871-1929; Cemetery
record 1914-1994; Cemetery record 1994-present; Deed book; Cemetery
lists (two) 1984; Funeral registers of John C. Thomas and Marshall W.
Fisher 1875-1945; Correspondence and deeds; Oath of office book
1987-present; Trustees' minutes of cemetery business 1962-1933; French
Cemetery information 1993; Cemetery maps; American Funeral record
1902-1923; National Funeral record 1932-1954; National Funeral record
1954-1959
JUSTICE DOCKETS
Criminal docket 1931-1933; Police Justice docket
1936-1949; Criminal docket 1949-1954; Civil docket 1955-1969; Criminal
docket 1955-1966; 1966-1968; 1969-1982; 1983-1988
OATHS OF OFFICE AND MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
Oaths of office 1907-1914; 1917-1966; 1967-1987; Daily school register
1870-1871; Lease agreements 1903-1908 [for Oaths of office 1987-present
see under Cemetery Records above]