The History of Communications in Perinton: 1790-1968

By Clayton Bridges

The History of Communications in Perinton: 1790-1968 in PDF format

Communication is the tie that binds separate parts together, be it the world, nation, church, or family. A family whose members communicate well is usually close-knit and happy. A nation with a good communication network is vibrant and progressive. The most successful government is one with sound public relations and publicity, which keeps its citizens well informed. Dictators can work their wicked will only through censorship -- a communication shut-off.

Modern communication relies on postal service, telegraph, telephone, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. In 1800, the scattered settlers of Perinton had none of these -- only word-of-mouth. None of the last three have ever been produced or originated in the township. Therefore, only the initiation and growth of the first four will be considered.

Postal Service

In 1797, there were eleven male settlers in the town: Adelphus and Soloman Aldrich, Asa and Samuel Bennett, Robert Kelton, Glover and Jesse Perrin, Thomas Ramsdell, Benjamin Slocum, Lyman Wilson, and Abner Wight. There was no way that they could send or receive a letter except by favor of some passing traveler.

In 1790, Oliver Phelps hired Luther Cole to carry letters on horseback from Canandaigua to Whitesboro (Utica). By 1797 various saddlebag routes had been linked together so that mail was brought from Albany to the new 'far western' post office established in Canandaigua. From there riders were hired to deliver letters twice a month to homes in accessible areas.

Pioneers were lonesome. Sometimes the menfolk would be gone for days to buy some needed article at Canandaigua or to get grain ground in Honeoye Falls. With no near neighbors and Indian friendship uncertain, it is small wonder that some women returned to the East. Postage was paid on delivery.

Letters often remained undelivered (or unclaimed) for days because cash was scarce. If the sender prepaid postage, delivery was more certain and he received a discount. Such a letter was hand-stamped 'PAID'. No envelopes were used. Single sheets of paper, closely written and sometimes even written both ways on the page, were folded and sealed with sealing wax.

From 1789-1816 postage for delivering of a single sheet was:

Up to 40 miles 8 cents

41 to 90 miles 10 cents

91 to 150 miles 12.5 cents

151 to 300 miles 17 cents

301 to 500 miles 20 cents

Over 500 miles 25 cents

If a postal service is to flourish it must have patrons. The Federal Census of 1800 showed the population of Northfield to be 71, Brighton 6, Irondequoit 1, Perinton 10, Penfield 4, Pittsford 50. In 1810, the population of that territory west of the Wayne County line, excepting Rush and Henrietta, was 525. In 1820, the census recorded 264 people in Perinton.

In 1811, a post office was established at Boyle (Pittsford), serving what is now Monroe County. The hamlet of Rochesterville had a postmaster but no post office until 1813. A woman on horseback brought the first mail to Rochester. She was met by a delegation of citizens who escorted her to the post office. Mrs. Gershom (Cynthia) Dunham was substituting for her husband. They lived on a farm in Penfield with their four children. He had secured the mail-carrying contract but was taken ill. She took over the mail, as well as doing her housework, until he recovered. The saddlebags used by Mrs. Dunham may be seen at the Fisher Museum, Valentown Hall, Victor.

About 1810 a mail route was established to Niagara Falls via Bloomfield, Lima, and Avon. In 1812, the year Perrinton (spelling later changed to Perinton) was organized from Boyle; Postmaster Gideon Granger authorized setting up post offices north of Buffalo Road. Mail was delivered once a week until 1820.The village of Fairport came into being when the Erie Canal was completed to its site. A small general store was set up at the west end of West Church Street at the bridge. Here passengers disembarked to take the stage to Rochester. A post office was established at this store on 8 April 1822. On 8 September, John Hartwell of Bushnell's Basin was appointed Postmaster of Perrinton. Since then there have been 21 postmasters (Appendix 1) whose length of tenure, until recently has depended on the political climate.

A post office was established at Egypt on 28 July 1838. The Bushnell's Basin Post Office was closed on 15 October 1900; that of Egypt on 31 October 1902.

Increased business caused rapid growth in Fairport and on July 28, 1838, the Post Office was moved to the north side of Cherry Street (West Avenue) not far from Main Street. On 23 January 1853 the name of the Perrinton Post Office was changed to the Fairport Post Office.Even in the early days postmasters had trouble as shown by an ad in the Rochester Advertizer:

POST OFFICE NOTICE

Extract from Post Office Laws Sec. 30, and be it further enacted that if any person shall enclose or conceal a letter or other thing or any memorandum in writing, in a newspaper, pamphlet, or magazine, or make any writing or memorandum thereon, which he shall have delivered into any post office, or to any person for that purpose, in order that the same may be carried by post free of letter postage, he shall forfeit the sum of five dollars for every such offense; and the letter, newspaper, package, memorandum or other thing shall not be delivered to whom it was directed until the amount is paid for each article of which the package is composed.

In addition to the above, special instruction has been received at this office to enforce the law for each offense, with a view to correct the abuse which has been tempted by milder measures without effect.

A. Reynolds P.M.

Post Office Rochester, Oct. 23, 1826

The above notice indicates that by this time the letter had to be prepaid. Hand stamps were used to show the amount of postage, day date, place, Postmaster initials, or other design. By 1816, the volume of mail had increased so that saddlebags were obsolete on the main route. Roads, though rough, were now better and stagecoaches could carry both passengers and mail. Boyle and Rochester became major post offices on the Albany-Niagara Falls route. From these offices mail was transported to smaller communities. When the Perrinton Post Office was established it received its mail by stagecoach and continued to do so until the railroad was built. Some have said that mail was sent via Erie Canal but there is no solid evidence that this is true.

A description of early railroad mail cars was printed in the History of Rochester and Monroe County, Vol. 8, page 29, published by the Rochester Historical Society. It is an extract from a letter dated 10 September 1841, sent by the President of the Auburn-Rochester Railroad Company to the Postmaster of Rochester:"The Post Office cars between Albany and Auburn are all the same dimension, eleven and one-half feet long and six and one-half feet wide; door in the center, with one end divided off into convenient pigeon hole for distributing. Postmaster Wheeler and R.R. Postmaster Chipman have just said to me that eight feet wide and twelve feet long will be large enough in all respects for the post office on our railroads."

With the completion of the Auburn-Rochester line in 1845 rail connections were complete from Albany to Rochester. On 17 May 1850 a charter was granted to the New York Central Railroad to build a road between Syracuse and Rochester. It was built in 1853 and included Fairport on its line. Incoming and outgoing mail of the Fairport Post Office was carried by rail beginning 1855. The average speed of mail trains was 35 miles per hour.

On 14 March 1873 the Herald published a notice of mail closing and arriving:

Mail close going east 7:30 A. M.

Mail close going west 5:00 P. M.

Mail arrive from west 8:00 A. M.

Mail arrive from east 5:00 P. M.

Post offices were equipped with pigeonhole racks for sorting mail alphabetically. Later lock boxes became available for 45 cents per quarter. Larger boxes cost more.

The Post Office was the place where one could not only pick up mail but also a room wherein to congregate, visit and gossip. Greater problems were better solved at barbershop, blacksmith shop, or around the cracker barrel at the general store. Even after Fairport had a newspaper these three news forums continued to operate until about the turn of the century.

The receipts of the Fairport Post Office governed to a large extent its rating and the salary of the postmaster. As population expanded and the number of farms and businesses grew the position of the postmaster became more important.

In 1890, the Bown Block on South Main Street (west side) was completed. Its owner, George T. Bown, was postmaster at the time and moved the post office from West Avenue to his building.

In 1916, the post office was moved from the Bown Block across the street into the building just north of the municipal building. The Fairport office received second-class rating on 1 September 1919. The need for larger quarters arose so a new Federal Post Office building at 121 South Main Street was dedicated on 23 September 1938. On 1 January 1953 the office was rated first class.

There have been many changes in postal rates, the greater part of which were: In 1851 postage was reduced from 5 cents per letter to three cents. In 1883, it was reduced to two cents. Rates dipped to an all time low on 1 July 1928 when a letter or post card could be mailed for one cent. In 1950 rates were raised to three cents; in 1959 to four cents; and in 1963 to 5 cents. On 7 January 1968 it was raised to 6 cents.

A chronology of changes in mail accommodations follows:

1847 Adhesive stamps were used in New Haven, Conn.

1853 Stamped envelopes were first sold.

1861 Stamped newspaper wrappers were offered.

1863 Free delivery in cities over 50,000.

1873 Post cards were introduced.

1873 Free delivery in cities over 20,000.

1885 Special delivery made available for businessmen and fervent lovers.

1886 Stamped letter sheets were offered.

1887 Free delivery in cities over 10,000.

1892 Paid reply post cards introduced.

1912 Parcel post established.

1929 Air post envelopes made available.

1949 Air postal cards sold.

1965 Zip code initiated.

From 1812 when the town of Perrinton was organized with less than ten families until today when there are over 5,000, the postal service has expanded to meet the needs of the day. A steady progress had been made including changes of location and number of employees.

Rural Free Delivery

The establishment of Rural Free Delivery (RFD) in Perinton is the story of one man, Hans Hansen. In 1892 Congress authorized RFD but did not appropriate funds for it until 1896. The first routes were in West Virginia where carriers received $200 per year. In 1902, salaries and length of routes were fixed by statute, but no more than $600 could be earned. Civil service was granted in 1902. Grades, based on length of service, were established in 1945.

Before 1902 Hans Hansen, the operator of a small farm, became interested in Rural Free Delivery. He had a growing family and needed more money to give them an education. Although he had known no English when he arrived from Denmark, hard study had overcome this handicap. He had also secured a good knowledge of U. S. history, geography, and mathematics.

Hans wrote the Post Office Department and found they were interested in establishing a route in Fairport -- but the local postmaster did not like the idea. The Department encouraged Hans to go ahead. So he spent many hours visiting all the farmers to record their opinions. When the postal inspector came Hans was ready with this data and a proposed route sketch. His plan was accepted and examinations for carrier set up.

Since rural carriers were under civil service Hans decided to take no chances. Again he studied English, geography, history and mathematics. Anxiously he awaited the report of the examinations. One of the aspirants was a college graduate who was very confident he would get the appointment. Every day when all the candidates met at the post office to pick up their mail, the college man would ask "well, Hans, did you get your appointment?'

Of course Hans was annoyed but he said nothing. One day Hans did get the job together with a letter saying that, while he had ranked third, his thorough groundwork and obviously great interest, had brought him the appointment. When his annoyer asked the usual question, Hans merely pulled the letter out of his pocket and showed it to him, much to the other's dismay. A short news item in the Monroe County Mail on 26 June 1902 announced the event:

"Hans Hansen, the carrier of rural route No. 1, who begins his duties Tuesday morning, has a fine new rig, a wagon made expressly for mail delivery and will start out in fine shape. Mr. Hansen has thoroughly posted himself in regard to his duties and will undoubtedly make an efficient carrier."

Hans never missed a day in carrying the 25 mile route. He bought a small farm on the southwest corner of East Whitney and Turk Hill Roads. This farm was midway on his route so he could have a change of horses each day. During the winter he kept a relief horse at August Weisenberger's on County Line Road. He found the most practical conveyance to be a two-wheel gig. This and a "regular" top buggy were used as the season warranted. When autos came into use and the route was extended, Hans found the cost too great. In 1918 he retired to his farm in Macedon.

In a July 1902 issue of the Monroe County Mail the following notice appeared:

"Special agent Camp of the postal department is in Monroe County laying out new Rural Free Delivery Routes, one of which will be route No. 2 from the Fairport Post Office. This route will be to the south part of the town including Egypt. Monroe County now has 32 Rural Free Delivery routes and the number will be increased to near fifty which will practically cover the County"

31 October 1902 was the last day the Egypt Post Office existed. Carrier John H. Stebbins was ready and delivered mail the next day on the new route.

There were some farmers who adamantly refused RFD service for a time, preferring to go to town for their mail, visiting and shopping. But it was not long before all rural residents had some kind of a box for mail by the side of the road. Names of the rural carriers will be found in Appendix 2. Each carrier had a route book in which he listed in alphabetical order the names of all residents and their house number and street. The late George Emerick, formerly rural carrier of route No. 2, shortly before his death gave his books to the Perinton Historical Society.

Although the village of Fairport has only increased 1,000 in population in the last 50 years, the increase has been greater in the town of Perinton. Population outside the village has increased by more than 2,500 in the last twenty years and is still increasing rapidly. This has called for a change in the delivery system. As of 1 June 1967 the area west of Mosley Road is served by four mounted routes (village carriers using U.S. Mail cab trucks). There are 2,092 homes on these routes. A report of 1 September 1966 showed there were 517 homes on RFD No. 1 and 595 on RFD No. 2. In the village on 1 June 1967 there were 1,956 families served by free delivery. With the addition of those that have moved in on RFD routes 1 and 2, there is a grand total of more than 5,000 homes being served from the Fairport Post Office. This does not include more than 100 business firms also served.

The Telegraph

Although Samuel F. B. Morse invented the telegraph in 1836 it was not until 1844 or 1845 that a telegraph office opened in the Rochester area. In the beginning the railroads were the prime users so it is probable that the first telegraph wires in Perinton were strung in 1853 by the New York Central Railroad. Non-railroad service undoubtedly came soon after, probably through the efforts of the Albany and Buffalo Telegraph Company.

Morse's first telegraph could only send one message at a time. In 1874, Thomas A. Edison developed quadruplex: telegraphy which permitted sending four messages each way. Today a single pair of wires can simultaneously transmit hundreds of messages.

The first solid evidence we have of telegraphy in Perinton in an ad, which ran in the 21 March 1873 issue of the Fairport Herald:

TELEGRAPHIC INSTRUCTION

Limited number of students can be accommodated at the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Office, Ives Block Main Street.

Instruction thorough, terms moderate

Fairport Feb. 28, 1873 C. D. Case Manager

The Ives Block was probably one of the buildings on South Main Street which disappeared when the Barge Canal was widened in 1913.

Another bit of telegraphic history was printed in the 19 July 1934 issue of the Herald under the heading of 'Back Home Letters.' The writer told how, as a small boy, he was employed by the DeLand Chemical Company. He recalled how his employer facetiously chided him for misusing company time to deliver telegrams to the railroad station for a Mrs. Brown at 10 cents per telegram. Her store was on Main Street by the canal bridge.

Hardick & Fellow conducted a stationery and jewelry store on a site that was taken by widening the canal. It was in this store that the Wester Union Telegraph Company received and sent messages. This was a large company put together from smaller companies by the Rochester entrepreneur Hiram Sibley. When the canal was widened, Hardick & Fellow and the telegraph office moved to 28 South Main Street.

Since telegraphic messages were private and the companies were from out-of-town, there is little evidence of factual nature left to record. There were at least three companies in Fairport: Albany and Buffalo, Atlantic and Pacific, and Western Union. They had only a casual connection with the people they served. Few telegraph traces are left, yet telegraphy has been a dynamic force in communication.

The Telephone

The most universally used means of communication, excepting face-to-face word-of-mouth, is the telephone. It is more than a convenience, almost a necessity. A business firm could hardly exist without one. Travelers, law enforcement officials, and other public agencies use it extensively. It is the nerve system of our armed forces.

Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone but many others helped improve it. In 1877 the first telephone to transmit the voice with its timber and human quality was produced.

Seven years after the production of the first telephone the Bell Telephone Company obtained a franchise and began to erect poles on Fairport's Main Street. The central office was set up in the store of Hodskin & Peacock. Mr. Peacock operated the switchboard. These phones were crude and left much to be desired in modulation and clearness of voice. They were magnetically operated. Improvements came when battery-type phones replaced them.

After 16 years patronage had grown to a point where a more sophisticated switchboard was needed. In 1898 one was installed and John Welch became the operator. By 1910 more space and a still larger switchboard were needed. The central office was moved next door to the Cramer Drug Store, now the location of the Bramer Drug Store.

In 1905, rates were $1 a month. Little is known about rate changes until 1 September 1920 when the New York Telephone Company owned the lines. Only increases were published, base rates remained the same.

Class of Service Increase per Month

Individual line business Flat Rate $0.50

4-party line business Flat Rate .50

Rural line business Flat Rate .75

Business Flat Rate Extension Station .25

Individual line residence .50

4-party line residence .50

Rural line residence .50

The Bell System did not long have a monopoly in Fairport. About 1903 the Inter-Ocean Telephone Company, a state-wide organization, secured a franchise. Within a year lines had been strung and instruments placed. In the 2 June 1904 issue of the Monroe County Mail, George Peters noted in the ad for his grocery store that he had both phones. The same issue announced: "The Inter-Ocean Telephone Company is this week installing its switchboard and other exchange apparatus and will soon be ready for business."

A more important announcement appeared in the issue of 9 June 1904:

"The Inter-Ocean Telephone Company began operating its exchange Monday. The exchange is equipped with the latest appliances in that line and the entire outfit here is the very best. The exchange is located on the second floor of the Best-Beeton Block and at present Mrs. Craggs of Rochester is acting as operator and instructing Miss Bertha Beeton who will fill the position later on."

Mr. Bert Castor, who was chief linesman from 1912, states that Fred Best was the first manager of the Fairport office. The local phone became known as 'The Home and Federal Telephone Company, ' usually called the 'Home Federal' or 'Federal Company'. It is not clear just how this came about. In 1910, Fred Best was transferred to Geneva and George Wyman, who had been chief linesman, became manager until the two companies merged. He was also district manager having charge of other exchanges at East Rochester, Pittsford, and Charlotte.

The decade 1910-1920 was a time of telephone expansion; long distance calls became possible to Rochester, Pittsford, East Rochester, Honeoye Falls, and Charlotte.

The toll line began on the north side of the canal bridge on Main Street. It was strung out along West Whitney Road to Washington Street, East Rochester, and then to Pittsford. From there it went via Monroe Avenue to Rochester and Charlotte. Apparently the Bell System served some families on farms. Fairport residences and businesses south of Main Street Bridge were considered local patrons. The names of various Fairport telephone people will be found in Appendix 3.

The Fairport Herald of 8 March 1918 recorded a turning point in local telephone history:

"It is officially announced that the local Federal Telephone System is being operated as a separate unit of the New York Telephone Company. This comes as a merger of the two companies announced locally several weeks ago. The properties of the two companies will be consolidated by degrees and many improvements are expected to result thereby in the course of time."

It appears that shortly before the merger notice the Bell Telephone System had been merged into the New York Telephone Company. The consolidation of the services was so smooth that few people were aware of it.

On 1 August, 1921, the Rochester Telephone Corporation bought the interests of the New York Telephone Company in Fairport. Mr. James Fairchild, manager of the Fairport exchange, went with the larger company.

By 1928, the Rochester Telephone Company had to make a decision. They were about to replace the antiquated magneto cranking phones with a modern central battery energized system which would cost several thousand dollars. Should the new switchboard be installed in the Bramer Block? On 29 June 1929, the Company bought the residence of Mrs. Frances McMahon at 54 West Avenue where they erected their own building. On 30 January 1930, the new exchange went into operation in its new quarters.

The Herald of 1 August, 1929 carried an account of a talk by J. A. Striker, District Manager, before the Rotary Club. He told of Company plans to install a new switchboard. At that time the board was handling 4,000 calls a day and one section had been in operation since 1898. He further stated that in 1922 there were 515 phones within the village and 172 outside in the Fairport area, a total of 687 phones. In July 1929, there were 1,081 phones on the Fairport Switchboard.

During the next three decades there were many telephonic improvements. Probably the biggest was the change from calling the operator, giving her the number you wanted, and having her connect you to the party you were calling, to the dial phone. On 18 August 1957, Fairport Exchange went dial and the exchange at 54(56) West Avenue was closed. The building was sold to Tropel, Inc. Today Perinton folk may call anyone in the United States and Canada by direct distance dialing.

The Weekly Newspaper

As the pioneers assembled in general store, blacksmith shop, and post office to hear and exchange news, they must have felt the need for a newspaper. Even as late as 1867 Fairport had no paper. A year later a man with a driving ambition came to town. George C. Taylor was looking for a place to build a plant to make patent medicines and extracts. The building he built on the east side of Main Street near the railroad tracks can still be recognized by the "Geo. C. Taylor Company" painted on its south side. Taylor wanted better advertising for his products. Since there was no printing shop he set one up and began to print a newspaper. The first edition of the Fairport Herald appeared on 21 February 1873. It was a weekly, complete with local, state, and national news, advertising, fiction, and household hints.

The next year he sold the paper to Frost and Newman. The partnership continued until 11 September when Frost became the sole owner. He published the paper until 25 August 1876 when Andrew J. Deal bought and published it until he retired in 1906. Mr. Floyd B. Miner, a young printer from Cortland, bought the paper and edited it until 1925.

In these early days there was no linotype machine; type was set by hand and the presses were fed by hand. Personnel consisted of the owner-editor-printer, a printer's devil and hangers on. The shop was located at 28 North Main Street. The paper carried what news it could gather, what advertising it could sell, and filled the rest of its pages with stories, especially of the continued-in-our-next-issue variety.

On 2 March 1881, competition appeared in the form of the Fairport Mail, owned and edited by S. D. Palmer. Newspaper quality was the same as most weeklies. For ten years he struggled on, then sold out to Mr. Will O. Green. He changed the paper's format drastically, tingeing it with the flavor of a magazine. He was a good editor and since gradually fitted his paper to the community, he was successful. He changed its name to the Monroe County Mail. It remained in Mr. Green's hands until about the turn of the century when a Mr. Hard became editor.

Advertising is the lifeblood of a newspaper. It is not attracted by short subscription lists. This became more and more evident to the Fairport weeklies, especially as competition from Rochester dailies increased. So, after serving the community together for 45 years, the two papers merged in 1926 to become the Fairport Herald and the Monroe County Mail.

The year before Mr. Miner had sold the Herald to F. M. Eliot. Later the same year a stock company was formed to buy both papers. Capitalization was for $25,000 and Mr. Miner held a controlling interest. He changed the name to the Fairport Herald Mail by which it is known today. Mr. Miner was the editor, Mr. Eliot Secretary-Treasurer, and Mr. Hard Vice-President in charge of printing. Mr. Miner died 31 August 1943, aged 71 years, one year older than his paper.

Mrs. Edna Parent, daughter of Mr. Miner, who had long worked with her father, took over the editorship for the rest of 1943. On 1 January 1944 she became associate editor with Lawrence Bridge who bought the paper.

Mr. Curt Gerling purchased the paper in 1946 and incorporated the Empire State Weeklies, with himself as President. He already owned the Webster Herald and the Wayne County Mail. Glen Gazley became publisher of the Fairport Herald Mail and Charles J. Stauber general Manager. Mr. Gerling was editor. Gazley retired in 1961, and Stauber in 1962.

In 1957, the Empire State Weeklies, Inc. moved all its printing equipment to a building at 2010 Empire Boulevard, Webster. Only a news office remained in Fairport. It is at 36 West Avenue in the same building the Fairport Mail published its first issue. It has been the home of a local newspaper without interruption since then.

Acknowledgements

The author of this chapter extends his appreciation to the following individuals and corporations for their help in providing information and guidance:

Miss Josephine Bartolotta, Fairport Herald Mail

Mrs. Bruner Brown, Life-long resident on RFD Route No. 2.

Mr. Edward Brickle, RFD Carrier Route No. 2.

Mr. Marshall Briggs, Former Assistant Postmaster, Fairport.

Mr. Bert Caster. Former head lineman for Home and Federal Telephone Co.

Mrs. George A. Dean, Chairman of the Publication Committee, for encouragement and assistance in locating material.

Mr. George Emerick, Former Carrier.

Mrs. Elma Gaffney, Fairport Library

Mr. Alfred Hansen, Former mail carrier, supplied information on Hans Hansen

Mr. Dean Lawson, Carrier RFD Route No. 1.

Mrs. Henry Martin, Fairport Library.

Mr. Frederick Phillips, Former Postmaster, Fairport.

Mr. Wally Robinson, Former assistant carrier RFD Route No. 2.

Rochester Telephone Corporation.

Appendix 1: Postmasters


POSTMASTERS (PERINTON & FAIRPORT) NAME & DATE APPOINTED

John Hartwell 9/8/1822

Elisha Fullam, Jr. 12/16/1822

Abishai Goodell 11/16/1829

Charles H. Dickinson 6/19/1841

Jeremiah Chadwick 7/3/1845

Henry Van Buren 6/2/1849

Jeremiah Chadwick 6/7/1853

Henry H. Norman 7/7/1857

Hiram P. Wilbur 3/12/1861

Mortimer R. Wilcox 10/4/1865

Charles J. DeLand 3/8/1887

Smith Wilbur 4/9/1891

Winfield S. Watson 12/12/1894

George B. Brown 9/20/1897

Egbert L. Hodgskin 3/21/1902

John H. Stebbins 3/7/1910

Ephriam J. Fisk 3/24/1914

Arthur LeClear (acting) 8/2/1926

Wayland H. Mason 1/22/1927

John J. Finnegan 1/31/1934

Frederick J. Phillips 4/1/1946

POSTMASTERS (BUSHNELL'S BASIN) Lyman Wilmarth 1/31/1826

James P. Lawrence 1862

Post Office Closed 10/15/1900 POSTMASTERS (EGYPT) Post Office Opened 7/28/1838

Otis Cole 1862

Cullen Loud 1877

Post Office Closed 10/31/1902

When the office was closed all records were turned over to Postmaster Egbert L. Hodgskin at the Fairport Post Office. Records, other than the above, are not available.

Appendix 2: Postal Carriers

RURAL CARRIERS Route No. 1 Hans Hansen 1 July 1902 to 1918

Dean Lawson 1918 to 1956

Dean Lawson Sick Leave 1956 to 30 November 1957

Anthony Bartolata 1956 to present

Route No. 2John H. Stebbins 1 November 1902 to 1910

Joseph Kelsey 1910 to August 1912

George Emerick August 1912 to February 1913

Edward Brickle February 1913 to 1918

Mrs. Breutigan 1918 to 1922

Walter Royce 1922 to 1924

William Cobb 1924 to 19 June 1927

Wally Robinson 1924 to 1942 (substitute)

Ernest Hauswurz 19 June 1927 to 1942

Glen Gazley 19 December 1942 to 1945

Frank Schoolmaster 1945 to 1946

Robert Murphy 1946 to 1949

Foster Fuller 1949 to 1950

Anthony Bartolatta 1950 to 1956

Duane Granger 1956 to present

CITY CARRIERS Alfred Hansen No. 1 Carrier

George Emerick No. 2 Carrier

A. B. Kinsella No. 3 Carrier

Gerald Filkins Carrier

Lulu Shedd Clerk

Kenneth Phillips Clerk

Bruce Aitheson Clerk

Appendix 3: Telephone Personnel

Mr. Peacock Operator at his store.

Bert Stevens, Installed 1,000 telephones from 1898 to his retirement in 1928

Fred Best, First President of Home and the Federal Telephone Company (1904-10).

George Wyman, Succeeded to presidency from head lineman (1910-18)

John Welch Switchboard operator.

Josephine Watson Switchboard operator.

Mrs. William Ward (Kit Kennelly), Switchboard operator.

Anne Kenney Last chief operator

This is Part four of a four-part collection of essays prepared by members of the Perinton

Historical Society and published as Perinton Papers in 1971. Dr. A. Porter S. Sweet, Editor.

Edited February 2001 by Perinton Historical Society Trustee; John Jongen

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