Books on Local History

By Shirley Cox Husted

Town of Parma City of Rochester Monroe County New York USA

Send orders to: 

• Shirley Husted, 5771 Wautoma Beach Road, Hilton NY 14468. 
• Please add $2.00 shipping for each order.
• Books ordered from Mrs. Husted can be signed upon request.

Visit www.nyhumanities.org

Just Published!

Pioneer Days

$15

Rochester Neighborhoods

128pp with 212 illustrations,  $18.99.  Antique photographs of a grand old city selected by historians Shirley Husted and Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck, with text by Shirley Husted.

Images of America - Parma and Hilton

Near the shores of Lake Ontario lie Parma, Hilton and several other pioneer communities once connected by Indian trials. Parma was named in honor of the Italian city and province of the same name, an Hilton village, once known as North Parma, was renamed after Rev. Charles A. Hilton, a Civil War veteran and Baptist minister. Before the Civil War, the area was known as the Nation's Breadbasket. It became a leading fruit production center near the end of the 19th century and attracted immigrants from around the world.

Parma and Hilton uses images from throughout the century to illustrate the pioneer times, the development of government, life on the waterfront, transportation and communication, schools and churches, business and indorse, and festive days of celebration.

During her 32 years as a town historian of Parma, author Shirley Cox Husted has compiled a vast collection of intriguing historical photographs. She has carefully selected the very best images and combined them with an insightful narrative to create a remarkable millennial tribute to the history of these fascinating, rural New York communities from 1795 and 1999.

• 220 pictures of  the town and village of Parma & Hilton NY, a millennial history ($18.99).

Mary, Mary, Not Contrary & The Man Called Indian

A simply written story of a famous Indian captive of the Genesee Valley and the city of Rochester's first businessman. Illustrations suitable for coloring with text geared for children and/or adults ($7.50).

Sweet Gift of Freedom - 2 volume set

• Memoirs of local members of the 8th NY Volunteer Cavalry under General George Armstrong Custer, plus a comprehensive story of the area's Underground Railroad. A section on the Indian Wars in the West features Custer's letters to relatives in the Rochester area. Also a chapter on how to create Black History exhibits.  If purchased separately, Volume 1 is $6.50, volume 2 is $10.00; purchased as a set,  $15.00.

Vol. I. 92 -pages, 127 illustrations, 8 1/2" by 11", soft-bound. An overview of Underground Railroad leaders in the Rochester area including Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Rev. Thomas James, Frederick Douglass, Quakers Amy & Isaac Post and the Frost family, with illustrations of underground railroad stops. Letters from two soldiers in the 8th N. Y. Vol. Cavalry: Sgt. William Hunt who died in service and Captain Henry Frost, who returned. John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry with illustrations from Harper’s Monthly and other contemporary newspaper accounts. Early maps of Rochester, N.Y. and a camp outside Washington, D. C. 76 suspected "stops" on the local underground route. Abolition singers. Appomatox, the Grand Review parade in Washington and General Custer’s farewell to his men.

Vol. II. 115 pages, 8 1/2" x11", 35 illustrations, softbound. Published by Parma Meetinghouse Museum, 1984. Six chapters: (1) "Discovering the Underground", eye-witness accounts from Monroe, Wayne, Genesee Counties. (2) "An Anti-Slavery Directory", biographies of nearly 400 individuals known to have supported abolition, buildings used as "stops", anti-slavery societies, early black involvement. This is the most comprehensive, encyclopedic listing available for the Genesee Valley region around Rochester, NY. (3) "Thirsting For Glory", letters hitherto unpublished, from George Armstrong Custer to his relatives in the Rochester area in the period in his life from West Point until shortly before his death.. A brief history of his career, his cadet delinquentcies, some war memories and later experiences in New York City and in the west after the Civil War. Pictures of his black cook, Eliza Brown, Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota, the desks upon which he wrote the letters, the family home in Monroe, Michigan; the Custer tombstone at West Point Cemetery. Contemporary newspaper accounts are reprinted, the sad disappearance of his last remains noted. The final Indian wars are described with sympathy for the plight of the dispossessed tribes. (4) "Father Rode With Sheridan", Oscar C. Palmer’s reminiscences as a cavalryman in Co. B, 8th New York Volunteers, 1864-1865, from Winchester, Virginia to Appomattox Court House. Continues the series of first-hand reports from members of the unit under General Custer which was begun in Volume 1. Elmira, N. Y. Barracks, Chestnut Hill Hospital, Philadelphia; Camp Remount, Pleasant Valley, Md.; Camp Distribution near Washington, D.C. Christmas on picket duty; his opinions on Lincoln and McClellan, the Shenandoah Campaign, Camp Russel, Va.; Problems with the horses. Battle of Waynesboro, Richmond area, prisoners, route of the army, the Pamunkey River, gunboats, railroad destruction work with the 9th New York, differing accounts of how Sgt. Palmer was wounded, his narrow escape from death and his hospitalization. (5) Aftermath of the war. Women’s work, especially through the Rochester anti-slavery societies from 1834-1868. Support for Frederick Douglas and other black leaders. John Brown’s funeral. Mobs in Buffalo, N. Y. Lincoln’s funeral. Aid to destitute blacks near Washington, D. C. Conditions after the war. Also letters from Colby Short, 1st. Michigan Cavalry; Captain Henry Frost, 8th N. Y Vols.; Thomas P. Curtis, 2nd Brigade, 136th N. Y. Volunteers and Cyrus N. Curtis, Co. B., 104th N. Y. Regiment. Camp conditions, soldiers’ opinions of the war. (6) Preparing black history exhibits. Step-by-step instructions for creating black mannequins at little expense. Pictures of black soldiers in camp. The mysterious George W. Booker. Sources for materials. Bibliography. Civil war indexes available in Rochester, N. Y. Map of Monroe County, N. Y.

Note: Volume 3, now in progress, will contain an index to bonus payments given in Monroe County to aid those not willing to personally serve, some records of the Parma, N. Y. Anti-Slavery Society, the experiences of escaping fugitives when they arrived in Canada, plus all available photographs from the Monroe County area. Additional letters from the Civil War era will be considered for publication by 1999. (Contact Shirley Husted by letter or Shirley@Husted.com.)

• If purchased separately, Volume 1 is $6.50, volume 2 is $10.00; purchased as a set,  $15.00.

Ghosts, Etc. 

• Delightful stories and recipes from the Genesee Valley
  of NYS ($10).

Sail the Shining Waters

• A history of the Erie and Barge canals in Monroe County ($5)

48 pages, soft-cover, 8 1/2" x 11", with 99 duotones. Many illustrations were taken from old glass plate negatives. Others are sketches by David Abbott. The cover has a full-color view of the footbridge over Red Creek in Genesee Valley Park, where the canal crosses and joins the Genesee River. 21 chapters with histories of the early canal villages, Spencerport, Adam’s Basin, Brockport, Fairport, Rochester, Stone Town (Pittsford), Bushnell’s Basin, Carter’s Basin, Hartwell’s Basin, King’s Basin, Fullamtown, Perrinsville, Brighton, Greece, Gates. Map of canal sites, the old and new Erie routes, easly Brockport, plus an eerie ghost story, a chronology of canal breaks, memories of General Lafayette’s tour. Of special interest: the building of the new, enlarged Barge Canal system and the meeting of the waters at South Park (Genesee Valley Park) in 1918 with military guards, etc. Extensive research in old deeds was conducted by the author to develop this hitherto untold story of the old canal towns and the first land owners along "Clinton’s Ditch."

Wagon Wheel Cook Book

• Recipes from pioneer days to the present, which emphasis on low-fat dishes and old family favorites ($7.50)

Here are 190 tantalizing recipes . The cover has a full-color illustration of a picturesque old wagon and dandelions at McCracken’s Farm near Brockport, N. Y. 78 pp., 8 1/2" x 11", soft-cover, spiral bound. Encompasses 200 years of cooking in Rochester and Monroe County, N.Y. with anti-fat recipes, old family recipes from the fruit country of western New York, appetizers, beverages including dandelion wine; soups, salads, vegetable dishes, , main dishes, casseroles, breads, rolls, pies, pastries, desserts, many originated by the author. Gum drops, Easter egg nests, Amish and Moravian recipes, wine drop cookies, New England hermits, holiday cookies, cheese cakes sinful and slimful, flower pot cakes, apple pizza, the official New York State apple muffin recipe, no-fry doughnuts, sugarless recipes, English Yorkshire Pudding, Sea Breeze hot sauce, pickles, relishes and fruit leathers and jellies . You’ll find maple sugar substitutes, refrigerator pickles, Indian Jack, Farmer’s Switchell, Russian tea and coffee, and many more. Five pages of cooking history include the story of the first electric refrigerator, ice men, dry houses, the importance of beans and pioneer life styles. Shirley’s favorite recipe of all is the one for crisp, instant sweet dills...shared with you below.

Heavenly Sweet Dills

• Use one quart jar of purchased dill pickles.
• Add
  • 1 ½ cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup vinegar
  • 1 tsp/ mustard seed
  • 1 tsp. celery seed
  • ½ tsp. alum

Drain pickles, discard juice or save for use in salad dressings. Slice, combine with above ingredients and return to the jar. They will be ready to eat in a few hours and will keep indefinitly in the refrigerator. They are like Lay’s potato chips" nobody can eat just one! You will love ‘em.

Tipi Tales A collection of 22 Native American stories adapted for children with information on tipi architecture, Indian beliefs & customs ($4). From the far west, Florida, New England and from local legends of the Iroquois Indians, Shirley has adapted 22 child-tested stories, all highly moralistic, intended to teach young listeners how to live better lives. The Native Americans love for animals, nature, witchcraft and superstition, their family respect and tribal respect for the Great Spirit is evident, making these legends more than just entertaining. They offer insight as to what Indians believed and why...how Native American families lived...how deeply they admired courage, humor and wit. If you’ve ever longed to be in a real tipi, here’s your chance!

Salt, Water, Whiskey & Beans

• The Story of Parma's Pioneers, with a guide to more than 125 pioneer farms ($3.50).

An 1852 map listing early homes and homeowners is a fold out "extra" in this 8 1/2" x 11" book written to commemorate Parma’s 200th anniversary of settlement. Reminiscences of the Benjamin Brown family, early Rochester & Parma pioneers (1825) are fascinating. A surveyor’s description of early log cabins, orchards, wells, springs, barns and frame houses existing by the 1830s are of special interest. Most of the town’s important historical landmarks are listed in detail with five illustrations, 32 pages. The Wadsworth land agency’s role in developing the land, salt making, the first industry; Atchinson’s first pioneer settlement west of the Genesee River near Parma Center, the Weeks family at Braddock’s Bay and King’s Landing (first Rochester settlers); early roads and bridges, Connecticut and Massachusetts pioneers, Thayer’s Mills, Atchinson’s Mills, schools, the port of the Genesee at Charlotte ( est.1805); Indian contacts, Indian trails and early crossroads communities, a haunted barn and other ghosts, land scams, illnesses, timber industries and a windshield tour of the heartlands of Parma are features of this information-packed book. Homeowners will find it helpful in dating their houses, barns and streets. Anyone interested in pioneer experiences will be fascinated by the first-hand details discovered in diaries and land records at Bath, NY and Geneseo, NY.

First Founders of Parma

• Deed records listing land purchases of the first pioneers in Parma & Ogden, 1796 through 1820 ($6).

Many hours were spent by the author extracting old deed records describing land sales from 1796 through 1820. Parma was located in Ontario County until 1802, then became part of Genesee County until 1821, when Monroe County was created. Until 1817, the area now part of the town of Ogden was part of Parma’s larger territory. Thus, early land transactions were filed at the court houses in Canandaigua and Batavia. But a trip to these repositories is no longer necessary and records now not easily available to the public are at hand in this 8 1/2" x 11" spiral-bound book, soft-covered. Since most of the first sales were in Ogden where the nation’s best soils were located, this book is indispensible for researching early Ogden and Parma pioneers. These are the first land owners, thus the first founders of both towns.

For those attempting to date their homes, there is information on dating buildings, interpreting early land descriptions, various architectural styles, records repositories in the area and a bibliography of all books containing information on Parma, NY.

This is a book for serious researchers, not a narrative report--but an introductory chapter does describe how, when and why the pioneers came from New England to York State.

Parma NY, Hub of the Universe

• A general history of the town, well illustrated. Includes biographies of some of the first settlers ($9).

The latest history of Parma, updating the 1959 book: "Pioneer Days in Hilton, Parma & Ogden". (A third version to round out the 20th century is planned for the year 2,000). Continuing Parma & early Ogden history from Indian times to the 1980s, 11" x 8 1/2" ( 144 pp.) pictorial includes 232 illustrations and draws upon the reminiscences of former residents for amazing details not available elsewhere.

Dr. Samuel Beach Bradley, an early state legislator, Greece supervisor and school commissioner, shares his memories of life along Route 104, the Ridge Road, at Clarkson, Parma Corners and Hoosic. He describes the Universalists, Masonic furor over the Morgan the Mason episode, Murder Hill, site of the first murder in western Monroe County; the Money Diggers at Pine Hill, a visit by the eccentric preacher, Lorenzo Dow; some first pioneers, community leaders, early medicine, influence of the Erie Canal, etc.

The reminiscences of H. K Stimson, an early pastor at Hilton Baptist Church are taken from his published book: "From the Stage Coach to the Pulpit", published in 1874 . Again, humor is evident, along with documented, first-hand details of religious life in Monroe County and elsewhere during his pastorates in New York State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Kansas. Hilton was the site of the second Baptist church to be organized in Monroe County. It was the home church for Rev. Francis Rowley, son of a village dentist, who later wrote the lyrics for the well-known hymn: "I Will Sing The Wondrous Story". Religious authors and gospel singers also came from the congregation-- a congregation not always well behaved, according to the Rev. Stimson who relates how he tamed and converted some unruly "wise guys" who tried to ridicule him. A former stage coach driver and alcoholic, his life after conversion enriched a number of early churches. You’ll find his recollections detailed and sometimes rollicking...at least for a straight-laced Baptist preacher!

Ira Cross relates pioneer life in the north country along Lake Ontario, log cabin days, the first black family, early churches, Civil War recruitments and early village life in Hilton, where Elam Cross was the first village president, an earlier term for "mayor".

The building of the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, better known as The Hojack, early lumbering along the lake and Braddock Bay is told by Charles Efner, a supervisor who persuaded the railroad officials to change the intended route--thus changing history to bring the trains near his own store and ensure the growth of the village that became Hilton, NY.

The Hovey family memoirs continue the story of village life, with the customary Hovey humor.

(Who else but a Hovey would hide a dead cat in a pickle barrel at the general store, or put up at sign reading "Nut’s Corners" to give his crossroads a name?) Van Allen Hovey was the first village undertaker and a lover of race horses. J. Allan Hovey’s journalistic style makes his memoirs unusually fine reading.

Mary Archer Stevens’ memoirs tell us about her ancestors’ participation in the Underground Railroad, Jonathan Underwood, first pioneer at Hilton; the last Indian, maple sugaring on the Archer farm, churches, early businesses, fires and much other information about the customs and beliefs in the rural farm community where she grew up on Archer Hill..

Shirley Husted brings the story up to date with her own reminiscences about growing up at Parma Center, where her first job as a gas pump attendant paid 5 cents an hour. She writes about World War II life on the home front, Korean aid efforts, happy Wautoma Beach memories, gypsies, the district schools and high school, the Parma Center general store and the great Hilton Fire of 1965 that wiped out much of Hilton’s Main Street. Good neighbors, local politics, religious growth, building the new town hall and celebrating the bicentennial of the American Revolution are events recalled with affection and pride.

An introductory chapter contains maps, brief genealogies of the first settlers, mostly Connecticut Yankees, the development of the first electric refrigerator, German immigrants both Jewish and German, French Canadians brought by the Hojack, milling and the fruit industry, storages and cannery that gave Hilton the affectionate title of: "Apple Capital of the World" after it ceased to be the bread basket of western New York during the wheat growing era.

Runnin' Crazy: A Portrait of the Genesee River

Book includes about 275 black and white photographs with sixteen page color section. Pictorial history is 8 1/2 by 11 inches, hard cover with a four color paper jacket, 192 pages. Text and photographs cover geologic history through early Seneca and settlement periods to today. Cover is painting of wooden railroad bridge crossing the Genesee River at the present site of Letchworth State Park. Includes photographs of river deepening projects, ships and recreation at the port at Charlotte on Lake Ontario and the Genesee Valley and Erie canals ($40).

The majestic Genesee River is unique in countless ways--and so is this exciting pictorial history of the winding river that created the "Grand Canyon of the East" as it wound from Pennsylvania through New York state to empty into Lake Ontario. Rochester’s City Historian, Ruth Rosenberg-Napersteck, a Pennsylvania native, and her co-author, native Rochesterian Edward Peck Curtis, Jr. share with their readers an intense empthy for the river and its power.

Entrancing photographs of the bridges and boats, harbor scenes, the Mt. Morris dam, beautiful Letchworth State Park and many other river views are published here, many for the first time.

The Genesee Valley’s importance as an escape route for escaping slaves is noted. Photographs of bridges across the river and seasonal changes of tremendous beauty blend history with romantic glimpses of the storied Genesee, one of the few rivers to flow from south to north. The color section and more than 200 black and white photographs make this pictorial an important addition to any library, a pleasure to read and a joy to behold.

Edited by Shirley Cox Husted, 1996.

The Pump-Apple Cook Book

• Food beloved by Indians and pioneers, with emphasis on fall food, pumpkins, apples, corn, squashes ($6).

56 pp., 8 ½" x 11", spiral bound, including over 200 recipes featuring fall foods -- corn, beans, squash, pumpkins and apples -- and various other ingredients intended to enhance your table, Indian style or modern style. A four-page introduction explains food supplies beloved by Native Americans and describes Indian cookery practices, which utilized the very first crock pots! There are Indian recipes and modern-day recipes for all types of foods, especially apples. This is certainly a bargain price for a book with so many fine dishes--some available only here, because they were developed in the Husted kitchen!

Heroes in Homespun

• A record of all those who entered military service from Parma; vets from French and Indian War -- Viet Nam ($3).

David Abbott’s fine drawings of Revolutionary soldiers and their uniforms, women at work and photographs of the homes of some colonial veterans, combine to make this a highly collectible book. The text, however, is also important because of its descriptions of the Revolutionary battles and life styles of the common folk who were America’s forefathers and foremothers. How they guarded the lives of Congress, melted down British statues to make bullets, planned and built Fort Putnam at West Point, wrote poems and otherwise demonstrated their patriotism makes interesting reading very much like a romantic novel--but all true to life!

Here is the Revolution as people remembered it, taken from pension records, family reports, timely literature and letters. An early map of Connecticut illustrates the cover and every known veteran "joining up" in Parma is listed. At the old community of Hoosick, partly in Parma, partly in Greece, veterans of the French & Indian War under General Amherst and soldiers in the Black Hawk Indian War lie buried, and their stories are related even though some of them actually lived in Greece.

The illustrations are suitable for framing and/or coloring, with every uniform shown in detail and well documented.

Apples & Corn Stubble

• What life was like growing up on a farm in the early years of the 20th century. Many old farm pictures and sketches by the noted artist Charles Gruppe ($3).

Written to appeal to both children and adults, this book includes full-page Gruppe drawings highly suitable for coloring or painting. Charles Gruppe’s paintings and those of his daughter, Virginia and son, Emil, are still prized today. His inclusion of Dutch details from his years of residence in Holland where the author, Virginia Gruppe, was born, give Charles Gruppe’s oil paintings a Flemish atmosphere , but those reproduced here are charcoal line drawings created for his daughter, Virginia. They were packed away in a trunk for more than half a century, until discovered and brought to the attention of Shirley Cox Husted, who edited the daughter’s childish writings and added some 20th century farm photographs found in a Parma barn in order to present a view of farm life as Virginia experienced it when she came from New York City to enjoy summers on a farm in Henrietta, N. Y. You’ll especially enjoy the story of John, the hired hand; spring floods, farm animals, school events, thrashing, etc. There is a German recipe for cottage cheese pie and directions for making fragrant beads from dried rose petals. Wonderful for children, this a a book that adults should read, too.

A Growing Legacy -- Our Parks Centennial history of the Rochester and Monroe County Parks System. Text by Dr. Blake McKelvey, photograph and caption research and editing by Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck and Shirley Cox Husted. 8 1/2 by 11 inch self covered paperback with full color cover. Sixty-two pages with about 90 black and white photographs ($6).

The three best-known historians of the Rochester area have collaborated on this book, featuring entrancing pictures taken throughout the Monroe County park system. A color post card view of Rochester’s Highland Park in lilac time appears on the cover. Inside are spectacular pictures to illustrate Dr. McKelvey’s scholarly text outlining the development of the many wonderful parks in the area.

Swan boats and zoo animals including Jimmy, the oldest gorilla in captivity and Oscar the giant polar bear are among many fond memories revived as you turn the pages. The gunpowder mills in Powder Mill Park and the fish hatcheries are of special interest. (Monroe County developed the hatchery system and has the country’s oldest scientific hatchery, plus one of the largest lilac gardens on the continent where hundreds of new lilac varieties are grown on root stock from France.) Known as "the Flower City", trees and shrubs from Harvard’s Arnold Aboretum provided the city with the first and largest pinetum, still in existence on Mt. Hope, part of the Pinncle Mountain range that runs through the southern portion of Monroe County.

Fruit trees and other stock grown in the county were sent abroad to create the first gardens in Japan, traveling muleback though the Isthmus of Panama before the building of the Panama Canal. West Coast gardens and beautiful flowers and trees planted all across the United States have been Rochester’s contributions to the world. Why, then, would we not produce spectacular parks? This pictorial shows them in all their glory, through the years.

Especially for Genealogists:

Northfield on the Genesee: The Story of a Frontier Town

Considered one of the best books ever written in New York State because it draws entirely upon original government records, this book compiled by Margaret Schmitt MacNab, Katherine Wilcox Thompson and Shirley Cox Husted contains over 400 family biographies of early pioneers in eastern Monroe County. A Dutch Bible, old maps, pictures, documents and a general history of the county by Shirley Husted, add interest to this 370 pp. soft-cover book, 5 1/2" x 8 12" with perfect binding. A total of 31 sections present many aspects of county history including geology, land development, travel, political growth, government, public welfare, slavery, religion, education, libraries, post offices, taverns, trades, agriculture, weath, health, cemeteries, military influences, census information, laws, place names, etc ($18)

Index to Prof. Wm. MacIntosh’s 1877 history of Monroe County: 8 1/2" x 11", spiral bound, compiled and published by the Monroe County Historian’s Office. Every name appearing in this oversize bicentennial publication has been indexed, an extensive task. $11.

Fine engravings of 19th century homes and other buildings make the original MacIntosh volume appealing. Because so many names and events are indexed, h istorians often call this book: "the Bible" of Monroe County. However, because a number of writers compiled it, there are some errors in the text. Space had to be purchased if you wanted your home or an extensive family history included--thus all families are not mentioned, but many are found in the narrative chapters which begin in Indian times before white settlement began and continue from 1788 to 1877 while land sales continued and communities were established. All names appearing in the book are indexed to assist genealogical research. A reprint of this popular history has been published.

Index to Landmarks of Monroe County. A companion name index for 1896 county history, now a rare book.. Soft-cover. $9.00. Compiled by Grace Schoeneman and published by the Monroe County Historian Office, Shirley Cox Husted, historian. The book focuses on landmarks of history, not architectural landmarks, so the title is somewhat misleading.

Extensive family biographies makes this huge book the best source available for genealogical research--although it is occasionally incomplete because families had to pay to have their histories included, and not everyone did. The sections submitted by the families that purchased space therefore are usually quite accurate because they are based upon family accounts, Bible records and other records not otherwise available. Other sections of the "Landmarks" book give the general history of the area and biographies of community leaders. There is an extensive first-hand chapter on the Underground Railroad era. Indian culture is described in detail. This is the best reference source for Monroe County history in the 18th and 19th centuries. While out-of-print and thus not widely available now, the index makes the wealth of information in "Landmarks" readily accessible. Copies of "Landmarks" may be consulted in major libraries.

About Shirley Cox/Husted Family Genealogy Rochester City Historian Husted Homesite     nyhumanities.org