The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #1 Jell-O

In a LeRoy, New York kitchen in 1897, a carpenter named Pearle B. Wait, while experimenting with fruit flavored products discovered a formula his wife called Jell-O.

Wait sold the formula to another local businessman named Orator T. Woodward for $450 and under the Woodward’s family leadership, Jell-O became America’s Famous Dessert.

Jell-O became a household word and was manufactured in LeRoy until operations were moved to Dover, Delaware in 1964.

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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #2 Barber Conable

Known for his honesty and integrity, Barber Conable started his political career as an organizer with the city of Batavia Republican Party and rose to the top of the political world.

Born in nearby Warsaw, Wyoming County, he moved to Batavia to practice law. He didn't want to hang his shingle in his hometown because his brother was the County Judge and he didn't want to have any conflicts of interest.

After his election to Congress, he became know as the Congressman who wouldn't take a contribution to his campaign fund for more than $50. As a leader on the Ways and Means Committee, he helped write the tax laws of the 1980s.

Following his retirement after 20 years of service in Congress, he returned home to Genesee County. Less than a year later, he was called back to services, this time as the President of the World Bank, a position he held for five years.

After his second retirement, he came home again and became involved in local affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Conable became active in the Holland Purchase Historical Society and other community organizations.


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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #3 The Disappearance of William Morgan

In September 1826, a bricklayer from Batavia, New York disappeared. His disappearance caused a national sensation. The Freemasons were blamed for the disappearance because Morgan was a man who wanted to be accepted into the Masons, was rejected and threatened to disclose the rituals of the secret society.

His disappearance led to the formation of the first third political party in American history, the Anti-Masonic Party.

Freemasons claim Morgan jumped on a boat in Lake Ontario and disappeared forever. The Anti-masons claim the Freemasons murdered him by tossing him in the Niagara River.

The important part to remember is the political upheaval caused by the disappearance of one man.

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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #4 The Holland Land Company

The first big business to come to Western New York was a group of six Dutch banking houses that formed a stock holding company called the Holland Land Company.

The Company purchased 3.3 million acres of Western New York forest and through their agent, Joseph Ellicott, built town, villages and cities.

They were the driving force behind the creation of Genesee County and without them, the Western New York landscape could be much different.

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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #5 Emory Upton

During the Civil War, many men from Genesee County answered the call to keep the Union together. In our countdown we've already met two of the County’s Civil War Heroes, Charles Rand (#14) and Ely Parker (#11).

Genesee County’s most famous Civil War soldier was Emory Upton. Upton was born into a farm family in the town of Batavia in 1839. He rose to the rank of Brevet Major General. After the war, he was commandant at the United States Military Academy at West Point, wrote books about strategies and tactics, and toured the world.

He became an expert on military policy and known as one of the reformers of the United States Military and influenced to policies of the United States Army throughout the 20^th Century.

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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #6 John Gardner

John Gardner was a renaissance man. He was comfortable in the dairy barns of Bethany or the townhouses of Manhattan.

Although he lived in the world of academia, he never forgot his rural upbringing. In Bill Kauffman’s book, Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette, he quotes Gardner saying, “I grew up with farmers, I learned more from farmers than from professors.”

He wrote poetry, plays, operas, but is best known as a novelist. Gardner taught at universities across the country and was the mentor to many writers.

His influence on American literature will go on for a long time and he will always be honored as one of Genesee County’s greatest authors.

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The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous: #7 Terry Anderson

Terry Anderson was born in Ohio, spent the early part of his life in Albion, New York and graduated from Batavia High School in 1965.

He was a combat vet in Vietnam, then a journalist for the Associated Press. Anderson was kidnapped by Shiite Muslims in Beirut, Lebanon on March 16, 1985. He was held captive for 2,454 days.

Following is release in 1991, he taught at Columbia University and Ohio State University. He is a co founder of the Vietnam Children Fund, which has built schools and educated tens of thousands of Vietnamese children


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