Erie Canal Legacy: Honoring Local Pioneers
The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, was a transformative force in American history—linking
the Hudson River
to Lake Erie and opening vast new frontiers
for trade, travel, and settlement. As one of the earliest
canal towns along its
route, Pittsford quickly became a vital hub of commerce and
community life in western New York.
The canal brought with it a wave of opportunity. Farmers
gained access to distant markets and merchants flourished.
The immigrants and entrepreneurs helped shape the town’s
future.
Pittsford’s
proximity to the canal spurred the growth of
businesses, schools, and civic institutions that still define
the town today.
Many of the individuals who contributed to this era of growth
and transformation now rest in Pittsford Cemetery. This page
honors the legacy of those lives that were intertwined
with the canal’s enduring impact. Their stories are not just
part of Pittsford’s past—they are threads in the larger fabric
of American innovation,
resilience, and community. Biographic data is available
for
William
S. Agate, George & Jennie Bell, Charles Emmons, George A.
Goss, Thomas J. Heaver, Jr., Jarvis Lord, Donald Rowland, Irving Waterstraw and Andrew D. Wolfe by clicking on their names in the chart below. Check back again; more bios*
coming soon!
Below is a chart that lists some of the local people who were
involved with the Erie Canal and are buried in Pittsford.
They all can be found in the Main Cemetery except for William
Wallace who is buried in the East Cemetery, Section B.
Click HERE for
a map of the burial locations.
NAME |
CONNECTION |
DATES |
AREA |
LOT |
| Agate, William S. |
Lost house and warehouses to canal expansion |
1836-1914 |
K |
Lot 146 |
| Alms, William |
Canal lock 62 tender in 1896 |
1864-1906 |
D |
Lot 353 |
| Anscomb, William |
Property appraiser for canal expansion |
1844-1924 |
H |
Lot 560 |
| Austin, Chester |
Lost house to canal expansion |
1862-1943 |
H |
Lot 595 |
| Bell, George H. |
Drowned in canal after horse & buggy accident |
1858-1893 |
J |
Lot 168 |
| Bell, Jennie |
Drowned in canal after horse & buggy accident |
1886-1893 |
J |
Lot 168 |
| Brown, Jerome |
1/24/1901 -- fell into canal with Phil Minnamon |
1858-1909 |
F |
Lot 464 |
| Creidt, Andrew |
Canal lock 62 tender 1913 |
1863-1929 |
J |
Lot 208 |
| Cuddeback, John |
Canal lock 62 tender 1913 |
1855-1935 |
F |
Lot 482 |
| Domras, Arthur |
Drowned |
1899-1919 |
H |
Lot 538 |
| Eckler, Somers F. |
Canal lock 62 tender in 1896, 1906 |
1854-1922 |
E |
Lot 393 |
| Emmons, Charles B. |
Owned The Rambler pleasure boat |
1852-1937 |
A |
Lot 107 |
| Forbes, Charles |
Drowned |
1898-1914 |
Single grave |
|
| Ford, John S. |
Property appraiser for canal expansion |
1848-1927 |
E |
Lot 375 |
| Goss, George A. |
Canal superintendent in 1906 |
1834-1913 |
C |
Lot 46 |
| Granger, Mahlon |
Drowned |
1886-1903 |
H |
Lot 614 |
| Halstead, Burhans V. |
Foreman Barge Canal 1910 |
1867-1966 |
H |
Lot 505 |
| Hayward, Thomas E. |
Came to Pittsford on canal in 1830 |
1810-1906 |
E |
Lot 400 |
| Heaver,
Thomas J. |
Captain of a canal scow, 1896 |
1871-1952 |
B |
Lot 231 |
| Hicks, George A. |
Canal bank watcher, King's Bend, 1896 |
1873-1935 |
J |
Lot 189 |
| Hutchinson, Samuel |
Lost warehouses to canal expansion |
1855-1939 |
Z |
Lot 1 |
| Knickerbocker, James M. |
Property appraiser for canal expansion |
1843-1919 |
C |
Lot 5 |
| Kossow, John H. |
Canal teamster 1906 & owner Richardson's |
1854-1921 |
F |
Lot 444 |
| Lord, Jarvis |
Canal contractor |
1816-1887 |
C |
Lot 53 |
| Moss, John C. |
Owned Richardson's after John H. Kossow |
1869-1927 |
I |
Lot 256 |
| Parsons, Lewis A. |
Canal lock 62 tender 1905, 1906 |
1862-1917 |
J |
Lot 203 |
| Peck, Barney E. |
Canal bank watcher 1913 |
1846-1920 |
H |
Lot 546 |
| Peck, Barney H. |
Canal bank watcher 1913 |
1870-1956 |
F |
Lot 314 |
| Reynolds, Gilbert Wesley |
Canal bank watcher, High Embankment, 1896 |
1833-1914 |
M |
Lot 119 |
| Rowland, Donald P. |
Canal lock tender; fell to death |
1897-1921 |
X |
Lot 1 |
| Salter, Enos |
Lost house to canal expansion |
1866-1953 |
I |
Lot 248 |
| Salter, Samuel |
Lost house to canal expansion |
1868-1929 |
I |
Lot 248 |
| Steffen, John |
Drowned |
1881-1898 |
E |
Lot 410 |
| Stone, William |
Canal bank watcher, King's Bend, 1896 |
1834-1910 |
A |
Lot 102 |
| Straight, Hayward S. |
Drowned |
1906-1922 |
Single grave |
|
| Tellier-Wolfe, Vivienne |
Richardson's Canal House proprietor |
1946-2022 |
J |
Lot 175 |
| Tobey, Merritt P. |
Came to Pittsford on packet boat 1848 |
1843-1929 |
K |
Lot 147 |
| Wallace, William |
Canal bank watcher 1913 |
1853-1931 |
East B |
Lot 49 |
| Waterstraw, Irving H. |
Drowned while swimming in the canal |
1898-1915 |
F |
Lot 457 |
| Wilmarth, Lyman C. |
Canal boat captain. Heart trouble |
1865-1895 |
F |
Lot 332 |
| Wiltsie, Burton N. |
Property appraiser for canal expansion |
1862-1921 |
E |
Lot 378 |
| Wiltsie, James M. |
Steamer named after him |
1829-1901 |
C |
Lot 8 |
| Wiltsie, Thomas |
Brought family on packet boat 1834 |
1797-1873 |
C |
Lot 8 |
| Wolfe, Andrew D. |
Richardson's Canal House proprietor | 1922-1999 |
J |
Lot 175 |
*Bios provided by Vicki Profitt, Pittsford Town Historian and photos courtesy of the Pittsford Town Historian’s Office