This little bit of history is taken from a narrative of the Farmington area and is based on research for the period 1788-1934; A HISTORY OF NEW SALEM AND ITS IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS by Charles H. Gardner "In the year 1788, pursuant to an Act of the Ontario County Court of Sessions, the townships throughout this County were formed, and the Town of Farmington was number eleven of the third range. It derived its name from the Town of Farmington, Connecticut. It was purchased from the Phelps and Gorham propriety by a company of Massachusetts citizens, mostly from Berkshire County, who were members of the Old and reliable Society of Friends, whose resolve was to change their possessions in old New England and take up their abode in anew, unsettled section known as the Genesee Country. The purchasers were Nathaniel Comestock, Benjamin Russell, Abraham Lapham, Edmund Jenks, Jeremiah Brown, Ephraim Fish, Nathan Herendeen, Nathan Aldrich, Stephen Smith, Benjamin Rickerson, William Baker and Dr. Daniel Brown. Nathan Comestock and Benjamin Russell appear to have been the leaders in this enterprise, as the conveyance of the town was made individually to them. The town had been previously surveyed and mapped into 144 lots, which were all numbered, each lot containing 160 acres of land. The purchasers had no choice of lots. Slips of papers were numbered and placed in a hat, and whichever number they drew, was the number of their lot. Lots fell to them promiscuously and were conveyed to them by deed and according to their allotted number so drawn. Nathan Comstock drew number 133, and in the following spring of 1789, he and his two sons, Otis and Darius, came and took possession of the purchase. It was located in the northwest corner of the town, bounded by the town line of Perinton on the west and the town line of Macedon on the north.......... The Comestocks commenced clearing and crashing down old forest trees, and the vigorous strokes of the Pioneers axe were heard throughout the neighborhood....................Otis (Comestock) remained in the lone dwelling, caring for and protecting the stock against wild animals of which the prowling wolves were numerous, and looking for spring to come when he would again associate with his relatives. On the 14th of February, 1790, all preparations being made, the Comestock family started for Farmington. It consisted of Nathan and his wife, Darius, Nathan Jr., Jared, Joseph and John. Their meeting with Otis was wonderful and Otis was filled with great joy at seeing his family once more............." This is but a small excerpt from Charles H. Gardner's narrative on our town of Farmington. I might add, that I live in my family homestead (fifth generation) which is located on the very same property that Nathaniel Comestock pioneered in 1789. In other research, I have read that Otis spent many cold nights that first winter listening to the wolves howling in the dark. If we can imagine it, our pioneer ancestors lived in an area that was not as hospitable as we live in today. Thanks everyone for the narratives on the Phelps Gorham purchase. William Allen Farmington, NY