35 Second Street

2006

This house was built by Dr. Elias Metcalf about 1829.  Dr. and Mrs. Metcalf came to Geneseo in 1828 where he practiced medicine for almost 40 years.  Mrs. Metcalf died in 1870 and Dr. Metcalf in 1873.  Their son, George, lived here for a few years but about 1880 moved west and offered the house for sale.  Nathaniel Gearhart, then County Clerk, purchased it in 1881.  He was admitted to the Bar in 1887 and a few years later moved to Minnesota to practice.  Lockwood R. Doty bought the house in 1900.  Mr. Doty, a lawyer, was the son of Lockwood L. Doty, author of the History of Livingston County, and himself a lawyer.  In 1887, L.R. Doty married Jennie West and they were the parents of two daughters, one of whom became Mrs. Howard Teall, mother of George Teall, who followed in his grandfather’s footsteps as an attorney.  The house remained in the Doty-Teall family until it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Dawson.

The Greek Revival door is the original, although the stoop was changed after plans by the talented architect Robert Sherlock.  The living room on the south side of the house was extended to include a small bay window.  These changes are appropriate and preserve the simple dignity of the 19th century original.