9, 11, 15 Second Street

Before 1889 the lots on Second Street now occupied by houses at 9 and 15 Second Street were vacant and part of the property of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Champ who lived in the original part (front rectangle) of the house at 11 Second Street. This was one of the first houses on Second Street.  Mr. Champ was a stone mason who was responsible for the masonry work done on many of Geneseo’s early buildings.  He died in 1872 having survived his wife by six years.  In 1874, the entire property (three lots) was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Warren who had recently moved to Geneseo.  Mr. Warren died in 1896 and the following year Mrs. Warren sold the lot south of her house to Timothy Delaney, manager of the Geneseo plant of Beldon and Company, produce dealers.  In 1900, Mr. Delaney engaged contractor Edward Forbes to build a house for him at 15 Second Street).  Mrs. Warren continued living in the old Champ residence until 1907 when she sold it and the lot to the north to Dr. Edward Southall.  Dr. Southall had purchased the old Episcopal Rectory, which stood on the site of the present one on Main Street.  He moved it to his vacant lot at 9 Second Street, and it was rented for several years.  He sold the Champ-Warren homestead to Ruth Smith in 1912, who in turn sold it to Dr. Robert Greene in 1920.  Dr. Greene was a member of the faculty at the Normal School.  In 1952, Charles and Mary Miskell purchased the house from Dr. Greene.

9 Second Street

This house was built in the early part of the 19th century on the site of St Michael’s rectory.  At that time, it was a small square, two-story structure with a hip roof and a one-bay entrance porch.

In 1850, the Episcopal Church purchased this house and lot adjoining their property from Charles Colt, Jr. for use as a parsonage.  In 1878, it was enlarged and the second story added.  By 1907 the committee on repairs recommended that a new rectory be built since “it was no longer desirable to fix the old one.”  Dr. Southall, a local physician, who also engaged in considerable real estate dealing, purchased the building for $400.  A short time later, he moved it by horses to its present site.  At the time of the moving, the porch was a wrap-around which was removed, and only the section across the front was replaced.

11 Second Street

In 1870 James Vail, one of the early settlers in Geneseo, made some notes regarding the buildings in the village. Among his recollections were that three of the oldest private residences then standing were 11 Second Street, 12 Main Street and the house on Main (now demolished) where the present SUNY President lives today.  He went on to say that all three of these were built by (for) James Wadsworth. In 1839 Mr. Wadsworth sold the house (then consisting of only the front rectangle) at 11 Second Street to George Morgan.  At that time the property included the then vacant lots on either side.  George Morgan was a builder referred to as “the boss foreman of those days” and was responsible for the construction of several early houses.  By 1852 the house was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Champ.  Mr. Champ was a mason by trade.  His first wife, Sarah, died in 1830.  His second wife Lucy (Church) was the daughter of another prominent Geneseo Mason.  (There were two sons, Frank and William. Frank became a carpenter and eventually lived on North Street with his family.  He was the father of the late Richard Champ of 12 Main Street.  William became a photographer.)  Mrs. Champ died in 1866 and after Mr. Champ’s death in 1872 the property was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Warren. Josiah Warren was born on his father’s farm in York and continued living there and farming after his marriage in 1860.  After his father’s death Josiah and Elizabeth moved to Irondequoit where he spent a few years in grape growing.  He sold the business in 1873 and moved to Geneseo where he engaged in several kinds of businesses, chiefly sale of farm machinery and insurance.  In 1889 the Warrens sold the lot south of their house to Timothy Delehanty.  Mr. Warren died in 1896 and about 1907 Mrs. Warren sold her house and the lot north of it to Dr. Edward Southall, a medical doctor who lived on the corner of Main and Ward Streets.  He moved the original Episcopal Rectory from Main Street to the north lot and sold it to Anthony Aprile about 1907.  In 1912 he sold the Warren house to Ruth Smith. In 1920 Ruth Smith sold it to Dr. Robert A. Greene of the Normal School faculty.  Dr. Greene apparently was a very successful amateur gardener.  In 1924 the Livingston Republican announced that Dr. Greene of Second Street “has had so many requests by Geneseo residents to visit, that his gardens will be open any day this week after 4 P.M.”  In 1956, ten years before his death, Dr. Greene sold this property to Charles and Mary Miskell.

15 Second Street

The house at 15 Second Street was built in 1899-1900 for Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Delehanty by prominent local contractor and builder, Edward Forbes.  Timothy Delehanty was the Geneseo manager of Belden and Company, produce dealers.  Mrs. Delehanty, the former Anna O’Connor of Rochester, died in 1910 at the age of 34 leaving behind her husband, four young daughters and a son.  Several years later, Mr. Delehanty married Mary Dwyer of Geneseo.  In 1913 a fire, caused by a child playing with matches, did considerable damage but repairs were made.  The house remained in the hands of the Delehanty-Dwyer family until 1959 when it was purchased by M. Dennison and Elizabeth Olmsted.  In 1968 they sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Michel Richard.