Nathaniel Rochester Nathaniel Rochester ( February 21 , 1752 - May 17 , 1831 ) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator , most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester , New York . Early years . Rochester was born in Westmoreland County , Virginia . His father , who owned Rochester House , died when he was two years old and five years later his mother remarried . In 1763 , Rochester moved with all but his eldest brother to Granville County , North Carolina . He found a job with a local Hillsborough merchant at age 16 , and became partner in the business within five years . In his early working years , Rochester also served as clerk for the local vestry , as a committee member for a civic organization , and , most notably , as a delegate to North Carolina ' s first Provincial Congress . Military , politics , and business . Hailed as a leader in local political circles , Rochester was appointed a Major in the North Carolina militia and served as a paymaster . He suffered a physical breakdown ( likely exhaustion ) , however , and was forced to resign from the service . Once recovered , Rochester returned to Hillsborough and was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly of 1777 , where he served as county clerk . Also that year , Rochester was appointed Colonel of the North Carolina militia , and Commissioner in charge of building and managing an arms factory in Hillsborough . Once again , Rochester resigned from most of his duties ( including vacating his Assembly seat ) and entered into a business partnership with Thomas Hart , a notable and wealthy merchant and land speculator . Rochester and Hart relocated to Hagerstown , Maryland in 1780 , taking up an estate on the southern edge of the town . He served on the vestry of Saint John ' s Church . Here he married Sophia Beatty in 1788 , and they had twelve children , among them Judge and Congressman William B . Rochester and Mayor Thomas H . Rochester . Hart and Rochester owned and operated numerous businesses during their time in Hagerstown , including a slavery - dependent business , grist mill , nail and rope factory . Nathaniel Rochester was an early trucker taking wagon loads of goods up into New York State , where he located the land he bought that became Rochester . Although the partnership dissolved in 1792 , Rochester continued to operate the mill . Rochester served one term in the Maryland General Assembly , and two years as postmaster . He was elected as a judge in 1797 , but recognizing that he did not have the proper legal training , resigned the post . He served as Washington County ' s Sheriff from 1804 to 1806 . In 1807 , Rochester helped found the Hagerstown Bank , serving as its first president . Land speculation . Two of the directors of the Hagerstown Bank , Colonel William Fitzhugh and Major Charles Carroll were , like Rochester , wealthy landowners interested in acquiring land in the new " frontier " of the U . S . In 1800 , Fitzhugh and Carroll convinced Rochester to travel with them on a prospecting visit to the frontier lands of New York State , and specifically to the lands along the upper portion of the Genesee River . Fitzhugh and Carroll acquired land along the river on their trip , but Rochester , sensing the opportunity to develop a town , chose a tract along Canaseragea Creek near the hamlet of Dansville . Upon a return trip to the area , they travelled farther up the river to a small abandoned tract of land near the river ' s Upper Falls . The men saw a business opportunity here as any goods which travelled up the river would need to be unloaded here and portage fees could be charged . They purchased of land around the falls for $ 1 , 750 . Rochester ' s interest in the land he now owned along the Genesee , in part , prompted him to decide to relocate his family there in 1810 . In early June of that year , the family reached Dansville and established a homestead . Life on the Genesee . Rochester quickly became a leading citizen of Dansville upon his arrival , establishing numerous businesses and mills and playing an active role in the early politics of the town . So busy was his life in Dansville that he offered to sell his share of the Upper Falls tract to Major Carroll . Carroll , however , got Rochester to keep his interest . Rochesterville . In 1811 Rochester began the process of establishing a town on the Upper Falls tract . He laid out streets and established plots of land for municipal , church , and business use . Later that year , he began to offer the plots for sale and named the would - be settlement " Rochesterville " after himself . The War of 1812 helped Rochesterville grow as settlers living along the coast of Lake Ontario sought to move farther inland . In 1812 , Rochester moved his family from Dansville to Rochesterville to enable sale of the remaining Dansville property and to provide settlers in Rochesterville assurances that the settlement was here to stay . Numerous skirmishes and war activities were taking place throughout western New York and Rochesterville served as a waypoint for troops heading west as well as a depot for military supplies . The exposure was good for the settlement , as many people who had travelled through it bought lots or tracts in or near the village . Rochester was a presidential elector in 1816 , voting for James Monroe and Daniel D . Tompkins . In 1817 Rochester served on a committee to petition the state to build what would become the Erie Canal on a proposed northern route that included a route across the Genesee River at Rochesterville . The eventual decision by the state ' s government to accept this northern route became a predominant factor in the growth of the future city . In late 1817 , Rochester helped petition the state for the incorporation of Rochesterville . Although the first petition failed due to opposition from neighboring jurisdictions , a second petition passed . Rochester ' s village was incorporated that year . In 1821 Rochester played a pivotal role in the creation of Monroe County , which Rochester named after President James Monroe . When the county was officially formed , Rochester became its first county clerk and was elected as the county ' s first representative to the New York State Assembly . Later years . Rochester remained an active participant in the growth of the town and county he founded , playing many pivotal roles in the development of its economy and status . He played an active role in politics , helped found churches and banks , and served as the first president of the Rochester Athenænum ( which would later become Rochester Institute of Technology ) . During the last two years of his life , Rochester made few public appearances , but rather spent most of his time with his now rather large family , including his 28 grandchildren still living at the Colonel ' s 79th birthday . Suffering from a protracted and painful illness , Rochester died May 17 , 1831 . He was interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester . His gravestone features a paraphrase of Christopher Wren ' s epitaph : " SI QUÆRIS MONUMENTUM , CIRCUMSPICE " ( " If you seek his monument , look around yourself " ) . Legacy . Rochester Institute of Technology has a dormitory named Nathaniel Rochester Hall , the third tallest of the campus ' four dormitory towers . The intersection of South Avenue and Alexander Street in the South Wedge neighborhood is home to Nathaniel Square Park , which boasts a statue of Nathaniel Rochester sitting on a bench .