History
By Helen Corser Fox, Bristol Town Historian
The history of Bristol was first recorded in 1669, when the explorer, Robert de
LaSalle wrote to his homeland describing his visit to the Burning Springs, where the
Seneca Indians escorted him to see this special place.
In 1779 General Sullivan traveled through this area. His soldiers were impressed with the fertile land and many returned as Bristol County, Massachusetts purchased this land for settlement. Richmond, Bristol and South Bristol were all part of this purchase. South Bristol was organized from Bristol in 1838.
The Goodings were the first settlers, followed by many others from the Dighton Area. 
Gamaliel Wilder also brought many settlers from Connecticut. In 1789 the town was formed. Town meetings were held regularly often at the old Congregational Church.
Churches and school were formed. The district school was centralized with Naples, Canandaigua, Bloomfield, and Honeoye. Today there is only one church, The United Church of Bristol. There were small stores throughout the town which later sold gasoline. Bristol was an agricultural town. Other Industries were sheep raising with tanneries and chandleries at Muttonville, which is now Vincent. The Cultivation and sale of hops from 1853 to 1920 was a successful enterprise. Many fairs, Field Days and festivals were held in Bristol.
The beauty and serenity of the hills and valleys has drawn many to the area. Many permanent homes now dot the hills. Tourism is the venture of the town now. We have Bed and Breakfasts, Pottery shop, Antique stores, Wood specialty stores, and Computer Graphics to name a few. 
The Town Park across from the Town Hall at Bristol Center has sheltered picnic areas, sports fields and jogging track available to all town residents and also anyone passing by who needs to rest a bit before going on.
Town government is still very local with meetings held at the town hall. We have preserved our various cemeteries as best as can be with the passage of time. Veteran's graves are decorated. These include Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Genealogy
Some Information to Help in Your Research:
The Town of Bristol Historian has the following in the archives at the Town Hall. The
list is a partial list of the holdings. This is such a tremendous resource, I hope
many of you will take advantage, and submit a look-up request or stop in.
Because the holdings are large and various, kindly be as specific with your query as
possible. Names, dates, places, and specific questions will be very helpful in
searching through the Archives.
Your cooperation and courtesy will be greatly appreciated.
Simple requests for information may be free. Requests that involve more work may be
subject to a charge. If copies are requested, copying fees and postage will apply.
Otherwise, your reply will be e-mailed back to you.
Kindly submit your detailed look-up request to:
Historian
c/o Bristol Town Hall
6740 County Rd. 32
Canandaigua, NY 14424
Local Genealogy Work
Do you have a local genealogy project going? Do you have some local ancestors or relatives that you would like to access family information on?
Well, we have a local volunteer, Shirley Pridmore Simpson, who along with others has helped to organize an amazing amount (192,019 entries) of genealogical records from sources in Naples, Bristol, and the town of Italy as well as other individual contributors and her own personal research. This large volume of work has been stored on a searchable Rootsweb World Connect Project page which can be accessed by clicking here. There is a search engine for looking up data and contact info for Shirley on that page.
Bristol Historian Resources
| Census Records |
1790-1925 |
| Deaths |
1883-1969. With sources, includes parents and spouse when available. |
| Marriages |
1883-1901 |
| Births |
1883-1969 |
| Cemetery Records |
All Bristol, various Honeoye/Richmond, South Bristol, Naples, East, West and South Bloomfield, Canandaigua, Cheshire, Academy, Allen's Hill and (old) Ovid Street in Seneca Falls. |
| Military Records |
Locations of graves in local cemeteries, Civil War letters, enlistment lists from before 1865, with regiments and parents listed. |
| Family Histories |
Data of over 200 families of the area. Many of these go back to Dighton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, where the pioneers came to settle the Dighton Purchase from Phelps and Gorham and back to the "Mayflower". |
| School Records |
School books, Academians and records from many school districts. |
| Churches |
Original Congregational Church records from early 1800's. Records from Baptist, Universalist, Methodist, Federated and United Church of Bristol. |
| Political History |
Town minutes from 1789 to present. Lists of the town officers; early highway records. |
| Books |
County and local histories, directories, ledgers, journals, diaries, family genealogies, Dr.'s records and many more too numerous to list. |
| Newspapers |
Gazetteers, Rural New Yorkers, Ontario County Repository. |
| Scrapbooks |
Over 175 scrapbooks from the 1880's to present. Contains newspaper articles, obituaries, marriages and birth announcements. |
| Maps |
1859, 1874, 1904 and 1916. Gives residents names and homes. |
| Miscellaneous |
Many original deeds, some wills, early "ear-marks" from 1797 to 1840 and many other interesting files of data. |
An Interesting Story Written by Festus Ganyard
The Ganyard family arrived in Bristol around 1799 when Festus was four years old. By 1817 the family moved on with many other Bristol pioneers to Granger, Medina County, Ohio. Ganyard Hill Road and a cemetery off South Hill Road where a tombstone of Peter Ganyard is located are all that remain of the name in Bristol. That four year old year old boy left a story of his trip to and early life in Bristol. We can not know unless we have hiked along the Appalachian Trail what a trip from New England to Bristol at that time might be like. The motto "Do not be scared before you are hurt" helped move these people on despite crossing frozen lakes with ice cracking and breaking under the bays. On the way to the Genesee country grown men were singing about their "Genny House". They traveled in late winter in order to sleigh and cross frozen streams easier and arrive in time to plant crops. On the way they joined other groups going to Bristol. When they arrived they spent the first night with John Codding's family. How well the young children played together. Next morning after an eight Mile trip they reached Grandfather Hatch's. Here they found old friends Allens, Wilders, and so on. Father bought 90 acres in East Hollow with an eight foot square log cabin less chimney. The house was as open as a barn and the March breeze and smoke were almost suffocating. Mother would sit and weep while he lay his tiny hand on her knee and say "Mama what makes you cry"? The only answer was soft tears running down her cheeks. As Winter ended and birds sang folks were busy at work and spirits rose. Family life was very happy there at the new home in the forest. He describes the cabin as follows. "The cupboard, so called, was two pins driven into the side of the house and a board laid on them. A set of tea dishes and dinner plates, knives and forks put on the boards. A set of wooden plates called trenches were for common use. A large iron kettle, dish kettle, dinner pot, spider and tea kettle, two chairs, two stools for the little boys, a high bed and bedstead, under this a trunk bed, thus I close the picture of the home." The happiness is in the mind not the place. All the neighbors lived the same simple life. Babies were born and families prospered in the new country.
History by Helen Corser Fox, Bristol Town Historian
-From the Bristol Historian Archives-
The U.S. - Mexican War
As you look through Bristol's history, you will occasionally see references to the U.S. - Mexican War. To help understand the context of these references, we have included a short article describing briefly that conflict. To access the article, click here.
Other Links to Bristol and Ontario County History Websites
Ontario County Cemeteries
Ontario County Historical Society
Records and Archives
The American History and Genealogy Project (Bristol page)
Ontario County Genealogical Society
Click here to check out what's happening at Bristol Historical Society.
Click here to view even more articles on Bristol History.
Click here to view Bristol's Historic Cemeteries.
