Torrey Park on the north side of Geneva was named for Samuel H. Torrey, the last owner before the property was developed. Research shows there were several notable owners, as well as a genealogy mystery.

In 1802, Robert Scott farmed 370 acres north of the village. He sold the parcel to Thomas D. Burrall in 1814. Burrall came from Connecticut to Geneva and opened a foundry, making cast-iron farm implements. These included threshers, reapers, and corn shellers, the latter being on display in the Geneva History Museum. In 1846, the Burrall foundry made cast-iron pipes for the village water supply, replacing the original wooden logs.

Burrall’s large home was set back from North Street across from the end of Genesee Street.

In 1837, the village boundaries mentioned his house as a landmark, with it being outside Geneva. Burrall owned the farm until 1856. At 42 years, he was the property’s longest owner. Torrey Park rightly could have been named Burrall Park, but that’s water under the bridge.

Eliakim Sherrill purchased the property in 1860. A businessman from the Catskills, he had been a New York state senator and congressman. In 1862, he organized the 126th New York Infantry to fight in the Civil War with men from Ontario, Seneca, and Yates counties. Col. Sherrill commanded his troops at Harpers Ferry against the Confederate Army with disappointing results. He suffered a gunshot through his lower jaw, the regiment surrendered. and the 126th was tagged as “Harpers Ferry Cowards.”

On July 2, 1863, Sherrill’s regiment arrived at the Battle of Gettysburg and defended Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. Sherrill was mortally wounded July 3, along with 39 other men from the 126th who were killed in battle. There is a monument to him in Washington Street Cemetery, and Sherrill Street (on his former farm) is named for him.

The Torreys

Now, we get to the Torrey family.

In 1865, Reuben S. Torrey bought the land. Like previous owners, little was reported about any farm activity. His obituary in the Aug. 15, 1877, Geneva Courier said, “Mr. Torrey has long been known as an enterprising and popular business man, and he will be greatly missed in our community. … Coming to Geneva about eleven years ago, he purchased the Sherrill mansion at the head of Genesee Street, where he has since lived.”

While Reuben Torrey’s obituary said he was living in the old Sherrill mansion, other sources say Samuel H. Torrey had bought it in 1872. Based on online genealogy, it’s unclear if or how Reuben and Samuel were related. It’s complicated by the presence of two Samuel H. Torreys in Ontario County at that time. Reuben Torrey (1822-1877) was a cousin of Samuel H. Torrey (1817-1895), a respected Canandaigua lawyer and politician. Later histories of Geneva seem to treat the two Samuels interchangeably.

There’s little definitive information about the North Street Samuel Torrey (1826-1887). He graduated from Hobart College in 1847 and was listed as a lawyer in one village directory. The only certainty is that, in November 1879, he “had become insane and had to be committed to the private asylum at Canandaigua, whither he was conveyed last Friday (Geneva Daily Gazette).” Control of his estate passed to his son and a committee.

Samuel Torrey died at the asylum in 1886.

William Smith bought 225 acres of the Torrey estate in 1886, possibly based on talk of the Buffalo & Geneva Railroad being built there. In 1889, it was confirmed the railroad would be constructed and leased to the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which would build a passenger depot. The Torrey Park Land Co. was formed in 1891 to develop the former Torrey farm, and Smith sold most of his land to it in 1892.

The old mansion was removed to make way for laying out North Genesee Street. North-south streets were created between Sherrill and Exchange streets. The “alphabet avenues” — A through G — ran west to east. The house lots between North Street and the Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks mostly were sold to business owners and established Genevans. North of the railroad tracks became home to new factories and Geneva’s Italian community.

John Marks is the curator of collections at Historic Geneva.