Col. Nathaniel Rochester House-African American Occupations

This video is part of the Genesee Country Village & Museum audio tour series. Click through all the videos in the playlist to learn about life in New York during the 19th century.
Transcript:
In the 1830’s and 40’s, Rochester was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Through their varied talents, Rochester’s African Americans made important contributions to the city’s economic development during those years.
When William Bloss, editor of the Rights of Man, surveyed Rochester’s African American residents in 1834, he counted 360 people of color - about three percent of the total population. Most were employed as farmers, boatmen, barbers, waiters, and seamstresses. There were many skilled workers as well, including five blacksmiths, two shoemakers, masons, clergymen, and stonecutters. There was a tailor, a cabinetmaker, a merchant, and a physician - Dr. John Jenkins, who served the medical needs of Rochester’s African American community from 1844 until 1852.
With Rochester growing so quickly, skilled construction workers and craftsmen were in demand. Many African American men found work making wooden staves that were fashioned into barrels. Barrels carried valuable commodities, such as the wheat flour produced by Rochester’s many mills and shipped to eastern markets via the Erie Canal.
The availability of fine white flour spurred the creation of fancy baked goods in Rochester kitchens. Mrs. Matilda A. Bell is listed as a professional cake maker in 1847 and 48. Other African American women including Mrs. Zadah B. Hunt, Mrs. Sarah Reid, and Mrs. Eliza Sherman used their skills as dressmakers in the 1830’s and 1840’s.
These same citizens also made valuable contributions to the social fabric of the community. African Americans supported three religious societies, two anti-slavery groups, and a temperance organization that opposed the habitual abuse of alcohol and public drunkenness.