Founder of the City of Rochester New York. His father passed two years after Nathaniel's birth and his mother remarried and the family moved to North Carolina when he was seven. In 1783 he began the " manufacture of flour, rope, and nails" at Hagerstown, Maryland. Rochester became active in local politics and in 1808 he was chosen a presidential elector, and voted for James Madison. In 1800 he first visited the "Genesee country," where he had previously bought 640 acres, and in September of that year he made large purchases of land in Livingston county, New York further up the Genesee River. In 1802 he purchased the "100-acre or Allan Mill tract," in Falls Town (now Rochester), and in May 1810, he moved from Hagerstown and settled near Dansville, where he remained five years, building a paper-mill. In 1815 he moved to Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York and in April 1818, took up his residence in Rochesterville, which had been named for him. In 1817 Rochester served on a committee to petition the state to build the Erie Canal. He petitioned the state to create a county around Rochesterville and in 1821 Monroe County, which Rochester named after the President, was created. He was the first clerk of the new county, and its first representative in the state legislature of 1821 to 1822. Nathaniel was one of the founders of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and formed the Bank of Rochester. He married Sophia Beatty in 1788 and they had twelve children. The Rochesters were originally interned in Downtown Rochester but were moved to Mount Hope to make room for the first hospital.

Founder of the City of Rochester New York. His father passed two years after Nathaniel's birth and his mother remarried and the family moved to North Carolina when he was seven. In 1783 he began the " manufacture of flour, rope, and nails" at Hagerstown, Maryland. Rochester became active in local politics and in 1808 he was chosen a presidential elector, and voted for James Madison. In 1800 he first visited the "Genesee country," where he had previously bought 640 acres, and in September of that year he made large purchases of land in Livingston county, New York further up the Genesee River. In 1802 he purchased the "100-acre or Allan Mill tract," in Falls Town (now Rochester), and in May 1810, he moved from Hagerstown and settled near Dansville, where he remained five years, building a paper-mill. In 1815 he moved to Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York and in April 1818, took up his residence in Rochesterville, which had been named for him. In 1817 Rochester served on a committee to petition the state to build the Erie Canal. He petitioned the state to create a county around Rochesterville and in 1821 Monroe County, which Rochester named after the President, was created. He was the first clerk of the new county, and its first representative in the state legislature of 1821 to 1822. Nathaniel was one of the founders of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and formed the Bank of Rochester. He married Sophia Beatty in 1788 and they had twelve children. The Rochesters were originally interned in Downtown Rochester but were moved to Mount Hope to make room for the first hospital.