_{Updated September 19th, 2026}

Every now and then, I come across names of streets which have long ceased to be. Sometimes those streets literally stopped existing; other times, they were devoured by larger, more traffic-heavy streets; sometimes, they were simply renamed.

So it was when I was stumbled upon several entries in 1830s Rochester city directories which listed their addressees as living on “Felt Street”, a street whose name I had not seen before. Faced with a number of entries and a dearth of further evidence, I made it my personal project to uncover as much about this mysterious “Felt Street” as I was able to.

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Jehiel & Mehitable Felt

Felt Street was named after Jehiel Felt, a farmer and former soldier from Connecticut who settled in Rochester in the early 19th century. He was married to Mehitable Davis, and they had nine children together.

Jehiel Felt had previously served the New York Militia with distinction during the War of 1812, commanding a company of soldiers as a Captain in the regiment of General George Fleming, namesake of Fleming, NY. Record has it that he was wounded twenty-seven times in the Battle of Queenston Heights, and reported dead. He survived, however, with a musket ball lodged in his leg until his death in 1843.

Jehiel Felt’s name first appeared in the directory in 1834:

The street upon which he lived was known, for some time, as Felt Street, and the Felt residence was No. 4.

I had worked myself up a theory that Felt Street was the name of Meigs Street prior to 1843, as 1843 was the earliest publication that named “Meigs Street” and the 1843 Directory did not include Felt Street. However, that theory was somewhat set back when I found this table of streets in the prior directory, 1841, which lists Felt Street and Meigs concurrently.

Given some consideration, I have only one conclusion: Meigs Street and Felt Street existed simultaneously and Meigs was extended to annex Felt Street. This was something that happened often as a larger thoroughfare grew longer and ate up smaller streets, as was the fate of Green Street. Unfortunately, records to either support or dismiss my theory are very sparse, and I’ve just shown you all the ones I’ve uncovered.

Captain Jehiel Felt died on the 13th of March, 1843.

Felt’s residence is stated in the above as being on Meigs street, meaning the use of the name “Felt Street” was ceased in late 1842 or very early 1843. In the edition of the directory published the following year, 1844, Felt’s widow Mehitable is listed as dwelling in “Lot No. 20 Meigs, near Monroe.”

The last directory in which Mehitable Felt is listed was 1853:

The below article describes the writer’s journey of March 21st, 1861. During the excerpted segment, the writer tells how the wagon party went south along Chestnut Street to the “new Pittsford road”, which we know today by the name Monroe Avenue. This, they took southeast to “Cobb’s Sand Hills” [Cobb’s Hill] and “Mount Hor” [an archaic name for the Pinnacle hill].

The driver announced to his passengers that they were “passing the house where Jahiel Felt, an old pioneer, once lived”, which must have been when the wagon party was passing Meigs Street.

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Jehiel Ray Felt

One of Jehiel and Mehitable’s sons, Jehiel Ray Felt, lived until 1900 in Rochester. His own home was on East Avenue, near its confluence with Court Street:

J. R. Felt manufactured pumps, and did brisk business until the 1876 installation of the Hemlock Lake water system made pumps largely obsolete as part of the city’s water needs.

Jehiel Ray Felt died November 11th, 1900 following a nasty fall from a stepladder, while trimming a grapevine.

On the site of his house would eventually be built expanded quarters for the Eastman Kodak Co., an undertaking of the Farash Corp. This would come to be known as Farash Place, and serves as commercial space.

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Roswell & Mercy Ann Jeffrey

One of the more famous residents of old Felt Street was listed in the 1838 “Colored Population” Directory. Roswell D. Jeffrey, who I’ve touched upon in a previous post about the Bloxsom family, was a prominent African-American preacher who often preached at what is now the Memorial A. M. E. Zion church.

Their first appearance in the directory is 1838, listed as residing on Felt Street.

Like many other Felt Street addresses, a later directory would see Jeffrey’s residence change to Meigs Street, at the time No. 36 Meigs.

Roswell D. Jeffrey was the son of Joseph Jeffrey and Malinda Condol Jeffrey, who emigrated from Lyme, Connecticut.

A lasting legacy of Roswell D. and Mercy Ann Merritt Jeffrey exists in the form of an ornate stained-glass window in the Zion AME Church at No. 549 Clarissa Street.

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Jeffreyville

During this mid-19th century period, the little colony of Joseph and Malinda Jeffrey’s offspring filled numerous homes and tracts between Meigs and South Goodman, leading to the appellation “Jeffreyville”. Roswell D. Jeffrey, whose fortunes were the greatest of any Black man in Rochester, landlorded much of the area, purchasing properties and renting them out, only strengthening the Jeffreyville identity.

One can see numerous properties on the 1875 atlas belonging to Mercy Ann Merritt Jeffrey, Roswell Jeffrey’s second wife, who took over administration of the properties upon Roswell’s deteriorating health and retirement.

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William Jeffrey

Roswell Jeffrey’s brother William Jeffrey also lived on Felt Street for a time, working as of 1841 as a boatman.

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Calvin Jeffrey

As of this writing, I haven’t figured out Calvin Jeffrey’s relation to the rest of the Jeffrey family, though it seems there must be one. He boarded at Malinda Jeffrey’s, and later on tracts are granted to a “C. Jeffrey”, but apparently these were not enough pieces to put together.

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Linus Joy

Also in the “Colored Population” directory, Linus Gilbert Joy, brother-in-law to Roswell D. Jeffrey, son-in-law of Joseph Jeffrey.

Linus Joy was married to Roxanne Jeffrey, a sister of Roswell D. Jeffrey. Together, they had three children, Helen Joy, Cornelia Joy, and Gilbert Joy.

Intriguingly, the 1841 directory lists Joy’s address as being Goodman Street.

The below 1846 article says the Joy family resided on Meigs Street;

However, both the 1845 and 1847 directory list Linus Joy as living on Goodman, between Main Street and Monroe Avenue.

The below 1875 directory shows Linus Joy in a house fronting on Goodman Street, No. 15:

So, that’s all a bit confusing. I’m guessing Linus Joy divested himself of some of his Meigs-facing lands and began living on Goodman Street instead, although a couple of those sources seemed to not get the memo.

Linus Joy died November 30th, 1876:

One of Joy’s children, Gilbert Linus Joy, moved to Washington D.C. In 1875, Gilbert L. Joy and another man, Josiah Edmonson, got into a serious fight, during which Edmonson bit Joy badly on the thumb. The thumb became gangrenous, and the gangrene spread with such speed and ferocity that it was necessary to amputate the whole of his arm below the elbow.

Roxcy Anne Joy would go on living in the South Goodman Street house, which changed from No. 15 to No. 71, until 1888, at which point she moved to Washington, D.C.

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The Ottnats

Peter Ottnat and his wife, Margaret Berghofer Ottnat, emigrated from Germany.

Margaret and John A. Ottnat first appear in the 1841 directory; John, working as a butcher, is boarding at No. 21 Mortimer Street. Margaret is back at the old homestead, No. 38 Meigs Street.

John and Margaret’s son, William E. Ottnat, died before his parents due to injuries sustained by him while working at the Democrat & Chronicle, wherein he was severely injured by a revolving shaft which entangled his clothing.

John A. Ottnat died on November 29th, 1875, at No. 43 Meigs Street, variously reported as “his residence” and “the residence of his mother”.

Theresa Ottnat, the widow of John A. Ottnat, would live all the way to 1919. Eventually, she would move in with her daughter, Maria, and Maria’s husband Frank A. Speers at No. 9 Rowley Street, which would become No. 11 Rowley Streey, a street which cut through part of the Ottnat family’s former farmlands.

Theresa Ottnat would finally pass into eternity in November of 1919.

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The Hankeys/Henkes

Frederick Hankey [“actually” Henke, insofar as name spelling can possibly be settled] emigrated from Nunningen, Switzerland; he lived at No. 2 Felt Street in 1834. Apparently at this address also lived Jacob Hankey, rendered here as “Hankee”, although I was unable to find anything more about him.

Frederick worked primarily as a laborer, usually gardening or landscaping.

Come 1861, Hankey would move to No. 40 Franklin Street.

Frederick Hankey died August 1st, 1863:

The “Mary Ann Hankey” referred to above would seem to be Ursula Marie “Lucy” Henke, who would go on to marry German immigrant Philip Knapp, who had a grocery store on St. Joseph Street.

“Mary Lucy Knapp”, as we’ll call her, died in her daughter’s Theresa’s home, No. 107 South Goodman Street:

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Mrs. Mary Staple

One additional name came up as residing on Felt Street in 1834, however I was unable to find very much about her despite my best efforts.

Nothing comes up for a Mary Staple. There’s a Mary Stapler, but I can’t draw a line connecting the two in any way. Therefore, at this point, I must admit Mrs. Mary Staple to be a mystery to me, which is a shame seeing as she lived at No. 1 Felt Street, which would have been useful in determining the original start of Felt Street.

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Felt Street’s Location

Just from the information I have been able to glean from my research in this article, my theory is that Felt Street was the span of Meigs Street beginning at what was then Main Street, now East Avenue. This carried on southerly until probably Monroe Avenue. Meigs Street would come into existence sometime around 1840, by what means I’m unsure; this would be the confusing part I’ve spoken about before wherein Felt and Meigs existed simultaneously, confounding my poor little primate brain.

If we take modern-day East Avenue as the starting place and Felt Street went south from there, then it stands to reason that No. 1 Felt Street would have been closest to East Avenue, and as the count moves up we should approach Monroe Avenue. Given the addresses in the 1834 directory, we should pass the houses of Mrs. Mary Staple, Frederick Hankee, Peter Ottnat, Jehial Felt.

Notably, these addresses do not seem to be given in the alternating fashion with which we are today familiar: as far as I can tell, all of these families lived on the east side of Meigs Street, which means they likely lived on the east side of Felt Street as well, numbers 1-4, all in a row like little ducklings.

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Name of Meigs Street

The land for Meigs Street was given to the city by Silas O. Smith, prominent dry goods merchant whose home was the grand “Woodside” mansion on East Avenue, No. 485, most well-known as a previous home of the Rochester Historical Society.

Silas O. Smith’s son was Edward Meigs Smith, whose middle name was given to Meigs street in honor of the important family.

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Nelson & Meigs Streets

The thoroughfare we today know as Meigs Street is the result of the application of the name to the entire length of the former street to the south of Meigs, Nelson Street. Nelson Street, which began at the south side of Monroe Avenue and crossed the canal via bridge, would then carry on south to Oakland Street, which is today’s Rockingham Street.

The 1851 map shows Nelson Street as extending north of the canal to the south side of Monroe Avenue, across from the foot of Meigs Street.

At some point in the intervening twenty-four years since the previous map, Meigs Street was extended through the portion of Nelson Street north of the canal, reaching all the way to the bridge; Nelson Street remained south of the bridge.

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Delaware Avenue

It almost came to pass that Meigs Street as we know it today would have been named Delaware Avenue. This was actually voted on and passed by an 1873 resolution.

This resolution was reconsidered, however; area residents had presented a petition to apply the name Meigs to the entire length of the road instead.

While the squabbling was ongoing, people set about dutifully using the Delaware Avenue name:

Well, some more dutifully than others:

At last, it was resolved that Meigs would be the name of the road, and both the Delaware Avenue and Nelson Street epithets would be abandoned.

This was reflected in the 1874 directory:

However, oddly enough, Nelson Street remains marked out on the 1875 Atlas.

And so, in the end, Meigs defeated all comers. Its ancestral Felt Street was subdued and consumed, whereupon Meigs set its greedy sights south to Nelson Street, gobbling it up piecemeal. A third party attempted to pull the battling byways apart, but this flag of truce served only to wipe Meigs’ bloodied chin after it devoured Nelson whole.

I’ve gained a massive appreciation for this small slice of Rochester during the course of my research. Who knew what great names and small alike shaped the settlement? Who could have guessed at the dramas that took place there, between families, between city councilors. What a hotbed of early Rochesterian culture! And so much of it buried in the archives, where I had to dig for it to present to you today. I hope you found my efforts worthwhile, and if you live on that small stretch of Meigs near East Avenue… I hope you Felt this personally.

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