Eleazer  Fairbank  preaching  on  the  occasion,  from
Ephesians  ii,  20-22.  Two  elders  and  two  deacons
were  elected  and  ordained.  On  the  17th  of  January
following,  the  same  Pre.sbytery  installed  Rev.  Com-
fort Williams  as  their  pastor,  "  in  an  unfinished  store
on  Carroll  (now  State)  street."  As  the  young  church
suflered  the  want  of  a  place  of  worship,  and  were
pecuniarily  unable  to  build,  some  parties  bought,  of
Colonel  Xathanael  Rochester,  lot  No.  10,  on  which
the  American  Express  office  now  stands,  on  the  west
side  of  State  street,  and  erected  a  frame  building,  to
rent  to  the  church,  llr.  Williams  tendered  to  the
church  his  resignation  as  their  pivstor,  May  15th.
1S21.
The  society  continued  to  occupy  the  building  until
their  new  stone  edifice  was  completed,  in  1824,  on
the  ground  where  the  present  City  Hall  stands;
and  the  records  in  the  County  Clerk's  office  show
that,  April  14th,  1825,  "Josiah  Bissell,  Jr.,  Levi
Ward,  Jr.,  and  Ira  West,  agents  or  active  partners  of
the  Rochester  Meeting  House  Company,"  conveyed
the  estiite  to  Josiah  Bissell,  Jr.
Ten  years  had  elapsed  since  the  First  Presbyterian
Church  was  organized  ;  the  population  had  increased
to  4274  when  the  village  census  wiis  taken,  in  Feb-
ruary, and  to  .5273  when  the  State  census  was  taken,  on
August  1st.  Many  felt  that  the  growth  of  the  church
did  not  keep  pace  with  that  of  the  village,  which  was
fast  extending  its  bounds.  After  many  consulta-
tions, a  church  was  organized,  its  organization  pre-
ceding that  of  the  Society  some  four  months.
