A worthy pioneer, John Decker Robison, built and opened a tavern in 1793.  His son, Harry H. Robison, was the first white child born in the town.  In 1789 Mr. Robinson's family came to the town, and nine days later there also came Pierce and Elihu Granger, Nathaniel Sanborn and a Mr. Gould but all these returned to Connecticut in the fall, leaving Robison and his family alone in the town, eight miles from the nearest settlement in Geneva.

The next settlers were Jonathan Oaks, Seth Dean, Oliver Humphrey, Charles Humphrey and Elias Dickinson.  In 1793 or '94 Mr. Oaks built a large frame house, which for many years was occupied as a hotel, and was located at Oaks' Corners, a small hamlet of the town.  Philetus Swift was a pioneer of 1789, a man of much energy and influence, particularly in early political history; and also prominent in military affairs being commander of a company during the war of 1812.  Seth Dean was a pioneer on the Phelps village site, and here in the company with Oliver Phelps he erected a saw mill on Flint Creek.

Another prominent early pioneer was Dr. Joel Prescott, who settled in the town at an early day and was one of the prominent physicians of the county.  He came as early as May 1788, and probably for awhile settled at Kanadesaga as his name is found as a witness on several papers dated at that place.  At the first town meeting in Phelps, 1796, Dr. Prescott was elected school commissioner and assessor, was appointed justice of the peace, January 1798; was supervisor of the town from 1797 to 1809 inclusive, except 1805, and for several years chairman of the board.  He located on a farm one mile west of Oaks' Corners and was the first physician of Phelps, his practice being very extensive and laborious with the old time saddle bags strapped to his saddle.  He was married in Phelps to Lucy Reed, September 8, 1793, and had seven children, two of whom died in infancy.  He was born June 20, 1759, and died October 5, 1841.  His funeral was attended by the largest number of people that had ever been gathered on such an occasion, from 1000 to 1200 being present.

Horatio Jones was one of the early pioneers at Kanadesaga and Geneva.  In 1788, having been joined by his brother, John H., at that place, and having obtained a yoke of oxen in the spring of 1789, the two brothers went into the town of Phelps, found an open spot, ploughed and planted five or six acres of corn, which they sold on the ground, and finally removed to the west of the Genesee River.

Other early settlers were John Salisbury, who settled in 1791 a short distance west of Melvin Hill.  Also in the same year came Walter Chase and Nicholas Pullen; in 1792, John Patten and David Boyd; in 1793, Jonathan Melvin; in 1794, John Sherman; in 1795, Osee Crittenden and Cornelius Westfall; in 1796, Jesse Warner and John Newhall; in 1797 or '98, Theodore and Lemuel Bannister, who located just north of Oaks' Corners.

Deacon John Warner was a pioneer at Orleans, while the first settler at Melvin Hill was Jonathan Melvin.  Jesse Warner settled at Warner Hill, east of the Flint Creek.  Joseph Vandemark, Lodowick Vandemark, John and Patrick Burnett, came about or during the year 1794.  Lodowick was a skillful millwright, and put up an excellent saw mill in the town.

Other early settlers were Coll Roy; Joseph, Eleazer and Cephas Hawks; and Augustus Dickinson.  About 1799 Cephas Hawks, Augustus Dickinson and Theo. Bannister built a grist-mill on the outlet, on the site in later years known successively as Dickinson's, Norton's, and the Exchange Mills.

In 1800 George Wilson and Harvey Stephenson came to the town, followed in 1802 by John Hildreth.  John R. Green was the first merchant at Oaks' Corners.  Wills Whitman came with the Oaks.  The first marriage in the town was that of Joseph Annin with the daughter of pioneer Seth Reed.  Magistrate Thomas Sisson performed the ceremony.  Cephas Hawks erected the first plaster mill, and about the same time Luther and Francis Root, Ezekiel Webb, and Nathaniel Hall bought the Seth Dean grist-mill, and converted it into a plaster-mill.

In April 1796, the inhabitants were so many that it became advisable to organize the town and elect officers.  Prior to this, the town was part of a district known as Sullivan; when organized in 1796 it was changed to Phelps.  The officers elected at this first town meeting were:

Supervisor:  Jonathan Oaks;   town clerk:  Soloman Goodale;   assessors:  Joel Prescott, Philetus Swift and Pierce Granger;
collector:  Augustus Dickinson;   overseers of the poor:  Oliver Humphrey and Patrick Burnett;   commissioners of highways:
Jesse Warner, Oliver Humphrey and Philetus Swift;   overseers of the highways:  Cornelius Westfall, Abram D. Spurn, Charles Humphrey, Elijah Gates, John Patten Augustus Dickinson, and David Woodard;   pound-master:  Jonathan Oaks.

Seth Dean built the first grist-mill followed by the larger mill built by pioneers Hawks, Dickinson and Bannister. In the village about 1812, Luther and Francis Root and Erastus Butler built a rather large woolen-mill, and established an industry that prospered about three years and then was abandoned.

David McNiel was the first postmaster; weekly mails were at first carried by Francis Root and Lyman Williams.

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