Editing Wyoming County, New York (section)

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2016}}
As with the rest of [[Western New York]], Wyoming County was part of disputed territory throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, claimed by the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], [[Connecticut Colony]], [[Province of Pennsylvania]], [[New York Colony]], and [[New France]]. New York's claims were not recognized until the [[Treaty of Hartford (1786)|Treaty of Hartford]] was ratified in 1786 and were not actively asserted until the [[Holland Purchase]].

In regard to New York's claim, as of 1683 the present Wyoming County was part of [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]] of the Province of New York. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of [[Vermont]] and, in theory, extending westward to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of [[Cumberland County, New York|Cumberland County]], and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of [[Gloucester County, New York|Gloucester County]], both containing territory now in the state of Vermont.

On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, [[Tryon County, New York|Tryon County]], contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of [[Schenectady, New York|Schenectady]], and the county included the western part of the [[Adirondack Mountains]] and the area west of the West Branch of the [[Delaware River]]. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the [[American Revolutionary War]], the name of Tryon County was changed to [[Montgomery County, New York|Montgomery County]] in order to honor the general, [[Richard Montgomery]], who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of [[Quebec]], replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario County]] was split off from Montgomery as part of the establishment of the [[Morris Reserve]].

Almost all of the land west of the [[Genesee River]], including all of present-day Wyoming County, was part of the [[Holland Purchase|''Holland Land Purchase'']] in 1793. It was sold privately to settlers through the Holland Land Company's office in [[Batavia, New York|Batavia]], starting in 1801.

[[Genesee County, New York|Genesee County]] was created by a splitting of Ontario County in 1802 to govern the land acquired in the Holland Purchase. This territory was much larger than the present Genesee County. It was reduced in size in 1806 by creating [[Allegany County, New York|Allegany County]]; again in 1808 by creating [[Cattaraugus County, New York|Cattaraugus]], [[Chautauqua County, New York|Chautauqua]], and [[Niagara County, New York|Niagara]] counties. Niagara County at that time also included the present [[Erie County, New York|Erie County]].

In 1821, portions of Genesee County were combined with portions of Ontario County to create [[Livingston County, New York|Livingston]] and [[Monroe County, New York|Monroe]] counties.

Genesee County was further reduced in size in 1824 by creating [[Orleans County, New York|Orleans County]].

Finally, in 1841, Wyoming County was created from the southern half of Genesee County, the northwest corner of Allegany County, and a small portion of the northeast corner of Cattaraugus County.