LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JUNE 16, 2019 by Lynne Belluscio We received a request for information about breweries in LeRoy. The only one that I know of was the brewery on Myrtle Street that was owned by Lawrence Sellinger. I went to the Pennysaver index and found an article I had written in 1994. According to an obituary in the clipping file, Lorenz Sellinger was born in Bavaria, Germany on June 28, 1830. He came to the United States with his par- ents when he was 12 and the family settled in Rochester. One account states that Sellinger was only 19 when he joined the New York State Militia. In 1851, (or 1852 depending on which newspaper article you believe), he married Rosa Wal- zer and they had eight children. So far, there is no information about his occupation in Roch- ester or whether he was in the brewing business. He might have worked at a brewery. In 1857, he was elected school commissioner in Rochester’s Sixth Ward and was a Demo- cratic Alderman. When the Civ- il War broke out, Sellinger was a “citizen soldier” in the 54th Infantry Regiment of the New York State National Guard. On the 27th of July, 1864, mem- bers of the State National Guard 54th Regiment, were called to duty for 100 days. A newspaper account describes the scene in Rochester: “Cheers went up from the crowd, made up of wives, mothers and other family mem- bers of men of the regiment, as they came into view. After mustering at the Armory and marching through portions of downtown Rochester area they could now be seen on Exchange Street led by Newman's Band and their acting commander, Captain Lawrence Sellinger, on their way to the Genesee Valley Railroad depot.” Sellinger was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Col- onel and his unit was assigned to guarding southern prisoners at the prison at Elmira. In the fall of 1864, Sellinger was back home in Rochester but three years later he moved to LeRoy and opened a brewery on Myr- tle Street. Behind the brewery, near the creek were two under- ground storage vaults. In 1994, they were filled with water and partially collapsed. Sellinger’s Brewery ads appeared in the LeRoy Gazette. He also adver- tised that he sold yeast. Fresh brewers yeast was often used to make bread. For some reason, he closed the brewery in 1883, and moved to Chicago and worked as a superintendent for Cribben & Sexton’s stove works. Seven years later he returned to LeRoy and opened a cider mill with his son Michael. Sellinger served as Com- mander of the LeRoy Civil War veteran’s group, the Staunton Post, GrandArmy of the Repub- lic. He also was a member of the Olive Branch Masonic Lodge. He died suddenly in 1904, and although he was Catholic, and should have been buried in St. Francis Cemetery, he was bur- ied at Machpelah Cemetery, be- cause of his Masonic affiliation. Somewhere, in our collec- tions of bottles and LeRoy made stuff, we have a least one Sell- inger beer bottle. I’m still look- ing for it. LeRoy’s First Micro Brewery Sellinger is the third up from the point at Gilbert Street and Myrtle Street.