Many early settlers and leaders of towns in the GLOW (Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming counties) region, including Batavia and Geneseo, chose to enslave people. They included Charles Carroll and William Fitzhugh, co-founders of the city of Rochester, who enslaved many people at their estates in Livingston County. There were 34 people enslaved in the GLOW region in 1820, according to the U.S. Census.
The region was also home to many Black and white people who worked together to help freedom-seekers and to abolish enslavement altogether. Seth Gates grew up in Wyoming County and served two terms in Congress as a committed abolitionist. He also helped freedom-seekers at his houses in LeRoy and Warsaw. One such person, Eliza Burghardt, remained in the region the rest of her life as part of a small but strong Black community.