History
Yates County Towns in 1820
The county's towns still belonged to Ontario and Steuben Counties. The county line still ran right through the middle of what would be within a few years Yates County. The major difference was that in 1815 the peninsula between Keuka Lake's two branches, known as Bluff Point, had been ceded by Steuben County to the (then) Ontario County town of Jerusalem, thus bringing the town's boundaries to their modern location.
The town of Italy was split from Naples in 1815, and though no one knows for sure, presumably the name was derived from the older town's.
Milo was organized from about half of the older town of Benton in 1818. One of the new town's most prominent citizens, Joshua Lee, suggested the name Milan (possibly he too was reminded of the Italian landscape, like the namers of Naples). The name was already in use in Dutchess County, so he altered his suggestion to Milo and this was what was adopted.
Milo and Benton between them still included the modern town of Torrey. Middlesex still included the modern town of Potter.
Barrington and Starkey were still parts of the older towns of Wayne and Reading respectively; both were in Steuben County.
