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| A view of our Livonia office in 1965
when the Agency was owned and operated by Philip
J. Sweeney |
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| In 1859 Dr. Andrew Sill of Livonia secured an agent agreement
with Hartford Fire Insurance Company. At an unknown time Dr.
Sill sold his fire insurance book of business to Franklin B.
Francis. Francis was a teacher by trade and like Dr. Sill sold
fire insurance part-time. Francis taught mathematics and natural
science at Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo for two years but
stopped to settle on a farm in Lima in 1852. During his time
as an educator he also dabbled in land surveying. Most notably
Francis served as school commissioner of Northern Livingston
County. Mr. Francis died in 1895. |
| The agency was transferred at some point to Will Thurston,
owner operator of the Woodruff and Thurston Bank. The bank
failed in the fall of 1918. Charles H. Carey who was a cashier
at the bank took over the insurance business and moved it to
the Boynton Grocery Block on Commercial St. (where the barber
shop and law office exist today). Later Mr. Carey became Town
Clerk and moved the business with him to the town office. |
| Sometime in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s
Philip J. Sweeney began his full time insurance career. Sweeney
had taught school in South Lima while selling life insurance
part-time. Sweeney became an agent for Royal Globe Insurance
Company and took over a book of business in Avon. About 1940
he took over the Carey business and firmly established his
agency on High Street in Livonia. During his service in the
Coast Guard during World War II Sweeney’s brother Maurice
operated the agency for him. |
| Sweeney was one of the first agents in the area to secure
both his Chartered Life Underwriter (1935) and Chartered Property
Casualty Underwriter (1955). Commonplace for agents to secure
professional designations today, during this era Sweeney gained
a solid reputation with insurance carriers as a pioneer in
insurance educational accomplishment. |
| Sweeney also operated Livingston Discount, an automobile
loan and finance company for many years along with the insurance
business. |
| In late 1963 Sweeney moved the agency from High St. to the
Wingate Electric Shop on Main Street where it is today. |
| In 1968 John Chanler began working as a sales producer for
the agency. Upon Mr. Sweeney’s retirement in 1973 John
purchased the agency and continued the Sweeney name until 1980
when the name was changed to the John W. Chanler Agency, Inc. |
| In 1981 a new office was opened in Geneseo at 73 Main Street.
This location was used until 1991 when more space was needed
and the office was moved to the “old Ford garage” at
57 Main Street. |
| In November 2002 John’s son, Andrew Chanler bought
the agency as his father was moving toward retirement. At this
time the corporate name was shortened to Chanler Agency, Inc. |
| The last major change to the agency was moving the Geneseo
office to a newly acquired building at 128 Main Street in Geneseo
in January 2005. |
| The original contract with Hartford Fire Insurance Company
established by Dr. Sill in 1859 is still in force today. We
hope to continue the element of small business in the community
for decades to come. |
| *early agency history credit to Maurice Sweeney, Livonia
Town Historian, researched in 1983 and information from John
Chanler. |
