"The first pastor of St. James Parish in 1872 was Father Gilbert Nuonno, or Father Gilbert as he was called by his parishioners. Fr. Gilbert had been visiting the area since 1870 to offer Mass and other sacraments. There is evidence that he was a Franciscan, as the Catholic Directory of 1868 lists a Gilbert Nuonno, O.S.F., stationed in St. Anthony of Padua Church in New York City. Fr. Gilbert possibly came to Trumansburg in answer to a call from Bishop McQuaid for Italian priests in New York City to help in the new diocese of Rochester.
Under Fr. Gilbert’s tenure the church buildings in Trumansburg and Farmer Village were completed. Immaculate Conception Church donated St. James’s altar, made of Italian marble. Fr. Gilbert also purchased the present parsonage in Trumansburg, with furniture donated by the parishioners. In 1874 Fr. Gilbert purchased three acres, just outside the Trumansburg village boundaries, for a Catholic cemetery. Bishop McQuaid consecrated the cemetery on June 4 of that year. At the time, a twelve grave lot sold for $20. Fr. Gilbert also began fundraising to erect what would become St. Francis Solanus Church in Farmer Village. Bishop McQuaid consecrated St. Francis in 1875.
Fr. Gilbert organized a men’s group that, among other things, provided services for fellow parishioners in need. They also sponsored numerous social events in the parish, including a St. Patrick’s celebration that sent its proceeds to help “the poor in Ireland.” A St. Patrick’s event continued to be held in the St. James parish for many years, though the proceeds were no longer sent to Ireland.
In 1876 Fr. Gilbert encountered some opposition from members of the Trumansburg congregation and, in response, he offered his resignation to Bishop McQuaid and asked to be reassigned. He left the area to move to Wisconsin in November 1877 after baptizing 130 children and celebrating the marriages of thirty-eight couples in Trumansburg and Farmer Village."