The Greece Historical Society published the book, Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece, Volume 2, last December. Co-authors Marie Villone Poinan and Jo Ann Ward Snyder will provide an in-depth look at their multi-year journey to discover the lives of early settlers during a presentation at the Greece Public Library, 2 Vince Tofany Boulevard, on Tuesday, May 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Family members who descended from these early pioneers were the foundation for and an integral part of this collaborative journey. Each family must have settled in Greece before 1872, and applicants submitted their family for inclusion in the book. Descendants then shared personal stories as well as family documents and photos. The book includes almost 1,200 photos and maps, many of which had not previously been seen outside of the family.
In their role as both researchers and genealogists, the authors scoured newspapers, books, the internet, and genealogy sites for more information. They also consulted libraries, historical societies, museums, and obscure repositories in this quest to discover each family’s history. The presentation will show how Marie and Jo Ann worked from the premise that “Every Family Has a Story to Tell.”
The collaboration between the authors and descendants yielded a much broader picture of pioneer families than either could have achieved working independently. Their findings resulted in two volumes that provide insight into 100 of the town’s pioneer families, many of whom had never been written about before. Their stories have now been documented and preserved for current and future generations.
The 50 pioneer families covered in Volume 2 are: Allen, Andrews, Beattie, Beck, Benedict, Blackwell, Bonesteel, Buckman, Budd, Burger, Burns, Michael, Button, Cason, Clarke, Coffey, Combs, Cottrell/Pike, Davis/T. Mitchell, Defendorf, English, Estes, Faker, Fall, Frisbee, Glass, Hadlock, Hannahs, Hickox, Hincher, Hopper, Justice, Keene, Marchant, McShea, Meech, Phelps, Rowley, Ruggles, Sage, Sharpe/George Quinn, Vick, Weitz, Whelehan/John Quinn, Wietz, Williams, and Worboys. Each participating family received a pioneer certificate from the Greece Historical Society.
Space is limited for the presentation, so reservations are required. Please visit greecepubliclibrary.org or call 585-225-8951 to register.
