Living in Greece Stories

Stories and recollections from the people, places, and publications that document life in the Town of Greece.

These articles offer perspectives on what it was like to live in the Town of Greece in the past. Many are from the archives or newsletters of the Greece Historical Society. If you would be interested in learning more about the Town of Greece’s history, please feel free to contact us at (585) 225-7221.

(These stories are the property of the Greece Historical Society, which retains all right thereto. The contributors to these stories provide them for non-commercial, personal, educational, and/or research use only. Prior written permission from the Greece Historical Society and the individual authors must be obtained for any other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publications, or any reproductions or redistribution of any kind.)

Share Your Stories and Memories

We love to read stories and memories by you or your organization. Submit a local history story or memory of growing up in the Town of Greece by emailing a zip file with your story and photos to greecehistoricalsociety@yahoo.com. Use the subject line: Share My Story of Local History or Memories Of Greece N.Y. plus your story title. Include a brief bio and one photo for publication.

Your story should be no more than 500 words. We can edit for continuity, grammar, and punctuation. Stories may cover one span or multiple spans: 1800-1850, 1900-1950, 1950-2000, and 2000-Present.

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Ralph Francis: Black Activist and Abolitionist

February 2, 2024 |
Marie Poinan presented on Charlotte ferries' history, highlighting Ralph Francis, a black ferry operator who might have aided the Underground Railroad (UGRR). With limited records due to UGRR secrecy, Francis's activism and circumstantial evidence, including his property and business ties, support possible involvement. After facing personal tragedies and potential danger,...
Categories: 1800-1850 1850-1900 Charlotte Hamlets of Greece Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Benjamin Cleggett Canada Charlotte Civil War conductor Daily Democrat Democrat & Chronicle Eagle Hotel Francis & Cleggett Barber Shop Frederick Douglass Fugitive Slave Act Genesee River Greig Street Harriet Tubman Kelsey's Landing Marie Villone Poinan Maureen Whalen New York State North Star Ontario Peterborough Port of Charlotte Ralph Francis Reynolds Arcade Stagecoach stationmaster Third Ward Underground Railroad
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Christmas Greetings Cards 1875-1900

December 1, 2017 |
Greeting cards for the Christmas season were very slow to gather popularity in the United States prior to the Civil War ( 1861-1865). The first commercial Christmas card was introduced for the season of 1843 in London, England. It wasn't a success for several reasons. In the early 1870s, a...
Categories: 1850-1900 From The Historian's Files Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Boston Christmas Christmas Eve Civil War England Facebook Greeting Cards Holidays Instagram Linkedin London Mass Pinterest Saint Nicholas Santa Snapchat Tumblr Twitter Whatsapp YouTube
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Marketing to Farmers From the 1850s to the 1900s

March 1, 2016 |
Cover of the Genesee Farmer Hiram Sibley & Co. Seed Box, Used in the C.W. Barnes Store, 1882-1888, Located in the General Store at Greenfield Village, in Dearborn, Michigan Prior to the Civil War (1861-65) the farmers in Greece got the latest information concerning all aspects of farming from fellow...
Categories: 1850-1900 Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Bavaria C.W. Barnes Store Chicago Chromolithograph Civil War Colored lithography Cracker's Buffalo Phosphate Dearborn Genesee Farmer Germany Greece Grange Greenfield Village H. C. Phelps Hiram Sibley Hiram Sibley & Co. Seed Box Karle Lithographic Co. Keystone Mensing-Stecher Co. Michigan Monroe County Horticultural Society Montgomery Ward Moore's Rural New Yorker Sears-Roebuck The Patrons of Husbandry United States W.H. Rowerdink Co
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1066 Long Pond Road- THE BRITTON FAMILY HOMESTEAD – “FROM THE HISTORIAN’S FILE”

November 1, 2010 |  and 
Coming to Monroe County in the early 1800s, the Britton Family were early settlers in what was then called Rochesterville. Alanson Phizarro Britton, the ninth child of thirteen, was born in the tiny village in 1820. While in his teens he ran a line boat on the Erie Canal and...
Categories: 1850-1900 1872 Common School Districts Living in Greece Stories
Tags: Alanson Phizarro Britton Beals Brighton Britton Farmstead Civil War East Avenue Erie Canal Falls Cemetery Greece Common School District #9 Hubbard Squash Laura Lewis Supervisor Toll Gate
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