This video discusses the process that was used by co-authors Marie Villone Poinan and JoAnn Ward Snyder to research, create, and produce this two-volume publication, which highlights contributions to the town of families who settled in the area before 1872 with vignettes, photos, and input from current family members.
Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 1 is available from Amazon or from our online museum gift shop, or by visiting our gift shop in the museum during our regular office hours.
Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece – Vol. 2 is expected to be ready to order Late 2023 or Early 2024.
Marie Poinan is an active member of the Greece Historical Society and the Charlotte Genesee Lighthouse. She has written several booklets on local history and regularly conducts history programs at the Charlotte branch library.
A presentation about researching your family in anticipation of the town’s Bicentennial in 2022. With Barb Koehler, JoAnn Ward Snyder, and Marie Poinan.
JoAnn Ward Snyder, and Marie Poinan followed up with a program in November with a look at who was in volume I and three family members that were featured in the book joined us for the talk called A Visit with Pioneer Family Descendants and it featured a visit by the descendants of the Volkmar and Cole/Kenyon families.
Here is the Next Chapter in the Process after this program was recorded.
Volume 2 of The Pioneer Families of the Town of Greece will be released mid to late 2023 depending on final revisions and last-minute touches on the book. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on when the book will go live for sale.
An update on Volume 2 status has been recorded and here is the link to the updates on where the book stands as of November 14, 2023, currently they are waiting on final sign-offs from families to print the stories in this volume.
As we celebrate Super Bowl LIV and the NFL’s 100th season, we might want to consider the very “focal” Greece’s connection to the game.
Joseph McShea was a talented athlete who grew up on his family’s farm on Dewey Avenue, just north of Latta Road. His great-grandparents emigrated to the town shortly after the potato famine of the 1840s and by the 1880s, the family had accumulated over 180 acres of land. Part of their family farm became the site of the Odenbach Shipbuilding Corporation.
Joe attended Holy Cross School in Charlotte (Greece had no Catholic school at the time) and graduated from the first Charlotte High (at the triangle) in 1919. He played a number of sports and also boxed under the name of “Irish Joe” McShea. After returning home from the University of Rochester to help on the family farm, Joe signed a contract to play football for Leo Lyons and the Rochester Jeffersons. His contract was signed by his aunt, Miss Marguerite McShea, a beloved teacher at Holy Cross and later Our Mother of Sorrows grammar school. Joe was paid $25 per game!
Leo V. Lyons was born in 1892 and started playing football for the “Jeffersons” in 1908 at the age of 16. He later became their coach, manager, and owner. In 1919, the Jeffersons won the city’s semi-pro championship. Leo was one of the pioneer founders of the National Football League. On September 17, 1920, he represented Rochester at a meeting of the nation’s pro team managers held in Canton, where they created the American Professional Football Association. The league became the “National Football League” in 1922 and the Rochester was one of its 14 original teams.
Lyons lost his NFL franchise in 1928 but never lost his love of the game, serving as “Honorary Historian” of the NFL from 1965 until his death in 1976 at the age of 84. Lyons was present at the opening of the Hall of Fame in 1963. Although nominated several times, he was never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lyons moved to 604 Beach Avenue in 1938. His contributions to football are numerous, not to mention that he collected all types of memorabilia on the game. Joe McShea lived in the area at 305 Beach Avenue.
Greece Link to the National Football League
My thanks to Tom McShea, who provided the info on his grandfather Joe is a featured athlete in our local sports exhibit chaired by the Late Tom Sawnor. A book on our local sports figures is sold in our gift shop.
Marie Poinan Looks at some of the Irish families of Mother of Sorrows parish who settled on or near Latta Road. Many rare photos included in the presentation are from families who have shared their family histories and have donated them to the collection of the Greece Historical Society.
On November 6, 2016, Ron Carlton shared stories about his family’s experiences growing up in the Town of Greece at the Greece Historical Society and Museum. Marie Poinan contributed to the discussion. Due to audio issues during parts of the video, viewers are recommended to use close captions.
Come explore the history of the Yates-Thayer Farm / Elm Tree Farm presented by Maire Poinan with special guest Sam Thayer. Sam Thayer is a descendant of the Thayer Family that lived at 710 Latta Road. You can learn more about the Yates-Thayer Farm in the publication A Gentleman’s Country Estate link to buy the books is below.
On September 1, 2016, at the Charlotte Branch Library, Marie Poinan delivered a presentation exploring the history of the Charlotte Blast Furnace. The program, which delves into significant historical details, starts approximately at the 5-minute mark.
By far the largest and the most elegant of all the late 19th and early 20th century hotels along Lake Ontario in Greece was the Odenbach Manitou Beach Hotel. It was located at the far western end of the Manitou Beach Trolley. Built in 1888 by the Matthew and Servis Co. of State Street in Rochester, a wholesale and retail liquor and tobacco dealer, it was named for the resort of Manitou Springs, Colorado.
By the mid-1890s it had been taken over by Frederick Odenbach, who already had a modest restaurant on State Street. The Hotel had 25 guest rooms, a well-appointed lobby, a men’s bar, and a ladies’ salon, plus a restaurant.
Frederick S. Odenbach 1853-1919, Courtesy of Marie Poinan
The building was lit by acetylene gas lamps from the gas plant on the property. The frontage on the lake was almost 800 feet with an expanse of sandy beach. The Manitou Trolley began frequent daily, seasonal service in 1891.
Along with the trolley, the steamer Rosalie (owned by the Odenbach family) ran from about 1912 through 1916. It docked at a pier that was about 800 feet in length, built of cement piers and steel decking. A round-trip ticket from Charlotte was 25 cents.
Fred Odenbach and Matthew John Fred and Charley
After Fred Odenbach’s death in 1919, the hotel passed to his four sons, Fred J., John H., Matthew P., and Charles P. Odenbach. Matthew took over running the hotel from then on, making many improvements through the years. A major renovation was the enlargement and enclosure of the front porch. The spacious room could easily seat 500 patrons and included a raised bandstand and a dance floor.
Cover of The Manitou Beach Hotel Menu
Main Dining Room at Manitou Beach Hotel
From then on, the hotel became famous for its marvelous food, wonderful dance music, and panoramic view of Lake Ontario. Nationally known orchestras of the day such as Vincent Lopez and Tommy Tucker played engagements there, as well as favorite local bands such as Sax Smith and Damon’s Orchestra.
By 1925 the trolley had bowed out to the ever-increasing automobile traffic and the improvement of Manitou Rd. to a two-lane paved road. World War Il had begun in 1939 and the United States went to war at the end of 1941. Curtailment of unnecessary travel by car and gasoline rationing brought an end to the 55-year run of the grandest hotel between Charlotte and Olcott Beach to the west.
In the Map to the left, you can see the location where Elmheart and Manitou Beach Hotels are located on this SubPlan No2. Manitou Beach from the 1932 City of Rochester Plate Map Number 41.
Matthew Odenbach
It closed in 1943, never to reopen. A headline in the Rochester Times Union on May 19, 1955 states: “Famed Lakeside Dining Spot, Hotel Manitou, Coming Down.” Matt Odenbach (manager since 1919) was quoted as saying the work had started several weeks before and would be completed by July 4.
The furnishings had been sold and the lumber recycled. The property was still owned by Matt and his three brothers. The land was split into building lots shortly after. Nothing remains as a reminder of the wonderful times that untold thousands of people enjoyed there…..only the expansive view of the lake remains and a faint musical refrain from long ago, whispered by a few remaining poplar trees along Manitou Road.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
