Alice (Riedlinger) Essig was the second Office Manager for GRHS, and one of the charter members of our Society. Shortly after the establishment of the GRHS in 1971, Alice took on the awesome task of our Office Manager. Even with normal duties, Alice found time to initiate and build a major data base for GRHS members.
Alice’s command of the German language greatly assisted her develop a data base that is still available to GRHS members to this day. Alice initiated a project in the early ‘70’s that continued into the 1990's. She maintained that file of 3x5 cards with information (facts) obtained from a variety of sources that entered the GRHS Library holdings that included obituaries, community history books, pedigrees, family data sheets, wedding anniversaries, etc., all given to GRHS by members and even non-members. The reference for each fact is cited on each card. She constructed what has since become known as The Alice Essig Collection, approximately 12,000 individual cards, one per person, containing the personal data such as birth, marriage, death, etc. Each card listed all of the information available from the sources referenced above for a single person of Germanic descent. According to accounts from persons researching the Collection, the Collection has been useful to their own research. However GRHS is unable to attest to its accuracy or whether the Collection contains duplications.
The cards are held at GRHS Headquarters. Members can purchase copies of the index found at the URL noted immediately below. They can also purchase copies of individual cards by contacting GRHS Headquarters. There will be a cost $2.50 per page. Office staff can provide you with that information and calculation.
| GRHS Home Page |