MS-75 Riesinger Funeral Home Records

The Riesinger Funeral Home Records cover the years 1902-1947; in addition there are thirteen account books and six loose photographs. The records were donated to the Wright State University Archives on 8 November 1978 by Mrs. Pearl Riesinger Baker, a wife of Frank Riesinger.

Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 19
Number of boxes: 2

Scope and Content

The Riesinger Funeral Home Records and Ledgers cover the years 1902-1947; however the funeral home remained in business until 1974. If you need information from records that the Wright State University Archives does not have, please contact the Archivist. In addition there are thirteen account books covering the years 1931-1958. There are no restrictions on the use of any of the material.

Social historians can find much of interest in some of the records. For example, the 1913 ledger documents the after effects of the Dayton Flood. The 1918 and 1919 ledgers reflect the world-wide influenza epidemic. Car crashes and automobile-related fatalities become a major cause of death, especially among younger people, from the mid-1920s on.

The researcher should be aware of the following before using the collection:

1.	All of the photographs are unidentified, and most are undated. One can positively be dated 1927, and five others can be provisionally given that date. One picture from the 1917 ledger has the name “Dimitro Ely” penciled on the back; no such name appears in that year’s records however.
2.	All correspondence has been removed from the ledgers, places in acid-free folders for each year, and put in a box.
3.	In front of every ledger each funeral is listed alphabetically by surname, with a page listing for each. Then there is a “Ready Reference’ section which gives a daily account by each month of funerals. Unfortunately the Ready Reference is not always filled out, especially for the later years.
4.	Some of the individual records are very incomplete.
5.	The years 1902-1905 are in one ledger.
6.	The years 1905-1907 are also in one ledger
7.	There are no ledgers for the years 1908, 1909, and 1920.
8.	Part of January 1924 is in the 1923 ledger.
9.	Part of 1925 is in the 1926 ledger.
10.	The 1935 ledger also lists funerals dated from Jan. 4-17, 1936
11.	The 1942 ledger also lists funerals dated from Jan. 1-5, 1943
12.	The 1945 ledger also lists funerals dated from Jan. 3-4, 1946

 

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