Gerig family
Gerig is an Alsatian Mennonite family of the Mulhouse, France, area, several members of which emigrated to the United States about the middle of the 19th century, locating in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. Two sons of Jacob Gerig (d. 1850 in Mulhouse), Sebastian and Benjamin, leaving Alsace in 1856 and 1860 respectively to escape military service, became bishops in the Mennonite Church (MC) in the United States, the former at Wayland, Iowa, 1879-1930, the latter at Smithville, Ohio, 1896-1913. Sebastian's grandson Vernon Gerig was bishop at Wayland after 1953, and Benjamin's son Jacob S. Gerig was bishop at Smithville since 1913. D. S. Gerig (d. 1955), a brother of Jacob, was a long-time professor and registrar (also briefly acting dean) at Goshen College. A nephew of Sebastian, C. R. Gerig, was bishop (MC) at Albany, Oregon, 1907-1942. Another branch of the family was prominent in the Salem Evangelical Mennonite Church at Gridley, Illinois. Of this line was Elder Joseph K. Gerig (d. 1944), prominent leader in the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, Emerald Gerig at Woodburn, Indiana, and Gaylord Gerig at Pioneer, Ohio. C. L. Gearig was long a minister in the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite congregation at Wauseon, Ohio. Whether the name Gering, found among the Volhynian Swiss Mennonite congregations of the General Conference Mennonite Church at Moundridge, Kansas, Freeman, South Dakota, and elsewhere, was originally the same as Gerig is not certain, but probable.
| Author(s) | Harold S Bender |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. "Gerig family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerig_family&oldid=87782.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. (1956). Gerig family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerig_family&oldid=87782.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 480. All rights reserved.
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