Collection is open for research.
Gift of Edith Essex, January 1977 (Lib. Acc. 13986, Photo Acc. 977D018).
Edith Frances Essex, nee Stephenson, was born in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1899. Before 1910, she moved with her family to Portland, Oregon. She later studied drama at the University of Washington in Seattle, and at a university in North Dakota. She then returned to Oregon and taught high school students in Gresham. In 1925, she and James Alma Ormandy were married; they later had two children. Around 1939, she began acting at the Portland Civic Theatre. She also wrote plays for children. James A. Ormandy died in 1958, and in 1967, Essex remarried to Freeman Essex. She died in 1989.
Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Essex in oral history interview.
Edith Essex photographic collection, Org. Lot 41, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Four black and white photographs, circa 1952-1953, of Edith Essex in productions at the Portland Civic Theatre, including: "Death of a Salesman" with Bob Henderson; "Old Ladies" with Margaret Barney and Sally Rice; and "Royal Family" with Julius Zell.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Oral history interview with Edith F. Essex, SR 9536, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.