Some fascinating articles written in 1899 about St. Louis' early criminal justice with details on the victims as well as the perpetrators.

One Hundred Years Ago This Month(Updated 6/30/2010)

A few months ago I was the recipient of a one hundred year old "yearbook" from Yeatman High School. For those of you not familiar with this high school here in St. Louis, it opened in 1904 at 3616 North Garrison. In 1927 its name changed to Central High School. This yearbook is more of a scrapbook of memories of the class, and it's title is "The Girl Graduate - Her Own Book". It was obviously a pre-cursor to today's high school yearbook. Over the next few months I'm going to be publishing all the photos and articles found it this book, in hopes of finding connections to the people contained in it. I'm also going to add the family histories of as many of the 63 graduating seniors as I can trace. If you see someone that you know send me the info and I'll publsih it on this page. Check this website periodically.

Link to St. Louis radio ads from the 1970s (Updated 6/7/2010)

On a tribute website to the Principia College Radio Station of the 1970s, there are several radio gems from the 1970s relevant to St. Louis. An ad for Tom Boy Supermarkets, Weinmuller Jewelers, etc.... Thanks for the tip, Rob

St. Louis Public Schools Archives (Updated 5/12/2010)

After closing almost a year and a half ago, there is no opening in sight.

1845 St. Louis City Directory
I just completed the transcription of the 1844-45 St. Louis City Directory. The OCR of this large publication was well done, but I still found hundreds of errors (and I'm sure I missed many more). This particular directory of St. Louis is important in that it preceded a large influx of immigrants. There are more than 7000 (out of a population of approximately 35,000) people identified, typically with occupation, business address and residence. I've place this work on my website in three pieces:
Preface
The preface (27 pages) starts with an extended lament from the author, James Green, concerning all the problems he encountered in putting the directory together. Following that he does a nice job of covering the following topics: A review of statistics of current St. Louis, Directory of Streets and Avenues, Mortality among Children in St. Louis, Public Schools, Kemper College, Catholic Institutions, Catholic Free Schools, Churches, St. Louis Lyceum, Public Offices - United States Offices, Public Offices - County Offices, Public Offices - City Officers, The Bank of the State of Missouri, at St. Louis, Military and Fire Companies, Principal Hotels in St. Louis, Newspapers.
1845 City Directory
The directory itself, with more than 7000 entries, and a list of abbreviations used.
Map of St. Louis in 1840s
A map of St. Louis that I created that identifies the streets in the 1840s. The original directory did not include a map.

New TV Show on Genealogy (Updated 3/7/2010)

NBC aired its first episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" this past week. This series has been running in Europe for years. Take a peek at an episode filmed by the Irish-based production company here in St. Louis (I'm even in it).

Link to "Original Civil War Pictures" (Updated 1/26/2010)

I received this link from Dusty Reese at City Hall. Thanks Dusty.

Link to fantastic Forest Park Highlands website(Updated 1/7/2010)

Doug has outdone himself. According to Doug it is much better than his first web site on the park. "It even incudes a film clip on the fire! and a front seat ride on the Comet!"

Link to A HISTORY OF ST. LOUIS AND THE IMMIGRANT IRISH (Updated 10/12/2009)

by John B. McGinnis

In Memory of Bob Doerr

Most St. Louis researchers know of the tremendous contributions made by Bob to our hobby of genealogy. Bob passed away September 26, 2009. He will certainly be missed.

St. Louis Stories

Free Heritage Quest Online
The following links provide access (from home) to the Heritage Quest databases. All you need is a valid Lubrary Card. For those out of the St. Louis area, I'd be surprised that your local library doesn't provide the same thing.
St. Louis County Library

St. Charles County Library

St. Louis Irish Immigrants database (Updated 9/8/2009)

I've purchased the first four volumes of "The Search For Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in the Boston Pilot". So far I have transcribed all of Volume I and II for anyone that is listed that relates to the St. Louis metropolitan area. I intend to continue with the other two volumes at time permits. Published in 1989 by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, this multi-volume set contains many thousands of Irish-American immigrant "Missing Friends" advertisements that appeared in the Boston Pilot from 1831 to 1916. Volume I contained those posted in the 1831 to 1850 timeframe; Volume II has 1851-1853. There are about 4000 Irish names listed.

Early St. Louis Hotels (Updated 6/13/2009)

Some descriptions and images of hotels that have long since disappeared.

Link to St Louis Police Department Photos (Updated 5/25/2009)

Here's another website sent to me by Katie.

Early St. Louis Orphanages/Asylums (Updated 5/4/2008)

Published over a decade ago, this detailed research on how to go about finding our missing ancestors that might have ended up in an orphanage is the best of it's kind that I've seen. In addition it gives a glimpse into a time in St. Louis that few of us have seen before. Thanks to Peggy Greenwood for sharing her incredible work with us all.

Excerpts from "Polk-Gould St. Louis Directory - 1925" (Updated 4/18/2009)

From a copy of this book that I got on eBay, and over time I'm going to transcribe sections that might be of interest to St. Louis historians and genealogists.

Ayslums and Homes - 1925    A list of 97 Ayslums and Homes in 1925 St. Louis. Gives locations and names of administrators

Statistical Facts About St. Louis - 1925    A total of 68 "little known" facts about our fair city. Obviously written to "toot our horn".

Hospitals in St. Louis - 1925    A list of 55 hospitals active in 1925. Gives location and usually names of people in charge.

Cemeteries in St. Louis - 1925    A list of 50 cemeteries active in 1925. Gives location and usually names of people in charge.

St. Louis City Places of Worship - 1925    A list of almost 1100 churches with addresses and in most cases names of clergy.

St. Louis Photographers - 1925    A list of 116 photography studios.

Possible St. Louis Public Schools Closings (Updated 2/1/2009)

News was released this week that the St. Louis Public Schools are considering shutting many of its schools. Although not finalized, if even half of these schools are razed, shuttered, or sold, it will be a tremendous blow to St. Louis history. Click here to see the list.

Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis parish websites (Updated 12/27/2008)

This website provides link to just about all Catholic parish websites that exist. Many provide history of the parishes and contact e-Mail and phone numbers.

Pfalzer Bund German Organization in St. Louis (Updated 9/29/2008)

Names of members listed in the 1913 Silver Anniversary Commemorative Book.

Link to 1845 St. Louis City Directory (Updated 9/12/2008)

Another outstanding transcription from Bob Doerr. This time he has completely transcribed the entire 1845 St. Louis City Directory. Take a look via the link above.

Link to Missouri Historical Society Library Online search now available (Updated 8/6/2008)

Under the dubious heading of "Better late than never" the Missouri Historical Society' Library on Skinker now has a searchable index on the web.

Dancing in St. Louis 1927 - 1940 (Updated 7/19/2008)

With the marvelous images received from Sandra Kieffer (through the courtesy of Brandy Brogan), I've put together a small tribute to our parents and grandparents whose major form of entertainment in this period was the dancing halls.

St. Louis Related Books on Genealogy and History (Updated 5/3/2008)

My book collection continues to grow (to the consternation of my wife). The total is very close to 300. Take a look and see if there's something around that you didn't know about.

"A Tour of St. Louis"(Updated 11/13/2007)

This fascinating book was written in 1878. Filled with illustrations, it also has some unique perspectives of life in St. Louis in this fascinating period of St. Louis development. This link is to a PDF file that I transcribed of the Index. The best part is this is one of a number of books that have been digitized and made available FREE online by GOOGLE BOOKS.

National Personnel Records Center (Posted 10/22/2007)

This announcement was made October 22, 2007. It has special meaning to residents of St. Louis since we reside in the city that is currently the source of this valuable genealogical information. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) will open for the first time all of the individual Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) of Army, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard military personnel who served and were discharged, retired or died while in the service, prior to 1946. Contained in a typical OMPF are documents outlining all elements of military service, including assignments, evaluations, awards and decorations, education and training, demographic information, some medical information and documented disciplinary actions. Some records also contain photographs of the individual and official correspondence concerning military service. To view an original record, individuals may visit the NPRC Archival Research Room in St. Louis, MO. Telephone is 314-801-0850. Research room hours are10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time Tuesday through Friday. Visitors are strongly encouraged to call ahead to make reservations. To obtain copies of records, customers may write to NPRC at 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132, fax a request to 314-801-9195, or submit a request through http://vetrecs.archives.gov or on a Standard Form 180.

Letters from a St. Louis Immigrant from France in 1844 - 1850 (Updated 9/27/2007)

Gives an insight into life at that time in St. Louis. He mentions two major events: the Cholera epidemic and the great fire.

Link to 1860 St. Louis City Directory (Updated 9/27/2007)

Bob Doerr has completely transcribed the entire 1860 St. Louis City Directory. Take a look via the link above.

1930 St. Louis Metro Federal Census Volunteer Transcription Project (Updated 8/16/2007)

Volunteers have already transcribed 25,521 names from the 1930 St. Louis Metro census. We're trying to publish the names of every orphan, inmate, patient, boarding student, soldier, prisoner, etc. in those institutions (e.g., hospitals, orphanages, asylums, jails, old age homes, military bases) that are seldom searched. In addition, local communities are also being transcribed. Top five transcriber leaders:
Joan Kaemmer (6916)
Kathy Becker (5244), Ed. Bregenzer (3384), Vern Ritter (2676), Dave Lossos (1890)

1840 St. Louis City Directory blended with the 1840 Federal Census (Updated 6/12/2007)

I finally completed this project in April, and it's taken me this long trying to figure out how to present it. I made a few hardcopies, and gave one to St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis County Library, and St. Louis City Hall Recorder's office. However, I decided to try and put it on the website, in spite of misgivings about it's size. The hardcopy is 100 pages long, and includes many of the old 1840 graphical advertisements. I'll be putting those out on the website shortly. Lastly, I "created" a detailed city map for the timeframe (the 1840 City Directory did not include one). They can all be accessed through the above link.

Harris Teacher's College Class of 1925 (Updated 3/13/2007)

Including a photo of the graduating senior class, and photo of the reunion held 25 years later.

Link to interactive map of 1804 St. Louis (3/4/2007)

This link provides a fascinating interactive map of downtown St. Louis in 1804. Scroll around the map and magically each house shows the owner of the dwelling. Thanks to Donna for bringing this website to my attention.

Link to "Built St. Louis" (Updated 10/23/2006)

Without a doubt the finest website on St. Louis' architectural treasures.

Millstadt News - 1880 - 1894 (Updated 4/13/2006)

Transcribed by Robert Buecher, this database contains news items about Millstadt, Illinois that were originally published in the "County News" column that appeared in the WEEKLY ADVOCATE of Belleville, Illinois from 1880 - 1894.

Links to Bob Doerr's Transcriptions (Updated 1/18/2006)
These databases are not on the "Genealogy in St. Louis" server, so click "Back" on your browser to return here.

1877 Petitioners to St. Louis Mayor H. Overholz to be a Candidate for Re-election    From an old German St. Louis newspaper.

Births, Dieburg und Kleinzimmern, Hessen, 1812-1830, SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church    A large group came to St. Louis from Dieburg in 1847; the arrival list (New Orleans) is missing.

Surname Index, Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal, 1981-2005 (NEW 1/18/2006)    WARNING: Takes forever to load.

Indices to obits published in St. Louis Post Dispatch - 1975, 1976, and the first half of 1977 (UPDATED 1/18/2006)

Gustave Koerner home in Belleville, Illinois (Updated 8/2/2005)

The restoration of Belleville's Gustave Koerner home, on Mascoutah Avenue at Abend Street, has commenced. Gustave Koerner was one of Belleville's most illustrious citizens. Once complete, the home will be opened as a museum, where Koerner's life and political career will be interpreted.

Scholastic Theses/Dissertations pertaining to St. Louis History (Updated 4/29/2005)

Here's a list of 478 papers related to St. Louis History (and Genealogy)

Nice cover story and lead article deals with my "Irish St. Louis" book (Updated 4/16/2005)

The "Irish American Post", (Journal of Contemporary & Irish American Affairs). The cover story deals with an interview between me and the editor on my "Irish St. Louis" book.

"Lost" marriage records in St. Louis County (Updated 1/13/2005)

Seldom does a person run into genealogical data that has been recently "discovered". This database falls into that category. Karen Elder, Special Services Supervisor at the St. Louis County Department of Revenue, recently found and transcribed a long lost book of marriage records. The majority of the 750+ licenses are in the 1876 - 1888 timeframe.

Index to "Czech-American Catholics 1850 - 1920" (Updated 12/2/2004)

Written by Joseph Cada. It was published in 1964 by the Center of Slav Culture, Saint Procopius College, Lisle, Illinois.

Missouri Soldiers Database: War of 1812 - World War I (Updated 11/16/2004)

Another outstanding database is available online from the Missouri Secretary of State office. The Soldiers Database is a comprehensive database abstracted from the individual service cards and listing more than 576,000 Missourians who served in the military from territorial times through World War I. It includes entries for twelve wars and military engagements in which Missouri soldiers took part. These range from well-known wars, such as the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, to the battles that were peculiarly Missourian, including the Heatherly War of 1836, the Mormon War of 1838, and the Iowa (Honey) War of 1839. The bulk of the service cards, over 380,000 of them, record the fractured history of Missouri during the bloodiest of all American wars – the Civil War.

Robert G. Buecher's Church Transcriptions

St. Peter's United Church of Christ, St. Louis, Missouri    Index to the Baptism Index, 1843 - 1845. This database contains over 250 records. (Last update 9/19/2004)

St. Marcus United Church of Christ    Index to the death records for the years 1880-1899. This database contains over 2200 records. (Last update 9/10/2004)

St. Peter's United Church of Christ    Index to the confirmation records for the years 1844-1875. The congregation was organized on 16 July 1843 as the "Deutsche Evangelicalische Gemeinde in St. Louis, Mo." This database contains over 2000 records. (Last update 11/24/2003)

St. Marcus United Church of Christ    "South Church", AKA St. Marcus Evangelical Church, was founded in the early 1840s. This database contains over 1300 confirmation records. (Last update 9/18/2003)

St. Marcus United Church of Christ    "South Church", AKA St. Marcus Evangelical Church, was founded in the early 1840s. Burials, 1847-1879. This database contains over 1200 burials. (Last update 4/12/2003)

Parkway United Church of Christ, Town and Country, Missouri    This congregation was originally founded in 1838 as Zion Evangelical Church (later Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church, later to Zion United Church of Christ) and was renamed Parkway United Church of Christ in 1958. This database contains 754 records. (Last update 3/28/2003)

St. Marcus United Church of Christ    "South Church", AKA St. Marcus Evangelical Church, was founded in the early 1840s. Marriage Index, 1847-1865. This database contains over 2100 names. (Last update 1/1/2003)

Index to Citizenship Records - St. Louis, Missouri (Added 5/14/2004)

Transcribed from the COURT OF COMMON PLEAS (1841-1847). Compiled by Linda Mahood Morgan.

John Cavender, 1796 - 1863 (Updated 3/27/2004)

An early St. Louis merchant and philanthropist, John Cavender is difficult to find in any St. Louis historical and biographical works.

Miscellaneous St. Louis Volunteer Databases

Link to database containing 8700 petitioners from Anzeiger des Westens Sonntagsblatt 1877. Provided by Bob Doerr. (Added 8/22/2003)	Waiting for your database
Link to St. Louis Pensioners on the Roll, 1883 Provided by Gordon Byers	St. Clair County, IL Marriages (1806-1810) is provided by Dave
Tidbits from St. Louis Newspapers Provided by Laura Edgar (Last Update 3/21/2004)	National Guard Missouri 1916 offered by Chris Doehring
American Revolution connections to St. Louis Roster of the MO Society 1910-1912 - Sons of the Revolution. Transcribed by Lesley in California.	Waiting for your input
Index of misc St. Louis Obits Obituary entries transcribed by John Sarkis.	St. Louis Divorces/Separations (1808-1863) Data from Lesley
Link to Globe-Democrat May 9 1945 - V.E. Day in St. Louis (includes marriages, births, and picture of celebration!). Provided by Laurel Treat	Tidbits from St. Louis Newspapers Includes marriages, births, obits, and news articles. Provided by Kelly Hall
Early St. Louis Marriages 1754 through 1835.	Salem Lutheran Church. Susan Knighton's Salem Evangelical (German) Lutheran Church Transcriptions
Tidbits from St. Louis Newspapers Includes marriages, births, obits, and news articles. Provided by Kellykid (aka Winnefred). (Last updated September 20, 2002)	Mallinckrodt School Graduating Class Lists Includes all graduates from 1945 thru 1960 (nearly 800 people). Provided by June Long.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat Obituaries of Irish-born St. Louisans. Provided by Sean B. Kelly. (Last update 8/25/2002)	Link to St. Paul's Evangelical Church - Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri Provided by Linda Reichert. (Last update 11/8/2002)

Maps and Atlases of St. Louis (Updated 8/15/2003)

St. Louis City map of 1870, showing Ward boundaries On the map it says, " Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1867..." It is an Augustus Mitchell map. Kindly provided by Joan Kaemmer. (added 8/15/2003)	Awaiting another map	Awaiting another map
St. Clair County, Illinois map of Township 1 South Range 9 West of the 3rd Principal Meridian (aka Millstadt)	Outline Plan of St. Louis City and County - 1883. This particular map shows the township boundaries of St. Ferdinand, Central, City of St. Louis, Carondelet, Bonhomme, and Meramec. (published in "History of Saint Louis City and County..." by J. Thomas Scharf, 1883).	1890 Atlas of the City of St. Louis (Cram). The original map is 9 3/4 by 12 1/4 inches, and therefore I couldn't scan it in as one continuous image. The middle of the map can be found here and the bottom of the map (around Carondelet Park) and the Map legend can be found here.
Link to 1912 Map of the Metro area. Covers from Clayton to East St. Louis. Interesting snapshot in time (note Forest Park still has the layout from the 1904 World's Fair)	1822 Map of the City of St. Louis. A very detailed street map of the City of St. Louis, showing boundaries by Act of Legisature, December 9th, 1822.	Awaiting another map
Link to Julius Pitzman's 1868 map Julius Pitzman's 1868 map of St. Louis county (and City) at Scott Williams' website	Federal Bureau of Land Management Excellent site for searching land grants from the federal government to private ownership (even includes images of the deeds themselves)	Link to 1885 St. Louis Map Nice, detailed city street map
Shell 1935 Road Map of Metropolitan St. Louis This is a nice detailed map of downtown St. Louis, with an index to points of interest.	Map of Early St. Louis Cemeteries Detailed map of downtown St. Louis' pre-Civil War cemeteries	Kerry Patch, 1875 A topographical look at the Irish immigrant's Kerry Patch. (Added 9/18/2002)
1930 Census Maps I have a whole website dedicated to this topic.	Awaiting another map	Link to SLPL Map Collection

1880 St. Louis Census Finding Aid (Updated 8/1/2003)

is provided by Tracy Lewis of Anchorage, Alaska. This chart will make it a little easier to locate families in St. Louis in the 1880 census.

Link to the "Common-Place: Early Cities of the Americas" (7/16/2003)

A short history of St. Louis

Link to Family Tree Legend's Social Security Death Index (Updated 6/23/2003)
There are a number of websites that provide search engines to this awesome data. The one I used to use was Ancestry's Social Security Death Index. However, although they use the same database, Family Tree Legend's search engine seems to be a bit more flexible (e.g., use 3-5 character prefix of a surname for when you're not sure of spelling, and age of death (handy when you have no idea of birth or death dates). Remember, Social Security began in 1936, so naturally people that died prior to that date will definitely not be included. Also, it is not an index to all deceased individuals who obtained a Social Security Number, nor is it a database of all deceased individuals who have received Social Security Benefits, or whose families have received survivor benefits. The SSDI contains information about persons with Social Security numbers whose deaths have been reported to the Social Security Administration. Beginning in the early 1960s, the SSA began to use a computer database for processing benefits. About 98% percent of the people in the SSDI died after 1962, but a few death dates go back as far as 1937.

Probate files from 1802 to 1900 have been indexed and are available through this online database. To date, cases up to 1865 are digitized and images of the case documents are available for online research. These Probate records are searchable by name or date. Another great project undertaken by the State of Missouri.

Link to online "Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State) One Hundred Years In The Union 1820-1921" (Added 5/4/2003)

This is the second volume from this set and contains 351 biographies and photographs of leading men of the first century of history in Missouri (1820-1921). Though this manuscript covers the entire state of Missouri, a good portion of the individual biographies are on people who had resided in St. Louis at some point in their life. BTW, this data is offered by the same wonderful folks that provide me with the free webspace for all these "Genealogy in St. Louis" websites.

St. Clair County, Illinois Databases

Heads of Household for 1880 Census in the Millstadt/Centreville area of St. Clair County. 755 households enumerated. (updated 2/14/2003)	St. Clair County, IL Marriages (1806-1810). 250 individuals listed.
1874 Atlas of St. Clair County Partial List of Patrons Town 1 South, Range 9 West (aka Millstadt/Centerville). 81 people identified.	1874 Atlas of St. Clair County.   List of more than 1400 landowners in Township 1 South, Range 9 West (aka Millstadt/Centerville). With MAP
	Link to 1930 U.S. Census Project - An Index to St. Clair County, Illinois Residents

"2943" (Updated 12/9/2002)

is a book filled with memories of growing up in St. Louis in the 1920s and 1930s, and loads of pictures too.

Nationalities of Greater St. Louis (Updated 9/10/2002)

compiled by The International Folklore Federation of Greater St. Louis

1904 World's Fair Postcards (Posted 11/30/2001)

Images of 118 postcards of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri, 1904

"On Genetics and Genealogy" (Added 5/10/2001)

This is the complete four part series of articles written by Jim Shoemaker. It's a fascinating treatise on the hobby of genealogy converging with the science of genetics.

1821 St. Louis Directory (Added 5/10/2001)

Listing of the approximately 600 households listed by John Paxton in the first ever St. Louis Directory, along with a street naming matrix.

Missouri Genealogy from "AccessGenealogy

The best overall Missouri Genealogy web site I've seen

Surname index to the Pitzman's 1878 St. Louis Atlas (3/4/2000)

Here's an index of every listed landowner (NOTE: not necessarily every homeowner) in St. Louis metro area in 1878.

Catholic Central Union of America (2/9/2000)

The "Central Verein" has been around since 1855. The library holdings of this organization are predominately devoted to sociology, history, economics, philosophy, and theology. But there is a huge collection that is mostly Catholic-Americana with German-American history. Their records are most complete for the time period of the 1930-40s during which there were many displaced St. Louisians of German descent.

Personal Genealogy

Lossos Genealogy (Updated 3/1/2017)	Schneller Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)	Cujak/Zielke/Silke Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)
Webb Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)		Gilbert/Opp Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)
Knichel Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)	St. Pius V Grade School Class of 1957 (Updated 3/1/2017)	Rowland Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)
Coe Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)	Hewes/Hughes Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)	Losos Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)
Norton Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)	Warren (Mayflower) Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)	Laclede/Chouteau Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)
Boulicault Genealogy (Updated March 2018)	Sly Genealogy (Updated 1/1/2012)	Marseiler Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)
Tappeiner Genealogy(Updated 1/1/2012)	"The Hidden Youth of Helen Tappeiner Lossos"	Mercy High School Senior Class Alumnae of 1963 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin(Updated 11/22/2009)