1998 - Field Trip: St. Louis

Last Updated: Thursday, 13-Sep-2018 20:00:57 MDT
Field Trip to St. Louis


FIELD TRIP TO ST. LOUIS:    1998


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List of Locations Visited

The Research


List of Locations Visited

Below is an annotated list of some of the places I visited in June 1998. Although I have added some new information since my visit, please keep in mind that the availability and location of records may have changed since that time. Check Dave Lossos` "Useful Genealogical Research Addresses/Telephones in St. Louis" web site for current addresses and phone numbers.


  • St. Louis Genealogical Society - Offers general information as well as the St. Louis Death Register, the Catholic cemetery microfiche records, and an extensive number of books on German genealogy. These materials are available for use in the office, however, the bulk of their collection is stored at the main county lbrary on Lindbergh. The Society is staffed by a fine group of dedicated volunteers. The Society also offers a number of publications for sale. Two that are particularly outstanding are "Pictorial St. Louis-1875" and "Pitzman's New Atlas of the City & County of St. Louis-1878". Both are reproductions of the original publications. The Society's office is located off Big Ben Road at: #4 Sunnen Drive, Suite 140, St. Louis, MO 63143, 314/647-8547.

  • St. Louis County Library - An excellent source of resources for city directories, census records, church & cemetery records, and much more. The reference and genealogical staff members were not only professional, but they were also cordial and easy to work with. I spent more hours here than anywhere else. As with the other libraries I focused on materials for which I do not have access at home in California. The library is located near Clayton Road at 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314/994-3300. Shortly after my visit in 1998 the county library's genealogy collection, under the guidance of Joyce Loving, was expanded. A new floor has been opened for research and their collection of resources continues to grow.

  • Eden Archives at Eden Theological Seminary - In addition to records for the Evangelical synod of North America Churches, the archives maintain microfilm records for German Evangelical churches and cemeteries located in St. Louis. The archivist, Lowell Zuck, was generous with his time and very accommodating. Although the archives are only open in the morning, the microfilm may be taken upstairs to the library and used in the afternoon. The archives are on the lower level of the Luhr Library in Webster Groves at: 475 Lockwood Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63119, 314/961-3627.

  • St. Louis Main City Library - The History and Genealogy Department offers a variety of genealogical material for Missouri and surrounding states, as well as St. Louis. It is a fine resource however parking is more difficult there than the other locations. Near 13th Street at 1301 Olive Street in downtown St. Louis, MO 63103, 314/539-0385.

  • Missouri Historical Society of St. Louis - Located near Forest Park, the Library and Research Center was not open when I visited. I hear that it has a good assortment of genealogical materials and I hope to visit it if I make it back to St. Louis again. The center is at: 225 S. Skinker, St. Louis, MO 63105, 314/746-4500.

  • Calvary Cemetery - Be sure to write in advance for information about the individuals you are researching. It saves both you and the cemetery office the extra time required to look up information when you arrive. In addition to a general map of the cemetery, ask for the specific section maps. The lot numbers are not easy to find and a section map is essential. Ask that they circle the lot number on the section map. Lots are not necessarily numbered consecutively. Even if you arrive armed with all of your information, you may still have questions for the office, so it is best not to visit on a Sunday as the office is closed. 5239 West Florissant Blvd., St. Louis, Mo 63115, 314/381-1313. For more information on researching cemeteries view Dave Lossos' St. Louis Cemetery Records. For additional tips on visiting Calvary, view some excerpts from mail list participants.

  • New St.Marcus Cemetery - Unfortunately I ran out of time before I was able to visit the cemetery. I have already started to complile a list of places I want to go "next time". Research has a funny way of doing that, the more you learn, the more questions you have:) 7901 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123.


    KKZ 1998


    The Research - A Genealogical Field Trip

    During the last week of June, 1998, I visited St. Louis for the KEAREY-KEEHNE family reunion hosted at the home of Sally and Tom Maurer. Since receiving the invitation months earlier I had been very excited at the prospect of my first visit to St. Louis. The reunion itself was a wonderful experience. But that is another story all in itself. I enjoyed meeting people, listening to old tales, and sharing the common bond of our ancestry. I really appreciated the warmth and hospitality that was extended to me during my visit.

    Prior to the trip I headed to the Internet for some advance preparation. A number of excellent sites are available online. Links to these sites are available on the Links Page under the Missouri heading. I also signed up for the ROOTSWEB ST.LOUIS MAILING LIST, which is described on the Links Page. I would heartily recommend checking out the mailing lists for any locale you plan to visit. Mailing lists allow you to post email queries about your ancestors, about the locale itself, just about anything genealogically pertaining to that city, county or state. For more information on ROOTSWEB mailing lists visit the mailing list web site. Using the internet sites and the email list I was able to find addresses and telephone numbers so that I could contact ahead of time the institutions I planned to visit.

    It was through the mail list that I learned about the ST. LOUIS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY and the ST. LOUIS DEATH REGISTER, 1850-1912. The SOCIETY has a copy of the DEATH REGISTER on microfilm at their office. The REGISTER contains all of the information that would be available through Vital Records: name, date of death, marital status, age at death, birthplace, place of death, cause of death, name of physician, place of burial, and name of undertaker.

    Until recently the Death Register Index and microfilm was only available at the SLGS. At that time you were not allowed to make mechanical reproductions, but instead had to hand copy whatever information you found. That is no longer the case. You may make copies of the microfilm records. Some of the records are now available at the St.Louis County Library. Ed Schmidt passed along the following information to help you in accessing the Death Register Index and microfilm:

      ST.LOUIS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OFFICE -
      • Index of the death records, alphabetical from about 1850 to 1900.
      • Index of the death records, chronological from 1900 to 1912.
      • Microfilm of actual death records 1850 to 1912 with the roll 1909 missing.
      ST.LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY -
      • Microfilm of actual death records 1850 to 1908.
      • Burial certificates on film from 1882 to 1908.

    Having learned about EDEN ARCHIVES two years ago, I wrote to Lowell Zuck, the archivist, indicating my interest in HOLY GHOST CEMETERY burial and re-burial records, and asking for the hours and location of the archives. Mr. Zuck replied promptly with information and cautioned that I would find the cemetery records and re-burial locations especially vexing. From what I had read before I was not surprised.

    In anticipation of visiting cemeteries, I wrote to NEW ST. MARCUS CEMETERY and to CALVARY CEMETERY requesting grave location information, cemetery hours and overall maps of the cemeteries. NEW ST. MARCUS responded quickly with the necessary information. CATHOLIC CEMETERIES responded on behalf of CALVARY. This reply gave me one of my first new clues: the plot where my great grandparents, Jeremiah and Rose Delworth, are buried was purchased in 1867 by Mary McDONNELL, for Patrick McDonnell, interred 12 December 1867. I had always thought that my great grandmother's maiden name was McDONALD. Checking with Ed Schmidt at the GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, he was able to verify via the DEATH REGISTER that a Patrick McDonnell, born in Ireland, had died on 12 December 1867, at the age of 35. A great deal of information regarding other individuals interred in the family lot proved very helpful, providing new names and leads, and also learning the burial location of my father's infant sister who died in 1918.

    My cousin, Ed Kearey, who was also planning to attend the reunion with his wife, Wilma, sent me a huge map of St. Louis. Using the map I pinpointed a number of locations I wanted to visit, from libraries and cemeteries, to residences and other historically significant locales. This advance preparation helped me navigate my way around town a little more easily :)

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    After arriving at Lambert St. Louis International Airport late Tuesday afternoon and checking into the hotel, I decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight hours. I made a beeline for KIRKWOOD, WEBSTER GROVES, and SHREWSBURY (Park). I was taken by the lovely trees and almost rural setting as I drove along Big Bend Road. At the corner of Geyer and Big Bend I was surprised to find a configuration of rail tracks and road that looked very much like the picture I had of WINDSOR SPRINGS, the telegraph office where my grandfather, William H. Keehne, worked for the Frisco Line. Later, showing my father a photograph of the intersection he was able to confirm the location indicating on which side of the street St. Joseph College had been located (St. Louis Community College is there now). I also looked for residences of early family members.

    Early the next morning I headed over to the EDEN THEOLOGICAL ARCHIVES in Webster Groves. I met with Lowell Zuck, who was able to share information about the GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES and HOLY GHOST CEMETERY (formerly located at Gravois and Wyoming, the present location of Roosevelt High School). Using the archive microfilm I found the burial records for my great great grandfather, Augustus Kuehne. I already knew that his wife, Sophia Kaylor, was buried at HOLY GHOST in 1896. Augustus was buried in the same lot #2168. I also discovered that the owner of the burial plot was named Friedrich Kuehne - a new name to track. Mr. Zuck verified that the removal of burial remains at HOLY GHOST CEMETERY were not well documented, and we have not been able to determine where they were moved.

    On the way to the ST. LOUIS MAIN CITY LIBRARY on Olive Street in downtown St. Louis I checked a few more addresses, quickly learning that the closer houses were located to downtown, the less likely they were to have survived. Not a brilliant deduction, but one I had not thought about before. The main library's collection is extensive, covering not only Missouri, but neighboring states as well. As with each of the libraries I visited, I was barely able to scratch the surface of the resources available. I focused my time on the city directories. I checked the microfilm for Carey/Kearey, Delworth, Fitzgibbon/s, Keehne/Kuehne, and McDonnell/McDonald entries. Was able to find a number of family members, including a 1868 listing for Friedrich/Fredrick Keehne, residing in the rear of 817 Montgomery, with Melvin Keehne, one of Augustus Kuehne/Keehne's sons.

    The next day I visited Ed Schmidt at the ST. LOUIS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY. Having corresponded with Ed by email prior to my trip, I was looking forward to meeting him. Like the other volunteers at the Society office, Ed was cordial and very informative. That morning I focused on using the DEATH REGISTER. I recorded several leads, then while searching the index a name jumped out at me: Charles Ludwig Keehne/Kuehne. His date of death matched that of an entry in the Keehne family bible. Since the bible entry had simply listed him as a native of Nordhausen, Germany, we had not known if he had ever immigrated to the United States. Based on his age of 74 at death, Charles would have been about seven years older than Augustus...possibly a brother. The microfilm record indicated that he was single, and that he had also been buried at HOLY GHOST CEMETERY.

    Thursday afternoon was spent at the ST. LOUIS MAIN COUNTY LIBRARY as I concentrated again on the city directories, looking for clues as well as documenting known relatives. About an hour into the microfilm I found myself staring at the name of my great grandfather, Jeremiah Delworth - the first time he had appeared in the directory. The address listed for him in the 1875 directory looked familiar; it was the same address as a Maurice H. Fitzgibbon. I looked for my notes and copies from the day before. Maurice had been listed as early as 1864, and a James D. Fitzgibbon had been listed at the same address in an earlier directory. It was as if a light bulb went on - we had heard that my great great grandmother, Mary Fitzgibbon/s Delworth had a brother by the name of J. D. Fitzgibbon/s, but other than this we had very few clues. This was a major break through and without sounding corny it is difficult to describe how excited I felt as I copied that page.

    As the weekend neared more family members arrived for the reunion. Ed and Wilma Kearey invited me to drive with them to CALVARY CEMETERY. With maps and information in hand we drove through the beautiful maze which is CALVARY. We soon discovered that some older graves are not marked. We also discovered that it can be difficult to locate lot numbers. After finding several lots and taking pictures, I was still uncertain as to the location of Jeremiah and Rose Delworth. On our way out we stopped by the office and I gave the names of graves adjacent to an unmarked area that I thought might be the Delworths. I learned that I was off by several lots, marked the map, and planned to return on Sunday. When I returned I followed the map to three fallen monuments. They had fallen face forward and so I was unable to read the inscriptions. Then I noticed that one of the monuments had the number "384" etched lightly into its exposed base. The section map showed that lot #384 was located immediately diagonal to the Delworth's lot, #169 - the lot which had been purchased by Mary McDonnell in 1867. Looking to the other lot I saw what I had failed to see before - inscribed on the side of the monument was the name "McDONALD". Lucky for me someone decided to inscribe this name on the side. I imagine that the front is inscribed with "DELWORTH". As I mentioned earlier the family has always thought that Rose's maiden name was McDonald. Another mystery to work on: McDonnell or McDonald?

    Saturday morning I returned to the GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY with Ed Kearey. Using the DEATH REGISTER I checked for Maurice H. Fitzgibbon and a number of other names that had popped up in the city directories. Amidst the information about Maurice's death in 1882, indicating that he was a widow, age 58, born in Ireland, it also listed CALVARY CEMETERY as the place of interment. John, another volunteer at the Society, showed me how to use the CATHOLIC CEMETERY microfiche records. Although I found evidence of other Delworths and Fitzgibbon family members, I was not able to locate Maurice.

    After attending Mass at the Old Cathedral, Sunday was a day to see the sites and track down some more addresses. Although I tried to include a street number in many of the photographs, I had been keeping a log of the residences/buildings as they were photographed in case I got home and could not remember which was which. In some instances I was able to speak with neighbors and ask about the residences. One address in particular, 7604 ARLINGTON, Shrewsbury, continues to be a mystery to me. It was one of the addresses I had before going to St. Louis. The 1909 city directory lists Jeremiah DELWORTH living at this address, and William H. KEEHNE, my granddad, living in the rear. Family members had indicated that Will and Mae Delworth Keehne lived behind the Delworths until they built their own home. Some time later I learned from an aunt that she had seen the Keehne home on Arlington and it was a brick house. The house I photographed was wood. At home I dug through some old obituaries and found one which listed 7406 Arlington. Was the 7406 a typographical error for 7604? Or was the house built by my granddad actually located at 7406 Arlington? I will need to check a city directory from the early 1920's in order to find out.

    My last day of research was spent at the EDEN ARCHIVES, looking for Charles Ludwig Kuehne/Keehne's burial record, and at the COUNTY LIBRARY, having a final go at the city directories. Checking the HOLY GHOST CEMETERY microfilm there was no recording for Charles. Wishing that the records also included a list of interments by lot number, my eyes skimmed the pages slowly for lot #2168. Knowing full well I did not have time for such a luxury I was about to stop when the lot number appeared, recorded for the burial of Mary Kuhne, 18 months old, interred 28th of August 1877. Mary was the third child of Charles and Mary Ann Carey/Kearey Keehne. She was the granddaughter of Augustus and Sophia Kaylor Kuehne/Keehne.

    Since arriving home I have reflected on what was available to me during this trip. I cannot understate the value of the city directories. These records offer a myriad of information on a year to year basis that few other records can do - from the street location index, to the professions and addresses listed for individuals, to the advertisements and other general information about the city. They provide yet another valuable tool for research. As indicated earlier, I only scratched the surface of the genealogical resources available in St. Louis, but what I did find was very helpful. It was a great experience and I hope one day to return for another "field trip" in St. Louis.

    [Summary written 1998]


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    Field Trip to St. Louis

    Planning Ahead

    Field Trip - 1998

    Field Trip - 2001

    Old Cathedral