Field Trip: St. Louis - SLCL Special Collections

Field Trip to St. Louis

Microfilm drawersBook stacks with research areaComputer work area

Both of my field trips to St. Louis involved research at the St. Louis County Library "Special Collections".   The first visit in 1998 introduced me to the excellent staff and their fine collection of materials.   It was rewarding to return in 2001 and see how the collection has grown - both in terms of space and resources.   Joyce Loving and the library staff have built a collection that is both extensive and diversified.   And it continues to grow.   Compliments to the County Library system for the commitment they have made to genealogical research.




"Special Collections" Web Site

Visiting the "Special Collections"

Some Key Features



St. Louis County Library - Special Collections



"Special Collections" Web Site

First stop for research at the "Special Collections":   a visit to their web site. The Special Collections Web Page offers a variety of information from Security Procedures within the library to updates of Major Additions.   You will find direct links to items such as alphabetical/numerical listings of the library's genealogical CD collection, as well as additional web sites that can help you with your research.  I would have been much better prepared for my 2001 visit had I spent time at this site well in advance of my actual visit.

You will find the major holdings of the St. Louis Genealogical Society here at the county library, along with materials specific to St. Louis history and genealogy. However the facility is not simply devoted to St. Louis and Missouri research. As mentioned earlier the collection is quite diversified, and the staff continues to expand the resources available.

By exploring the web site you will begin to get some idea of the variety of materials available to you.  From basic aids such as "Catholic Priests of St. Louis As Listed in City Directories of 1870-1900" to World War I Draft Registration Cards, from Missouri Lutheran Church Records to free access for some online databases. A "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) page is also available from the web site.

Give special attention to the Finding Aids link. This page provides a wealth of information.  Clicking on the Archdiocese of St. Louis (map), under Catholic church resources, eventually led me to the Archdiocese web pages and a map of the parishes of the City of St. Louis.   Helping you make the most of the Archdiocese records is a new publication by the Friends of the St. Louis County Library, "Guide to St. Louis Catholic Archdiocesan Parish Records", compiled by Christine Hughes, a member of the Special Collections' staff.  The book lists all parishes, provides years that church records are available, indicates whether they are indexed, and gives you the drawer, reel and item number for locating the microfilm, as well as the corresponding FHC identification number. Christine Hughes has also provided a brief history of each parish, years in operation, ethnicity and other pertinent information. The book is available for purchase.

Use the"Search the Special Collections" page to track down keywords specific to your own research.   Entering the word "newspapers" brought up several links, including one page that lists the library's historical newspaper holdings, by city, name of publication and years available.   With one search you know immediately whether the library has any St. Louis newspapers published in the year 1867 and thus the prospect of locating a death notice for your great-great-grandfather who died in 1867.   A search for the "Church of the Holy Ghost" leads to a link to the Microfilms of Evangelical and United Church of Christ Information. These are the microfilm records of Eden Archives.   This search provides an listing of the churches, lets you know the microfilm is stored in drawers 76 and 77, indicates what years the records cover, and provides the microfilm Reel#, among other things.

Take your time visiting here.   A quick glance will not reveal the extent of the library's holdings.   This is the kind of site where you are likely to notice new things each time you visit.




St. Louis County Special CollectionsSt. Louis County Special CollectionsSt. Louis County Special Collections



Visiting the "Special Collections"

The St. Louis County Library is located at 1640 South Lindbergh Blvd., near Clayton Road. The "Special Collections" is on the top floor of the library, otherwise known as the 5th Tier. On this floor you will find the bulk of the collection. There are ample tables and chairs for your convenience, as well as microfilm readers, computers, change machines, and copiers. The facility is designed for everyone, both the experienced genealogist as well as someone just beginning their research.

The collections actually include portions of the 4th Tier as well, as you will find newspaper microfilm and additional microfilm readers on that level. You can sign up for Internet access on this level as well as in the library Reference Room. You do not need to have a library card in order to access the Internet. The security lockers are located on the 4th Tier. As with many facilities, they recently adopted a new security procedure to protect the collection. You will find an explanation of the policy on their web site.

I visited on a Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday. I used the readers on the 4th Tier. Friday afternoon was the only time I needed to relinquish a reader. Thirty minutes later I was able to sign on again to use a machine. Day of the week and time of day obviously affect the availability of equipment. If a reader is temporarily not available there are volumes of books, indexes, and maps available, as well as the online databases.

The library has a number of "Special Finding Aids" reference notebooks that are particularly useful. They are located on a table adjacent to the microfilm drawers. Some of the titles include "St. Louis County Probate Case Files Prior to 1877" (which also includes the City of St. Louis), St. Louis City Coroner's Records, 1846-30 March 1900". You will also find a copy of "Guide to St. Louis Catholic Archdiocesan Parish Records" on this table.

The staff was very approachable and easy to talk with. Do not hesitate to ask questions, whether it is about the facility itself and where to find things, or questions about St. Louis genealogy. For an idea of one person's research at the "Special Collections" visit the 1998 and 2001 field trip summaries.



Some Key Features

The St. Louis County Library Special Collections contains many of the standard genealogy resources, such as census microfilm, census indexes, etc. In addition, you will find resources here that are unavailable elsewhere, or may be difficult to locate elsewhere. Following are some of the resources that are available.


Records accessible to the public only at the "Special Collections" [as of June 2001]:

  • St. Louis Funeral Home Records
  • St. Louis Voter Registrations
  • World War I Draft Registration Cards [for Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri]

The "Special Collections" has the following records which are otherwise only available to you from a few sources [as of June 2001]:

  • St. Louis Naturalizations  (also at the Civil Courts Building)
  • Missouri Lutheran Church Records for Concordia Seminary  (also at Concordia Seminary)
  • United Church of Christ Records*  (also at Eden Archives)
  • St. Louis Archdiocesan Parish Records  (also at the Archdiocese Office and through the Family History Center)
*  The United Church of Christ records represent a number of churches which eventually formed the UCC. This includes the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and the German Protestant churches, as well as others.





Collections within the "Special Collections"


Julius K. Hunter & Friends African-American Research Collection
Microfilm, microfiche, databases & CDs covering such primary resources as census, military and post-Civil War records. Provides free database access to African-American 19th century newspapers, including Civil War era papers.


Yizkor Book Collection
The word "Yizkor" translates as "memorial", and the collection represents an effort to preserve the memories of the Jewish Communities in Eastern Europe, capturing the memories of what life use to be like. A large number of the books are in Yiddish or Hebrew, however, there are also some available in English. A few are in Hungarian or Polish. The County Library has the largest collection in St. Louis.





Other premiere services available for free at the "Special Collections":

Family Tree Maker CD-Rom Collection
The staff offers a handout which alphabetically lists all CDs available with their matching CD#. This includes many titles from the Family Tree Maker library of CDs, including census and marriage indexes, as well as titles such as   Mayflower Vital Records, Deeds and Wills, 1600s-1900s,  and Passenger & Immigration Lists: Irish Immigrants to North America, 1875-1865.

Ancestry.com
This online subscription service is available to you free of charge through the computers located on the 5th Tier of the "Special Collections". Ancestry.com has arranged with the St. Louis Genealogical Society to provide St. Louis, Marriages, 1804-1876 online as part of their growing system of databases, which include a variety of census records, vital records and military records, as well as the Social Security Index and the Ancestry World Tree. In July 2001 the SLGS also made available through Ancestry.com an index for St. Louis City Death Records, 1850-1908 (this index is for the city, not the county).

Genealogy Library.com
This is another online subscription service. It is also offered free of charge to patrons of the "Special Collections" using the computers on the 5th Tier.

Remember - You can research these online services in advance of your actual visit. The following web sites provide information about the services and let you search their databases to determine in advance what records are available and may apply to your research.



*     Acknowledgements     *

A special thank you to all of the staff at the St. Louis County Library. In particular I would like to thank Christine Hughes and Larry Franke for their assistance. It was very much appreciated. I also want to thank the patrons (a.k.a. "good sports") who allowed me to include them in the photographs of the facility.




Field Trip to St. Louis

Planning Ahead

Field Trip - 1998

Field Trip - 2001

Old Cathedral