St. Louis [MO] Libraries/Reference Collections

Contributed by: Leo Boberschmidt

I thought it might be useful to share with you some of the material below based on recent trips to St. Louis [in April and early October]. St. Louis is my home town but I've found out more about these facilities on these trips than when I lived there, at least regarding genealogical research materials.

Happy hunting.

Leo J. Boberschmidt, Kensington, MD
Researching: Boberschmidt, Ruthmeyer, Heimburger, Rausen, Meszner, Trigg, McCabe [so far].

St. Louis, Missouri Library and Reference Material: A Brief Description of the Major Collections

General:
If you are going to St. Louis for genealogy research, be sure to check out the online access that is available for the facilities below before you head out. By spending time online at home, you can make your time at these facilities much more productive.
Archival Resources [e.g., St. Louis Public Library Rare Book Department, Missouri Historical Society Reference Library]: the usual archival collection rules and procedures apply:
- Use of pencils only, not pens [but computers are
allowed]
- Access hours may be less than the parent organization
[e.g., the Rare Books Department of the St. Louis
Public Library]
- Photocopying may not be possible due to the fragile
nature of the material.
Hours: if possible, avoid the weekend hours. The various facilities can be very crowded then and access to microfilm viewers may often be limited. Staff: at all of these facilities, the staff have been very, very helpful. They really know their collections. 1. St. Louis Public Library http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/ The library's catalog is searchable online. In fact, the online search system is newer and faster than searching at the library itself. A lot of material is in the History and Genealogy Department but don't overlook other sources within the library, including material in the Rare Book Department. The Microfilm Room has a large collection of Census material and newspapers on microfilm. The printed copies of the Census indexes are in the History and Genealogy Department. Central Library, 1301 Olive Street: Phone: 241-2288; Adm. FAX: 241-3840 Hours: 10am - 9pm Monday; 10am - 6pm Tuesday-Friday; 9am - 5pm Saturday Rare Book Department hours: 2pm - 6pm Tuesday-Friday; 2pm - 5pm Saturday; other times by appointment. 2. Missouri Education and Research Libraries Information Network [MERLIN] http://laurel.lso.missouri.edu/ University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL), Saint Louis University, and Washington University [Be sure to check out the holdings of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection (WHMC) at Univ. of Missouri; they have extensive holdings with a variety of online bibliographies, including one on Civil War items. WHMC will transfer material from one of their collection locations to another at no cost; they have couriers going between the locations just about every week; these people are very helpful. The WHMC room at the UMSL library is fairly small, just a few tables. But, any microfilm is allowed to be taken to the UMSL microfilm reading room nearby. The UMSL web site has a campus map available online. UMSL is accessible via the St. Louis Metro Link light rail system and a short walk across campus. I assume there is visitor parking but when I visited, I used the Metro Link]. 3. St. Louis County Public Library [See location and hours below. One item they have is a collection of microfilms of the St. Louis Archdiocesan Catholic parish records. These records were microfilmed by the LDS and the county library bought a set. There is a loose-leaf book with an index to the churches and the records held. Note that the original record books for closed churches/parishes used to be kept at various churches around the city, making it very difficult to access these records]. http://www.slcl.lib.mo.us/index50.html [note that the catalog is accessible via telnet and not a direct click from your web browser but their primary items of interest are the holdings of the St. Louis Genealogical Society described below] 4. St. Louis Genealogical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~mostlogs/STINDEX.HTM [An index to their holdings, including a listing of family histories]. The St. Louis Genealogical Society Library contains about 20,000 books and other forms or records and is located on Tier IV of the St. Louis County Library, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63131 (314) 994-3300 HOURS: 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday (Sept - May) [Note: On Sunday afternoons, it can get VERY crowded]. 5. Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center http://library.wustl.edu/~spec/archives/aslaa/mo-hist-archives.html 225 S. Skinker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105 [There is some parking behind their building]. MAIL: P.O. Box 11940, St. Louis, Missouri 63112-0040 TELEPHONE: (314) 746-4510 CONTACT: Chuck Hill, Archivist; Dina Young, Assistant Archivist; Dennis Northcott, Assistant Archivist HOURS: Tues-Sat., 10am-5pm (except national holidays). General historical collection for St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisiana Territory, from French settlements to present. Collection includes government records, family papers, correspondence, business journals, and corporate records. [There are 29 major collections listed on their web site together with 5 guides]. Note that this is an archival research facility. If you have not been there before, they will give you a general talk on their collections and procedures. As with other such facilities, note taking must be done with pencil and not pens since you are often working with rare or original material. Computers are allowed. One item I did not get to check out [yet] is their microfilm collection of "City censuses for St. Louis, many years between 1847-1870..." I plan to check this out and will post a separate note when I find out more about this part of their collection. I am particularly interested since some ancestors moved in and out of the area around the time of the Civil War and may well be on these city censuses.