St. Louis County, Missouri Genealogy

Guide to St. Louis County, Missouri ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth records 1877-1910; Recorder of Deeds has marriage and land records; Clerk of the Circuit Court has divorce and court records.

History
St. Louis County predates the state of Missouri which was admitted to the union in 1821. St. Louis was one of the five original districts of the Louisiana Territory from 1805-1812 and one of the five original counties of the Missouri Territory from 1812 to 1821.

On August 22, 1876 the City of St. Louis voted to separate from St. Louis County and became an independent city.

Parent County
St. Louis County was created 1 October 1812 as an original county.


 * County seat: City of St. Louis (1805-Mar 1877)
 * County seat: Clayton (abt. 1878-present)


 * The separation was not official until a court case decided the issue in March of 1877. St. Louis County started separate record-keeping from St. Louis City in 1877. It was not until December 1878, however, that the county established a new courthouse in the new county seat of Clayton, Missouri.


 * County records from 1805 - 1876 are maintained by the City of St. Louis and records from 1877 are maintained by the county. Records from 1877 and 1878 are a gray area and may be in the city records. Many of these records are available at both the St. Louis Public Library (City) and the St. Louis County Library.

For further explanation see 1876 St. Louis City/County split and its affect on research

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Missouri county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Missouri County Boundary Maps" (1804-1889) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Places/Localities

 * The State Historical Society of Missouri has information on historical Missouri place names for all Missouri Counties. The place names for St. Louis City and St. Louis County are combined under St. Louis County Place Names.

Neighboring Counties

 * Franklin
 * Jefferson
 * Madison (Illinois)
 * Monroe (Illinois)
 * St. Charles
 * St. Clair (Illinois)
 * St. Louis

Archives and Libraries

 * St. Louis Public Library (St. Louis City) owns a large collection of books, periodicals, maps, and other miscellaneous materials that deal with the history of St. Louis City, and Library staff have indexed many previously unindexed books and materials on that topic. They also own a large local history card file, and a large vertical file consisting of articles clipped from local newspapers and other local publications. St. Louis Public Library Local History Indexes and Bibliographies


 * St. Louis County Library has a large collection of genealogical records for St. Louis City and St. Louis County in its Special Collections Department located at its main headquarters. The collection includes holdings from the St. Louis Genealogical Society as well as parish records from the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In addition to its holdings, the staff of the Special Collections Department has created indexes for many records including St. Louis newspapers as well as birth, naturalization, probate, and church records.


 * Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center has a collection of books, manuscripts, periodicals, newspapers, maps, and photographs including: Biographies, yearbooks, business and trade catalogs and military records. Their website has a searchable genealogy index that covers many of these collections.

Cemeteries

 * Search the Archdiocese of St. Louis Cemetery records for burials in seventeen Catholic cemeteries from the St. Louis area.


 * New Mt. Sinai Cemetery records (Jewish) are available online.


 * The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has burial records for Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and other Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries around the country.


 * List of St Louis Area Cemeteries with records on Cd available for purchase from the St. Louis Genealogical Society.


 * Missouri Cemeteries Missouri Access Genealogy

Catholic

 * Catholic resources at The St. Louis County Library.

Lutheran

 * Lutheran resources at The St. Louis County Library.

Evangelical and United Church of Christ

 * Evangelical resources at The St. Louis County Library.

Presbyterian
Fairmount Presbyterian Church, St. Louis


 * 1871 - 1875 Fairmount Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Baptism Index 1871-1875. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1871 - 1879 Fairmount Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Marriage Index 1871-1879. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

North Presbyterian Church, St. Louis


 * 1850 - 1857 North Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Baptism Index 1850-1857. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

Third Presbyterian Church, St. Louis


 * 1842 - 1850 Third Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Baptism Index 1842-1850. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.
 * 1843 - 1846 Third Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Marriage Index 1843-1846. Batch  at FamilySearch - free.

County Directories

 * The St. Louis County Directory for 1893 is available on Google Books.


 * St. Louis City and County Directories, The St. Louis County Library

Court Records

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate

 * Missouri State Archives - Online access to St. Louis Probate records (original documents)

Online Probate Records


 * 1750 - 1988 at FamilySearch — images
 * 1766 - 1988 Missouri Wills and Probate Records 1766-1988 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Naturalization

 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * St. Louis County Library has created an Index to Naturalizationssite provides information on the various naturalization records from the U.S. Circuit Court.

Abbreviations found in the Naturalization Records of St. Louis Court records


 * CCC for Court of Criminal Corrections
 * CCCC for Criminal Court
 * Cir for Circuit Court
 * Com Pl for Court of Common Pleas
 * Law for Law of Common Court

Ethnic Groups
African American Online Resources in St. Louis:


 * Emancipations, 1817-1865 - information taken from St. Louis Circuit Court Record Books at the Civil Courts Building at Tucker and Market Streets, and the examination of papers at the Missouri Historical Society
 * Freedom Licenses Database, 1835-1865 - St. Louis City and County, records at Missouri Historical Society
 * Freedom Suit Case Files, 1814-1860 - database and images by St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project
 * Freedom Suits, 1804-1865 index - St. Louis Court records
 * Urban life for African Americans during 1804-1865 - as taken from St. Louis court records

Local Histories

 * The annals of St. Louis and a brief account of its foundation and progress, 1764-1928. [S.l. : s.n.], 1929.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Billon, Frederic Louis, 1801-1895. Annals of St. Louis in its territorial days, from 1804 to 1821 : being a continuation of the author's previous work the Annals of the French and Spanish period. St. Louis, Missouri : F.L. Billon, 1888.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at InternetArchives (Free)
 * Shepard, Elihu H., 1795-1876. The early history of St. Louis and Missouri : from its first exploration by white men in 1673 to 1843.Saint Louis : Southwestern Book and Pub. Co., 1870.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free) and at GoogleBooks (Free)
 * Saint Louis (Mo.). Heritage of St. Louis. St. Louis, Mo. : St. Louis Public Schools, 1964.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Scharf, John Thomas, 1843-1898. History of Saint Louis city and county, from the earliest periods to the present day, including biographical sketches of representative men. Philadelphia : L. H. Everts &amp; Co., 1883.
 * Vol 1 Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * Vol 2 Online at FamilySearch (Free)
 * St. Anthony Parish (St. Louis, Missouri). A souvenir of the diamond jubilee of St. Anthony Parish. St. Louis : Blackwell Wielandy Company, 1938.
 * Online at FamilySearch (Free)

Maps



 * Maps of Missouri (1804-1889)
 * Map of modern day St. Louis County townships (Histopolis) - also shows the locaton of cemeteries from the St. Louis area.
 * The University of Missouri Digital Library has digital copies of Missouri county plat books (ca. 1930) for all Missouri counties including St. Louis County. The city of St. Louis is not included in this collection.
 * Map of 1904 St. Louis County with numerous small settlements (My Genealogy Hound)

General

 * Fold3.com ($) has Civil War and other military records available online. Some libraries including the St. Louis County Library provide free access to this database.

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861 - 1865  at FamilySearch — index
 * at FamilySearch — images

Regiments Civil War service men from St. Louis County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed of men of St. Louis County; men from St. Louis County also served in Illinois companies, which are included in the below list.

World War II

 * 1941 - 1946 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1800 - 1991 at | FamilySearch — index

Newspapers
St. Louis Obiturary index: Compiled from the St. Louis Post Dispatch Newpaper covering the years 1880-1930, 1942-1945, 1960-1969, and 1992-2009. Sponsored by the St. Louis Public Library.

Vital Records (Civil)
See St. Louis County, Missouri Vital Records for information on St. Louis County vital records and their indexes.

Birth Records

 * 1827 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1851 - 1910 Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $

Death Records

 * 1834 - 1910 Missouri, Death Records, 1834-1910 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * 1867 - 1976 at FamilySearch.org — index

Marriage Records

 * 1750 - 1920 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1800 - 1991 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1805 - 2002 Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002 at Ancestry.com $
 * 1850 Missouri Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry.com — index $

Genealogy Societies, Archives and Libraries

 * List of Missouri Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies


 * Florissant Valley Historical Society P.O. Box 298 Florissant, MO 63032


 * St. Louis Genealogical Society P.O. Box 43010 #4 Sunnen Drive, Suite 140 St. Louis, MO 63143-0010 Phone: 314-647-8547


 * St. Louis Genealogical Society 9011 Manchester, Suite 3 St. Louis, MO 63144-2543


 * German American Heritage Society 10 Maryland Plaza St. Louis, MO 63108 Phone: 314-367-4303


 * German Cultural Institute 326 N. Euclid Avenue St. Louis, MO 63108 Phone: 314-367-2452


 * German Cultural Society 3652 S. Jefferson St. Louis, MO 63118 Phone: 314-771-8368

Family History Centers



 * Riverview Missouri Family History Center 2540 Brooklyn, Kansas City, MO 64127 United States Location Map


 * St Louis Missouri Family History Center 10445 Clayton Rd, Frontenac, MO 63131 United States Location Map


 * St Louis Missouri North Family History Center6386 Howdershell Rd, Hazelwood MO 63042 United States Location on Map


 * Warrenton Missouri Family History Center 3619 N Highway 47, Warrenton MO 63383 United States Location Map