Which Genealogist Doesn't Love a Good Map?

If you had ancestors in St. Louis in the late-1800s, you probably are familiar with the Pitzman's 1878 Atlas that provides maps and the names of property owners in the City of St. Louis. StLGS has sold copies of this atlas in CD format for many years in our secure store. Pitzman's was not the only atlas of the city, though, and if we move ahead a few years, we can enjoy the additional information provided by the Hopkins Atlas of 1883. 

Perhaps, like many of us, you didn't know such a resource existed or why you might want to look at it. Luckily for us, the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) has digitized this helpful book and has posted the images on their website as plates (pages) that can be enlarged and studied in great detail. However, you do need to know where in the city your ancestor's property was located.

Enter StLGS tech volunteer, Jim Bellenger, who discovered this atlas on the SHSMO website and has used his extraordinary map skills to create a valuable finding aid for researchers. Jim has posted a page on our website that links directly to the specific pages of the Hopkins atlas so you don't have to guess which page to look at on the SHSMO website. Here's how it works.

On the StLGS website, go to the new Hopkins atlas page. You will see that the city is divided into numbered areas that correspond to the plate numbers in the original atlas. Click on a numbered section to go to the SHSMO’s website and directly to that page. Once you are on the SHSMO’s website, you will see a small version of the atlas page. The pages do not have any instructions for enlarging the plates, but that is really easy once you know how. See the green double-pointed arrow in the top right? If you hover your mouse pointer over it, it says “Expand,” and clicking on it makes the map much larger. 

It’s still too small to see, however, so here is your next step. You can zoom in on the streets in a variety of ways. The simplest is just to use the scroll wheel on your mouse. These are high-resolution images and will be very clear if you enlarge them. You can read the street names, the names of lot owners, and the addresses once you zoom in. If you want to zoom back out, again, just use your scroll wheel. Alternatively, in the upper left of each expanded plate, you can use the plus or minus signs or the double-pointed arrow to make the image full screen. You can also use your mouse to click and drag the image around the screen so you can see areas more clearly once they are enlarged.

Immigrants in Missouri Map

Thanks to StLGS member Ruth Ann Hager, and Christina Miller, Reference Services Manager at the Missouri State Archives, for calling another helpful map to our attention, this one on the Missouri Secretary of State's website as part of the Missouri State Archives collection.

This map shows areas of settlement in Missouri, circa mid-to-late-nineteenth century. Although it’s labeled “German Settlement,” many other ethnic groups are identified on the map, so regardless of your heritage, you may find it very enlightening.

When you get to the page on the Secretary of State's website, you will need to scroll down through three sections of people to get to the "Society" section.

Choose the icon for “German Immigration.” When the map opens, click on it once to enlarge it. Then, use the magnifying cursor to zoom in on whatever area is of interest to you.

Be sure to use the color-coded key on the bottom left of the map to interpret the pockets of immigrants throughout the state so you can see where your ancestors may have settled in relation to other immigrant groups.

Many thanks to Jim, Ruth Ann, and Christina for providing us with some intriguing maps to study during this cold, snowy February!