An Unsung Hero of Family History: Lyman Copeland Draper

Sometimes we are guilty of thinking that people in the past were not at all like us, but the more we study family history, the more we find individuals worried about precious documents, fearful of the loss of oral tradition, and trying to preserve facts surrounding important events in American history. One of those unsung heroes was Lyman Copeland Draper, who lived in the nineteenth century and gathered as much information as he could on those he called “heroes of the Revolution” in the American south. Draper spent most of his life collecting information on the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812 in what he called the “Trans-Allegheny West, which included the western Carolinas and Virginia, some portions of Georgia and Alabama, the entire Ohio River valley, and parts of the Mississippi River valley.”*

Although a single index to the entire collection does not exist, you can learn how to access and use the Draper collection from nationally-known genealogical researcher, Dr. David McDonald, at the St. Louis Genealogical Society's Family History Conference on Saturday, 14 May 2022.

StLGS 50th Annual Family History Conference: Get in Your Car and Go—Midwest Archives and Libraries

We are excited to announce our 50th annual Family History Conference, this one in a brand new format, hybrid! We hope you will join us on Saturday, 14 May 2022, at the Maryland Heights Community Center, 2300 McKelvey Road, St. Louis, MO 63043, for this all-day event. You can attend in-person OR via Zoom, and, for the very first time, everyone who registers will be able to view all eight of the lectures, since they will all be recorded! Read on for all the details . . .

StLGS Congregations Index Pages Now Include Maps to Locate Churches and Synagogues

More maps for our website! Yes, we have spent a lot of time and energy recently on maps, but they are so incredibly valuable for genealogists, that we feel it’s worth devoting more than the usual amount of attention to them. During this past week, our map guru/technology volunteer, Jim Bellenger, uploaded a whole series of locator maps for all of our congregation indexes! That’s right––now you can click on a link and go to an exact location for every church and synagogue for which we have an address in our indexes.

StLGS April Meetings AND Our Annual Family History Conference Returns!

At last, it is safe enough to start planning for live events, and we have some exciting news to share. First, the StLGS office is open again, so as long as you are healthy, we welcome you back on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, from 9 a.m. until noon. Please respect our volunteers and plan your trip on another day if you are not feeling well or have been exposed to anything contagious. Second, we are pleased to be able to offer most of our meetings and classes in the future as hybrid events. We will be using our office in Maplewood for our meetings, since St. Louis County Library Headquarters is slated for its long-awaited demolition and rebuilding in the next few months. However, those who are not in St. Louis or who are not ready for being in a group setting are welcome to join us via Zoom. So, get your calendars out, and start planning!

Great News for Genealogists Researching New York City Ancestors!

Sometimes genealogical miracles occur. It happened a few years ago, when, after years of severe restrictions, Pennsylvania opened its vital records to the general public, and, this past week, it happened again. This time, it is New York City, which, after staunchly defending its right to deprive the public access to public records, suddenly launched a stunning new website that opened vital records from the New York City Municipal Archives to anyone who wants to see them.

Safety and Security: A Priority for Your Computer

We first posted articles about online safety in our blog in June 2019 and again in July 2020. This situation has continued to be of concern, and now, with the added focus on tax season and the crisis in Ukraine, online scamming is at a peak. So, it seems like a good time to reiterate some important information on keeping your computer and your personal information safe when you are online.

St. Louis County Library and Public Library Will Update and Share Their Catalogs

As many of you know, St. Louis has two unique library systems, one for the City of St. Louis and one for St. Louis County. Up until recently, each system maintained its own catalog, but all of that is about to change. Both library systems have announced that they are ready to merge their catalogs, improve their technology software, and make checking out materials between systems possible, and it’s about to happen!