Some of Our Ancestors' Killer Occupations: Part Two of Three

Our first post in this mini-series (published on 12 June 2023) highlighted the chemicals many of our ancestors smeared on and/or ingested as they sought to make themselves look better. This week, we'll focus on how they often endangered their health while working. The hazards of some jobs are obvious. We know that miners of all kinds faced multiple dangers: roof collapse, flooding, and constant inhaling of dust and debris that poisoned their lungs. Our ancestors who worked in factories regularly breathed particles of whatever substance was in the unventilated air, leading to permanent lung damage. The hazards of working in the early years of the industrial age were enormous, as most of the factories were unregulated. But let’s consider jobs that some of our ancestors had that were equally hard on their health but which we don’t often think were all that dangerous. 

Introducing the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Summer is a perfect time to pack up the car and take a genealogy road trip. Are you ready? How about a ride to northern Indiana through beautiful farmland (and just a few construction zones) to the second largest genealogy collection in the U.S.—the Allen County Public Library? Located in downtown Fort Wayne, the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library is second in size only to the FamilySearch (Family History) Library in Salt Lake City. At 367,000 square feet, it occupies a bright, spacious location on the second floor of a library that was entirely rebuilt in 2007. Here's why you might want to consider a trip there.

Our Ancestors' Killer Fashion Trends, Part I: What We Do for Vanity!

Over the centuries, fashion trends have come and gone, as have humans’ need to follow them. People have coated their faces in makeup, ingested all kinds of materials “guaranteed” to make them look and feel better, and worn clothing and accessories made from a wide assortment of materials. In doing so, they have also exposed themselves and the people who created all these products to an array of toxic chemicals, some of which eventually killed the makers, some the users, and some, both.

Free Genealogy Webinars Offered by the National Archives

Now that the weather has warmed up and spending hours outside might not be an attractive alternative if you live in a steamy summer climate like St. Louis, you may be looking for some online genealogy classes. Of course, we hope you will take advantage of the classes StLGS is offering this summer, and you can check them out on the “Classes” page on the StLGS website.  But if you are looking for more, we want to tell you about a free series of lectures sponsored by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

StLGS Office News AND June Meetings and Classes

Happy Memorial Day! The St. Louis Genealogical Society office in Maplewood has been our home for almost a quarter of a century. Its original pink walls and blue/pink/grey carpet have held up remarkably well, but the years have marched on, and our office is in much need of an update. With our landlord's approval, we have chosen paint to brighten the walls and carpet to replace torn and battered spots, and we have recently received word from our landlord that our long-awaited facelift has been approved and is about to begin. Please read on for details . . .

Long-awaited Changes Come to Find a Grave!

Many of us use the website Find a Grave on a regular basis. Some of us have created memorial pages for our ancestors; some just mine the pages created by others. For those not familiar with the site, Find a Grave is a free website that is owned by Ancestry. It is crowdsourced, meaning the data on the site is submitted by volunteers who visit cemeteries for the purpose of photographing tombstones and adding biographical information on individuals and by others who may have direct connections to the people whose pages they maintain or visit.

New on the StLGS Website . . .

It’s been a while since we have brought you updates from the StLGS website, https://stlgs.org, so this week, we will catch you up. During the past few months, our volunteers have been working hard to add new data to our congregations project, upload new biographies, update and correct cemetery data, and add new information from donated memorabilia.