St. Louis County Library Obtains Rare Swiss Genealogy Records

The following is a news release from St. Louis County Library . . .

St. Louis County Library is excited to announce the recent acquisition of church and other records from Canton Bern, Switzerland. The German and French records, on 847 rolls of high-quality microfilm, feature birth, marriage, and death information from the 16th to 19th centuries. The microfilm can be viewed in the History and Genealogy Department at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters located at 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

The original records, held by the State Archives of Bern, offer information difficult to obtain in the U.S. Researchers are free to view the records and print copies as needed. The History and Genealogy department also offers a knowledgeable staff that can assist researchers in using the microfilm set. Microfilm rolls and their contents are listed in the St. Louis County Library catalog. A finding aid to the collection is available in the History and Genealogy Department.

Purchase of the microfilm set was made possible with funds from the William C. E. and Bessie K. Becker Collection, established in 2014. Mr. Becker, a civil engineer, is remembered for designing the Jewel Box in Forest Park. The couple's surviving children and grandchildren made the donation specifically to enhance the library's genealogical holdings. The Swiss microfilms join other Becker Collection sources for researching German and Irish ancestry.

For more information, contact the St. Louis County Library History and Genealogy Department at 314-994-3300, ext. 2070, by email at genealogy@slcl.org, or see the library's website at www.slcl.org.