Hidden Genealogy Treasures on the StLGS Website

(Thanks to StLGS member, Marsha Clark, for writing the beginning of this week’s post.)

Marsha writes . . . Doing a little digging last night, I thought I'd try one more time—after many years of having just put it aside as a lost cause—to find my father's mysterious uncle who was adopted at a young age by a family in St. Louis. He was in rural Illinois as a child, and he and his siblings needed to find homes to live in when their last surviving parent, their father, died. Supposedly this youngest son died as a boy due to an accident; that's how I remembered hearing the story.  As it turned out, however, this uncle did not die young after all. 

With more and more online now, I found him (via a tree on FamilySearch), and as a bonus, I found information about his occupation as a beer bottler through a resource added to the Community/Societies section of the StLGS website!  The Beer Bottlers Benevolent Society information was added in June 2016 according to a date that appears at the bottom of the page; who knew!

Our star StLGS data entry volunteers included the application date, birth date, and address where the person lived—as provided in the membership roster that StLGS received as a donation. This address matched information included in census records of the adopting family. Such delight!  (You know the feeling well—a little hole that has so quickly been stitched up!)

I also learned from this benevolent society entry and the census records (which had the surname spelling altered a bit) that this uncle lived into his fifties. A bit sad that my father never knew while he was growing up that his father's brother was still alive, in St. Louis, living with the same adoptive family. However, knowing his uncle did have an adult life after all is healing for me.

I am so grateful to everyone who has made this find possible. Later that evening, I drank a toast in honor of the great-uncle I never knew and often sought to no avail. But now, through this online database accessible to StLGS members, I’ve gotten to know him at last. Keep on typing, you nimble-fingered, dedicated volunteers! Thank you.

StLGS Website: Community/Societies

Marsha found information about the Beer Bottlers Benevolent Society on the StLGS website by using the Menu Bar at the top of the home page, choosing Research, then Community, and then Societies. On that page is information about several local groups, all linked from the "More Societies Info" menu in the upper right side of the page. (See graphic.) There is some description of various groups, as you can see, as well as a bibliography (not visible below) at the bottom of the "Societies" page.

The Beer Bottlers Benevolent Society

Founded in St. Louis in 1908, this group, like many of its kind, was begun to offer members assistance with funeral expenses. StLGS received a donation of a membership register from 1908 through 1912, some certificates, and minutes from meetings. Although at first glance, these kinds of materials seem unlikely to be helpful for genealogy, sometimes they yield clues, like addresses and beneficiaries, that can help you to go further in your research, as Marsha revealed in her story above.

If you aren't sure how to navigate the StLGS website to find more hidden treasures, we have a PDF guide on the home page that will walk you through what is on the site and where it is located. Scroll down to the bottom right of the home page to the "Quick Help Guides" and download your copy. Then have fun exploring and see what you can find! Be sure to let us know if you discover something exciting so we can share your story too!