Just Like Spring, Our March is "Busting Out All Over"!

It's coming! Spring is in the air, and the month of March for St. Louis Genealogical Society is overflowing with meetings and special events. If you missed our February monthly meeting, "Living on the Frontier: A Look into Missouri and Illinois," featuring St. Louis County Parks museum educator Jeffrey Edison, you can still watch the digital recording on our Monthly Meeting page. You can continue learning about St. Louis history at our March monthly meeting too. Come visit us on Saturday, March 7th for our annual Open House, come play with us at our newly revived Trivia Night on Saturday, March 21st, and attend the German SIG meeting on Saturday, March 28th. Registration for our annual Family History Conference in April is now open as well. We've got so much to share with you! Read on for the details . . . 

February Genealogy Meetings and Class AND Information on Special Upcoming Events!

As we dig out from the massive snow and ice storm this past weekend, we want to remind you that if you missed any of our January genealogy meetings, you can snuggle up on the couch and enjoy some of the recordings posted on our website. Then, you can plan ahead to join us in February. Our annual "Ask Louie at Your Service" meeting started the new year with many interesting questions, and the recording is available on our Monthly Meeting page. The German Special Interest Group (G-SIG) hosted Timo Kracke, a German genealogist, who spoke on databases hosted by German genealogical societies. That recording and Mr. Kracke's handout are available on the G-SIG page. The Irish Special Interest Group (SIG) hosted a Zoom presentation featuring Susan McKee, who provided helpful tips on "Organizing Your Genealogy: Getting Your Research Year Off to a Good Start." The recording of the meeting and Ms. McKee's handout are posted on our Irish SIG page. We hope to see you at our February meetings and our first class for 2026. Read on for details. 

Secrets of the Census, Part 5: 1880

The 1880 federal census is a turning point for family historians because, at last, we can see how people living together are related to the head of the household. Prior to this, we could only make assumptions, and too often we might be wrong! This census included questions we've seen on prior censuses, but it did not ask for value of real estate or property.

Secrets of the Census: Part 4 (1870)

From 1861 through the spring of 1865, the United States was at war with itself. By the time the Civil War ended, the nation had been torn apart; there were, by current estimates, about 700,000 or possibly more, left dead by the war, whether in combat or illness. One of the ways used to calculate that death toll was by comparing the number of men who were enumerated in 1860 to the number who were counted ten years later, in the federal census of 1870. Lots more information on this census follows.

Secrets of the Census, Part 3

The first of June 1860––The United States was less than a year away from four years of Civil War when the 1860 federal census enumerators fanned out across the country to collect data. There were more than thirty-one million people in the U.S. by then, and the enumerators had just five months to complete their task. Although quite similar to the census that preceded it, the 1860 federal census had some striking features, and this week, we’ll take a look at them.

Potpourri of Genealogy Events for Summer's Dog Days

Summer is waning; didn't it seem to go by quickly? The days are still bright, but cooler weather is finally in the forecast for those of us in the St. Louis area, and there are several interesting and exciting genealogy meetings and tours coming up around town. We'll talk about St. Louis Genealogical Society meetings for September next week; this week, we'll feature some things you might be interested in sponsored by our friends in St. Clair County (Illinois), the Missouri Historical Society, and Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Where are the Death Certificates?

St. Louis Genealogical Society has a very active presence on Facebook, both a News and Events page and a wonderful group just shy of 4,300 members. No politics, no precocious baby or animal videos, no endless goofy jokes—OK, maybe a few occasionally, but only about genealogy! We know that many people avoid social media, but our Facebook group provides a safe space for people to ask and answer genealogy questions, announce meetings and other special events, and spread the joy of genealogy. Sometimes inquiries are posted in the group that need a bit more time and space to answer, and this week brought up one that is so important, we thought we'd devote a post to it. So, for all of you asking about online death certificates, please read on . . .

Two Exciting Genealogy Announcements!

 Happy President's Day. We hope you are staying warm and dry during this winter of every kind of weather! This week, we have several items to share with you that we believe are of interest to our genealogy community. With luck, you will discover something new to help move your research forward.

Genealogy News from Missouri and Illinois

Many of us are homebound as the winter of 2025 continues to surprise us with unexpected watery and icy bounty. What better time is there to learn about more genealogy resources as well as some upcoming projects and meetings?  You won't have to shovel a drop or get out of your comfy pjs to learn about the wonderful work the Missouri State Archives has accomplished this past year or to attend a virtual meeting on researching in Illinois. So, settle in and read on for more!

StLGS Election Results and Three New Books for Sale in Our Store!

Thanks to all of you who voted in the election for two of our 2024–2025 officers. With unanimous votes, Michelle Pearce has been reelected treasurer, and Donna Foelsch will take over as vice president for programs beginning in January. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Kay Weber, who currently holds that position and is ready to step down and hand the reins to Donna. Kay has worked tirelessly during the past few years to ensure the society’s meetings, classes, and special events have been of wide-ranging appeal. She has juggled countless schedules, phone calls, texts, and emails, so our meetings could run as smoothly as possible. Because of her efforts, all of us have greatly benefitted, and we thank her from the bottoms of our hearts for all she has done for StLGS. In addition to her job as vice president for programs, Kay is co-leader of our Irish SIG, and we look forward to her continuing in that position in the future.

And now for some great new books just added to our online store, of special interest to those of you whose ancestors may have served in the military fighting for the Union during the Civil War . . .

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 . . .

November Genealogy Events and News

Finally, it feels like fall! Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa will be here before we know it. Our genealogy year is winding down, but we have an interesting monthly meeting planned for November, and, if you missed the livestreaming of our Fall Speaker Series, "Mapping Our Ancestors," you can still register to watch the digital recordings. Our friends in St. Clair County, Illinois, have an upcoming meeting that may be helpful to you, and we want to share an honor recently bestowed on a historic African American cemetery in St. Louis County. Read on for all the details.

Doing Genealogy? Don't Forget History and Geography Too!

If you have been researching your family for a while, you have undoubtedly encountered tragedy. We often speak of the “good old days,” but the reality was that life was difficult and harsh, especially for pioneer families throughout the nineteenth century. It is especially important for genealogists to understand the conditions in which our ancestors lived, and to do so, we need to work not only with names, dates, and places, but with an understanding of history and geography.