The StLGS Online Store Has Expanded!

With the introduction of our newly rebuilt online store, we can now offer some extra perks for our friends and members online! We frequently have people asking to purchase gift certificates for StLGS membership, products, and events. Until recently, we've only been able to provide those in-person or via mail. But that is now changing! In addition, we have greatly expanded our selection of books for sale by adding the gently used history and genealogy books in our Trading Post to our online store. We are excited to share the details with you!

A Taste of Our FHC AND Please, Don't Toss Those Yearbooks!

Our annual Family History Conference on Saturday, 3 May 2025, was a huge success, thanks to dozens of hard-working volunteers and more than one hundred curious participants, both in-person and online. For the first time since the pandemic, we had an almost-capacity live audience, and our three dynamic speakers captivated everyone with the endless possibilities that artificial intelligence and DNA analysis bring to genealogy. If you couldn't attend on Saturday, we have a treat for you—all the lectures were recorded, and they will be available for viewing for the next three months. Here's how you can access them . . .

StLGS News to Start the New Year

As the new year begins and a huge storm engulfs most of the country, we thought we'd bring you a bit of cheer with a few items of interest from our society. Our social media reach is expanding, and we want you to know how and where to get the latest information from us. And, at this time of end-of-year giving (and upcoming spring cleaning), we're restating our policies on what types of donated materials we can accept.

A Preview of 2025 AND It's Giving Tuesday!

As this year begins to wind down, the StLGS Programs Committee has been hard at work getting all of our exciting events for 2025 in place. We are ready to open registration for the January meetings, we have a full-day Jewish genealogy seminar coming in early February, an Open House planned for March, and much more! We offer you a teaser of January events this week with much more to come as we get closer to the new year. And, this week brings us Giving Tuesday, which all non-profits, like St. Louis Genealogical Society, rely on for much-needed donations. Please read on for details.

A Thanksgiving Genealogy Gift and Another Farewell

StLGS bids farewell to another past-president with the passing on 26 October 2024 of Neil Fiala, who served in 2000–2001. Neil and his wife Barbara were active volunteers throughout the 1990s, and you can read more about them below. We also have a very special gift to all of you, courtesy of our intrepid "geospatial genealogist," Jim Bellenger, who has been working non-stop on creating maps for every cemetery on our website. This past week, we have finalized and uploaded about forty new maps, and the linked list below is a thank you for your generous donations to the society. Read on for all the details . . .

Officer Election Results, Exciting Website News, and Thank You to Our Supporters!

Thanks to all of you who voted in the election for our 2025–2026 officers. With unanimous votes, we will have co-presidents for the next two years as Kathy Franke and Jeani Ward share that position. Jim Yochim has been reelected as vice president for membership, and Debbie Benoit will take over as secretary beginning in January. We’d like to say a huge thank you to both Karen Goode and Cindy Finnegan, our current president and our society's secretary, who are ready to step down and hand the reins to our newly elected officers. Cindy has prepared board meeting notes, tackled dozens of thank you letters, scanned years' worth of old documents, and assisted at many of our events. As president for the past four years, Karen has managed to guide us successfully through one disaster after another. Her tenure began with a complete shutdown due to the pandemic, which led us to learning from scratch how to set up Zoom and hybrid meetings. After the office opened again, and we settled back into a more normal routine, it was time for a massive cleanup so we could get new carpet and a much-needed paint job. When all was finally sparkling clean and everything in place, we were faced with water damage due to a badly leaking roof, which shut us down for weeks again, and now, Karen is leading us through a complete redesign of our website. (More on that in just a bit.) Her leadership skills and her determination and perseverance in the face of one obstacle after another have kept our society on a steady course during some incredibly difficult times. We thank both Cindy and Karen for their hard work and look forward to seeing both of them enjoying some new adventures in the coming year.

And now for some exciting news about our StLGS website  . . .

Spring Cleaning for Genealogy: Finding Homes for Your "Stuff"

What should you do with your "stuff"? We talk about it a lot, but it always bears repeating, especially as many of us are doing spring cleaning. Books, magazines, photos, maps, letterheads, where do they go if you are downsizing or thinking of the future? If you have willing family members who are into genealogy, the answer is probably easy, but what if you don’t? Where does the “stuff” go? We will try to help you with that question this week.

January 2024 StLGS Genealogy Meetings and Classes

Happy New Year! Before we tell you about the exciting meetings and classes we have planned to kick off 2024, we want to say a huge THANK YOU! to all of you who generously donated to St. Louis Genealogical Society during the past year. The outpouring of donations and words of encouragement we have received from you mean the world to all of us who volunteer for the society. Everything we do throughout the year is for the betterment of our members and friends, and we thank you so very much for recognizing that. Now, read on to learn what we have waiting in the wings as the new year begins. . .

Happy Boxing Day!

It’s December 26th, and for most of us that means that we have made it through Chanukah and Christmas. We can thaw out from the extremely cold weekend and think ahead to celebrating the new year. But did you know that for many people around the world, December 26th is a holiday called Boxing Day? And it is very likely that some of our ancestors were active participants in that extra day of giving and receiving. The modern celebration of Boxing Day only began during the 1830s when Queen Victoria reigned in Great Britain, but the origin of the holiday goes much further back in time.

More Free Interactive Maps for Genealogy and a Big Thank You!

After almost three years of pandemic uncertainty, the one thing that St. Louis Genealogical Society can be sure of is the loyalty and generosity of our members and friends. If you have been a regular reader of our blog, you know that like many non-profits, we have struggled to stay active and vital during a very difficult time. Because we have been so limited in what we can do to raise funds, we have relied more than usual on donations, and we are just overwhelmed by how incredibly generous so many of you have been.

Gift Ideas for Genealogists

Are you ready for the holiday season? It's here! As we look ahead to Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, it's time to start thinking about holiday gifts for those genealogists on your shopping list, and we are pleased to present our traditional "Genealogy Gift Guide," in case you need some ideas. Although it's easier than it was during the past few years at this time to get out to the stores, you can still purchase almost all of these items online. So whether you get into your car or shop in your jammies at your computer, have fun fulfilling someone's (or your own) wish lists.

Please Help StLGS Move Forward in 2022!

Once again, as we approach the end of our second Pandemic Year, St. Louis Genealogical Society is encouraging all our wonderful, loyal members and friends to remember us in year-end giving plans. As we look back on where we have been and where we are going, it is obvious that only through your support, donations, and participation has our society been able to weather this long storm. 

We are so proud of how much we have learned during these past two years. Having mastered the basics of remote learning in 2020, we spent 2021 perfecting our ability to reach you via Zoom and planning for how to emerge from the pandemic in 2022, once it is completely safe to welcome you back in person. 

Bunches of Thanks Coming Your Way!

(StLGS president, Kay Weber, who will hand her gavel to Karen Goode on 1 January 2021, has written the first part of this week’s post. Kay has provided four years of excellent leadership to StLGS and has held us together with her calm efficiency and unfailing good humor through this most challenging of years. With Kay’s guidance, we have come out of the pandemic as strong and solid as we were when it started, and we owe her a huge debt of gratitude for steering us through this storm!)

More Than Ever, St. Louis Genealogical Society Needs Your Support

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and, in this upside-down and frequently difficult and nerve-wracking year, we all will be delighted to bring some joy and celebration into our lives. However, it is also a time to think about how to ensure the future for some of our favorite institutions that have been hard-hit by the pandemic this year. The pandemic has made 2020 an especially challenging year for our society. While we were able to hold meetings for the first few months of the year, Trivia Night in early March was the last event that was held in person. The rest of the year has been a ceaseless effort of rescheduling and designing "Plan B." What we have been able to accomplish is only possible because of your memberships and donations.

StLGS Surname Files Index Updated and Online

(Thanks to Judy Belford, our Reference Room librarian, for contributing this week's blog post.)

The St. Louis Genealogical Society Surname Files Index is back online! The index has been down for several months as we inventoried the surname folders in our office, sorted them, and reassessed the collection. The files are made up of a wide variety of material that has been donated to the society over many years by members and friends. We currently have folders on nearly 2,700 surnames. Each surname is listed only once in the index and may refer to a single postcard or to multiple folders of the same or different families.

You can access the Surname Files Index on our website. Since this is such a long index, be sure you select the “Show More Results” link at the end of each screen to see all of the names.

The contents in each file can vary widely, but may contain items such as:

• Pedigree charts
• Family group sheets
• Correspondence
• Newspaper articles
• Photocopies from books or journals
• Research notes

Neither the files nor their contents may be removed from the office, but anyone coming into the office to use the files may make paper copies as desired for a nominal fee. Or, if you bring your smart phone or camera, you are welcome to take photographs.

Because of the inconsistent nature of materials in the files, we recommend that you contact the reference room librarian to learn the contents of a file before coming into the office.

We are once again accepting new material for surname files. Donations must be genealogical in nature (no photograph albums, scrapbooks, baby books, or personal memorabilia) and have some connection to St. Louis. The StLGS librarian reserves the right to edit the contents of donated surname material before adding anything to our collection. For more information or if you have questions about what or how to donate, please send an email to library@stlgs.org or call the office at 314-647-8547 during office hours and ask for the reference room librarian.

How StLGS Members Can Help the Society

Recently, StLGS members received a letter from our president asking for donations to the society. As we approach the holiday season, we hope you will find some space in your end-of-year planning to support StLGS.

Unlike some larger non-profits, StLGS is funded completely by donations, dues, and sales. We have no grants or benefactors. What we do is only possible because of your donations. Every dollar that comes into our office goes towards fulfilling our mission: "promoting family history research by providing educational and research opportunities, offering community services, and collecting, preserving, and publishing genealogical and historical records."

Our all-volunteer staff continues to work tirelessly:

• Assisting researchers, answering questions, and greeting visitors
• Offering members free classes and lecturing and teaching throughout the community
• Scanning, indexing, and proofreading a wide assortment of original records
• Posting new data to the website, creating new web pages and informational flyers, publishing our Quarterly journal, and curating this blog, and our Facebook and Twitter feeds 
• Planning exciting programs and events for the coming year

Updated Technology

Because our website and our office computer network are so vital to our ability to communicate with the public, we must keep both entities protected and current. Website security is maintained by an off-site professional company, a fixed expense we willingly pay. Volunteers maintain the integrity of our office network. Next year, we will upgrade our office software and increase the level of security in our office network.

New Projects and Data

We also are actively exploring livestreaming, webinars, and other online options to expand our classes and meetings to out-of-town members. Our website continues to grow with the addition of more congregations, biographies, and other St. Louis-related material. You can always discover what is new by going to the New On This Site page.

How Can You Help?

Any amount you can send will be much appreciated, and we hope you will use the envelope you received to return a check or credit card donation. Your gift to StLGS is tax deductible to the extent allowed by current law.

Matching Donations, Amazon Smile, and Schnucks eScrip

Because StLGS is a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) organization, we qualify for matching donation funds from companies that offer them. In the past, we have received matching funds from AT&T, MasterCard, and Boeing. Does your employer support matching donations? If so, please think of earmarking your donation to StLGS that way.

For the past five years, we have also been a member of the smile.amazon.com donation program. If you are planning to shop online this holiday season, please log on to https://smile.amazon.com and choose St. Louis Genealogical Society as the recipient of your donation. It costs you nothing, but Amazon will donate a portion of every one of your purchases to the society.

In addition, Schnucks grocery stores still accept eScrip/Community cards. You cannot, however, use them with the current rewards program, but if you choose to forego your personal points, you can still designate rewards to go to the charity of your choice. If you have an eScrip/Community card, please select StLGS as the recipient of your points. They turn into dollars for us! You can learn more about the eScrip program on the eScrip website.

All of these programs are open to all. If you have friends or relatives who would like to join you in supporting the society, please encourage them to do so.

From the bottom of our hearts . . .

Shop to Support StLGS

(Thanks to StLGS treasurer, Viki Fagyal, for contributing this reminder of how we can all support the society by simply shopping!)

Did you know there are two super-easy ways to support the St. Louis Genealogical Society by doing what you do every day—shopping? Both Amazon and Schnucks supermarkets offer free programs that help support local non-profit organizations. As you may know, StLGS is an all-volunteer non-profit organization, so every penny we receive in donations goes directly to paying for the things genealogists want to see: informative new webpages on StLGS.org, better speakers, and new publications. We rely on donations to help defray the day-to-day costs of keeping up our computer network, maintaining our website, and keeping our office doors open. How can you help?

AmazonSmile

There are several ways you can make donations to StLGS that don’t involve anything more than designating the society as your charity of choice. AmazonSmile is a program we have belonged to for many years. If you are an Amazon shopper, please consider making your purchases via the Smile program. It’s so easy!


To learn more about the program, you can read the FAQ page. Then, from the list of charities at https://smile.amazon.com/, choose St. Louis Genealogical Society, and from that point on, whenever you make a purchase, do it through the link to smile.amazon.com. Your shopping cart, Amazon account, and personal details will be exactly the same. The only difference is that Amazon will donate .05 percent of your purchase price to the society. You may want to bookmark the smile link so you always start your Amazon shopping that way.

Schnucks

If you are a customer of Schnucks supermarkets, you can use the My Schnucks eScrip card so that a portion of your purchase will be donated to StLGS. If you don't have a My Schnucks card (or an older Community Card), ask for one at the customer service desk the next time you shop. Then register your card online at escrip.com/schnucks or by calling 1-800-931-6258.

Just show your card each time you check out and up to three percent of your purchase goes to StLGS. You would be surprised to see how these charitable donations add up with all of our members helping.

And, if you work for a company that has matching gifts, please consider designating St. Louis Genealogical Society as your charity.

Your StLGS membership and continued support help make the society better for all of us. Please consider using these free, convenient methods to give to St. Louis Genealogical Society.

Thank you so much!