by Christine Human Hughes, MLS
Reference Librarian, Special Collections

Copyright © 2001, St. Louis County Library. All rights reserved.

Introduction  |  Bibliography
Churches in Name Order  |  Churches by Location

This finding aid has been created to facilitate access to the Lutheran congregational records available on microfilm in St. Louis County Library's Special Collections Department. These records include all the Missouri microfilmed congregational records available at Concordia Historical Institute plus some out-of-state records. These microfilmed records primarily deal with Lutherans of German ancestry. Parish histories available in the Special Collections Department have also been noted. If the record was microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, the Family History roll number(s) has been included for the convenience of those researchers outside of the St. Louis area.

The contents of the microfilm vary according to the congregation. Typically included are official acts such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and burial. Usually, baptism and confirmation records include parents' names, but marriage records do not. Confirmation would usually occur at age 12 to 14, at which time the young adult would become a full communicant in the church. Often the records contain lists of those receiving communion. The burial or death records have a variety of information in them sometimes including date and place of birth and names or number of remaining family members. Membership rosters were also often found in these Lutheran records. The records are almost all in German, particularly prior to World War I, and even later in more rural parishes. Little if any indexing was done within the registers.

History

During the years 1838 to 1839, 665 Lutherans set sail from Bremen to St. Louis via New Orleans. These were Germans from Saxony attempting to maintain the integrity of their faith. Their intention was to settle in Perry County as many did, but some did settle permanently in St. Louis. Those settling in St. Louis established Trinity Lutheran Church in 1839. This was the first Lutheran church west of the Mississippi and the "mother church" for the later congregations of Holy Cross, Immanuel and Zion. Until 1889 these four congregations or four districts were seen as one unit, the Generalgemeinde (or Gesamtgemeinde), with the pastor of Trinity, C. F. W. Walther, being in charge, and the other "district" pastors as his assistants. Stemming from his leadership, the Missouri Synod was established in 1847, and this grew to have branches all over the world.

Additional Clues

Since not all Lutheran churches have had their records microfilmed, our collection is not all inclusive. It might be necessary to contact some churches directly. Another possibility is that the church was "Evangelical Lutheran" and may belong to the Evangelical denomination now joined with the United Church of Christ. If you do not know if your ancestor was Lutheran or Evangelical, Reverend Mark Loest, from Concordia Historical Institute, recommends this: If a civil marriage record lists the clergyman as "Pastor," he was probably Lutheran, but if listed as "Minister," he was probably Evangelical.

Clues in searching church records can be found in the census and city directories by providing place of residence, thereby allowing one to search for a church in the neighborhood where one's ancestors resided.

The full congregational mailing address has been included for writing directly to congregations. Zip codes have been intentionally left off when the parish was closed and therefore no longer accepting mail. Following is the address of Concordia Historical Institute if it is necessary to write to them.

Concordia Historical Institute
804 Seminary Place
St. Louis, MO 63105

With appreciation for assistance from Concordia Historical Institute, specifically Rev. Marvin Huggins and Rev. Mark Loest.

Introduction  |  Bibliography
Churches in Name Order  |  Churches by Location

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