History & Genealogy

The Digital Archives contain hundreds of digitized records including Missouri yearbooks, St. Louis newspapers, St. Louis City and County directories, burial certificates, maps and atlases. There are a number of features within the digital archives that make it easy to discover specific items or to simply browse. We have a vast physical collection and work will continue to digitize materials and grow the Digital Archives.

We are home to almost 20,000 family history books! Our recent acquisitions include the following surnames: Abercrombie, Achenbach, Acheson, Allison, Ames, Applegate, Baskerville, Braford, Cochran, Dameron, Dewees, Dimock, Donaphin, Eckhardt, Esquer, Irvine, Kressin, Lato, Linossier, Mack, Marfell, Monagan, Root, Scalise, Steagall, Treptow, Werstler. Many family history books circulate and can be checked out or transferred through interlibrary loan.

Prior to 1877, St. Louis County encompassed the City of St. Louis plus all other areas within the county boundaries including such towns as Kirkwood and Florissant. During that time, the county seat was the City of St. Louis. Often called the "Great Divorce," the split occurred after the citizens of St. Louis County (that included both city and county) voted on the question of whether the City of St. Louis should separate from the county and become an independent city. All City and County records created prior to the split were kept by the City of St. Louis and are housed by various governmental offices for the City of St. Louis in downtown St. Louis. City records created after the split are maintained and housed by city governmental offices for the City of St. Louis in downtown St. Louis.

We collect resources for Canada, Mexico, and thirty-two U.S. States. Resources emphasize genealogical research and include items pertaining to settlement, migration, business, industry, community, law, property, military, religion, and transportation. The Library provides a number of online guides to research in historical manuscript collections, as well as specific areas of study including French North America, Public Lands, and African American research.

St. Louis, MO is considered one of three points of the German triangle, a geographical region of the United States to which a large influx of German immigrants settled from 1840-1880. The Mississippi and Ohio rivers connected St. Louis with Cincinnati, Ohio and Minneapolis, MN to form the three points. The rivers allowed a large number of immigrants to quickly move and settle the Midwestern United States via the Port of New Orleans. Because of St. Louis' close genealogical ties to this migration, St. Louis County Library has expended significant resources to supporting German research, including assembling the largest collection of Ortsippenbucher / Ortsfamilienbucher found in the United States.

According to US Census data, there are more people who identify as being of Norwegian heritage in the United States, than reside in present-day Norway. While immigration statistics regarding Norwegians are relatively small compared to other ethnic groups, they had a tendency to marry outside of their nationality and many North Americans will discover from DNA testing that they have Norwegian Ancestry. Norway is unique in it's rural topography due to it's many islands, fjords, mountains, and valleys. The majority of the Norwegian population operates within a family farming culture. In the early 1900s, Norwegian Kommunes (municipalities) began the practice of documenting their Gards -og Slekthistorie (Farm and Family History) in a resource known Bygdebøker (Rural Settlement Books).

Civil Registration is a 20th century practice in the United States. In Europe, many countries did not begin collecting civil records until the mid-to-late 19th century. Given this fact, Denominational records are among the most useful sources encountered in genealogical research. Denominational records include records of births, infant baptisms, burials, marriages, family groups, membership, removals, punishments, and other denomination specific practices. If a genealogist can identify the religious denomination of their ancestors, they can often substitute religious records for civil registration.

The American Civil War presents a goldmine of historical information and facts that can be used to research ancestors and expand upon their experiences. From Union and Confederate units, slave compensation claims, southern claims commission records, records of the field offices of the bureau of refugees, freedmen and abandoned lands, to compiled military service records of volunteer union solders who served with the U.S. Colored Troops, descriptive recruitment lists of volunteers for the U.S. Colored Troops for the state of Missouri, and colored troops and registers of enlistments in the U.S. Army.

The Memory Lab, consisting of two dedicated rooms, located in the Emerson History and Genealogy Center on the 2nd floor of the Clark Family Branch is a do-it-yourself digitization space where you can convert your memories into digital format.

Everyone has a history with stories to tell and share. Let us help document your friends and families!

Transform those photos, notes, scrapbooks, and documents into generational legacies!