The federal government established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Depression. Many St. Louis residents participated in this program. If your ancestor(s) worked for the WPA, you may obtain a copy of their federal personnel records.

The National Civilian Personnel Records Center houses the personnel records for former WPA workers. You may write to this facility to obtain a copy of the personnel record for your ancestor. If the worker is still living, he or she must sign the record request. Otherwise, send a copy of the death certificate along with the request.

If your ancestor was a civilian government employee in another area, contact the same facility for his/her record. The records include the personnel folder, medical records, and dependent medical folders. While most of the records housed at this facility are from 1900 to the present, if a civilian employee retired after 1900, his entire record is included.

National Archives Records Administration
National Civilian Personnel Records Center
111 Winnebago St.
St. Louis, Missouri 63118-4199
314-538-4271

Bibliography

Missouri: The WPA Guide to the Show Me State. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Press, 1998.

The WPA Guide to 1930s Missouri. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas, 1941.