Society Resources


The Society has a wealth of resources devoted to furthering our mission. Perhaps the most important is service provided by our dedicated set of volunteers. Learn more about volunteer opportunities.

St. Louis Records


The Society continues to make St. Louis records from the past available in a variety of formats. Some are made available for sale on CDs or in books. Others are available for research at the Society office. Increasingly, we are adding such records to this website under the Research tab of this navigation bar. A directory to the web pages with those records is here.

Library


The Society’s main research facility is our library collection at the St. Louis County Library Special Collections. This 20,000-volume collection is a major resource for researching St. Louis ancestors. Library staff and Society volunteers are on-site to assist with your family history research questions.

Services


The St. Louis Genealogical Society is, above all, a service and educational organization. For members who can trace their ancestry to early residents of St. Louis, we offer the First Families Program as a way to honor and preserve the histories of those ancestors. Our office staff includes many knowledgeable volunteers, who are happy to work with members on their research questions. We ask that you call in advance to arrange a meeting.

This website provides a list of names being researched by our members, along with the researcher's contact information. You may join an e-mail list on which you can ask questions and receive answers from other subscribers. The Society also offers a variety of map and photo services to assist your research.

For our members and friends who live out of the St. Louis area but who have St. Louis area ancestors, we offer a broad and inexpensive Research Service. For those who may wish to hire a researcher for more extensive work, we provide a list of Researchers for Hire.

Computer Lab


We maintain a computer lab used for research by office visitors. This lab also supports our volunteer activities to provide records in electronic form, is part of the classroom for our education program, and allows review of many genealogical software programs.

Office Research


While our office serves primarily as the business center for the Society, it also houses some research materials that our members should be aware of. The reading room includes books, microfilm and microfiche, CDs, and other materials pertaining to St. Louis and the surrounding counties in Missouri and Illinois, as well as general research aids and materials on the ethnic groups important in the settlement of St. Louis. The office also houses a large set of vertical files, arranged by the primary surname of each family. These typically contain one-of-a-kind material. A partial surname cross-reference is available for these files.

On This Site


This website provides a lot of information as noted above. In addition, there are genealogical links to other websites important for your St. Louis research, a frequently asked questions page to facilitate your use of the site, page with links to general research tips, and an opportunity for you to provide feedback for our continuing effort to serve you better.