Congregation Shaare Emeth

Genealogical Data

The following index and records from this congregation are available:

Marriages from 1877 to 1974

StLGS is following state guidelines for privacy wherever possible. Marriages must be at least forty-five years old to be posted online. Additional indexed data from these records is available; please come to the StLGS office to view it. As privacy limits permit, society volunteers will post additional data online.

History

Established in 1867; still active in 2018

In 1855, B’nai El Congregation constructed the first Jewish synagogue in St. Louis, but within a decade the Reform movement in Judaism became active in the city and some members of that early congregation decided to leave. They began as the Saint Louis Temple Association but by 1867 had become Shaare Emeth (Gates of Truth) and were the first Reform congregation in the city. On 28 August 1869, they consecrated their first building at the corner of Seventeenth and Pine Streets. That same year, B’nai El and Shaare Emeth formed an association to purchase Mount Sinai Cemetery on Gravois Road.

Divisions within the congregation forced their rabbi, Dr. S. H. Sonneschein, to leave the congregation taking a number of members with him in 1886. This group would go on to found Temple Israel, which became the third joint owner of the Mt. Sinai Cemetery. A decade later, the Shaare Emeth congregation moved westward. They erected a new building in 1897 at Vandeventer and Lindell Boulevards.

As the Jewish population of St. Louis continued to leave the city and move into St. Louis County, Congregation Shaare Emeth did too. They erected a new building on Trinity Avenue in University City and remained there for more than thirty years. Their final move was even further west in 1974 to their current campus.

Address: 11645 Ladue Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141

Telephone: 314-569-0010

Website: http://www.sestl.org/

11645 Ladue Road
Photo © 2011 Karl Bloomberg
(Used with permission)

560 Trinity Ave.
Photo © 2011 Phil Klaskin
(Used with permission)

Location 1869–1896: 17th and Pine, St. Louis, Missouri 63103
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.6298047,-90.2049112 View Map

Location 1897–1932: Lindell Boulevard and Vandeventer Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63108
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.6389246,-90.2430897 View Map

Location 1932–1974: 560 Trinity Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.6557154,-90.3127038 View Map

Location 1974–Present: 11645 Ladue Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141
GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.6567327,-90.4436032 View Map