Names Mentioned in Records of Colored Marriages Performed by Herman Steines and Frederick W. Steines, J.P.s, 1865-1871
Herman Steines was born in Kettwig, Germany and arrived in St. Louis in 1833. He married and had six children. He farmed, taught school, practiced medicine, and served as a Justice of the Peace in the Meramec Township of St. Louis County. Herman performed all marriages in the area before April 1869. Frederick W. Steines, Herman’s son, performed the later marriages.
Although Herman performed marriages between enslaved people, they were not legally recognized by the state of Missouri until 26 December 1864. The state then said that any enslaved people who had been previously married had to be remarried. Fathers were instructed to give a list of their children (abbreviated here as “Ch/”) to the justice and they had to be recorded. The following list is one that Frederick W. Steines included with his marriage records. For the full list of marriages, see the Steines marriage record page.
Joyce Mercer copied these records with the permission of Sharon Hemmen and Irma McKenzie for publication in the 1998 St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly, volume 31, number 3, page 93.
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Last modified: 15-Apr-2025 10:53