The Ross Wagner Collection consists of information on thousands of local families, most in the South County area of St. Louis, many of whom he knew personally through local churches. Mr. Wagner connected the surnames he documented to the pre-1952 original bound records of the Watchman Advocate newspaper. (Microfilmed copies of the Watchman Advocate are in the History and Genealogy Department at St. Louis County Library Headquarters.) He also checked obituaries for surnames from the South County area. Mr. Wagner’s original content may include many more details about these individuals, including marriage dates, than found in the online index. The original files may be viewed at the St. Louis Genealogical Society office.

The index may include the surname, first name, maiden name where applicable, birth date, birth place, death date, death place, and cemetery. Children and grandchildren born after 1940 and found in the original content are indexed, only if their full names were included in a published obituary. Grandchildren, whose first names only appeared in an obituary, are not indexed.

Mr. Wagner generously donated his collection to the St. Louis Genealogical Society so it could be indexed and made accessible.

It is recommended that the Search be used to find a particular name.

Last modified: 13-Mar-2018 15:00