Salem in Ballwin United Methodist Church

Genealogical Data

The following records from this congregation are available:

Baptisms from 1859 to 1893, 1896 to 1914, and 1916 to 1923

Confirmations from 1918 to 1946

Marriages from 1865 to 1912, 1915 to 1935, and 1946 to 1978

Deaths from 1905 to 1912 and 1916 to 1973

List of pastors

StLGS is following state guidelines for privacy wherever possible. Births/baptisms online must be at least one hundred years old; confirmations eighty-six years old; marriages forty-five years old; and deaths fifty years old. Additional 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

14825 Manchester Road, Ballwin
Photo © 2011 Donald A. Wallace
(Used with permission)

Established in 1847, still active

Founded in 1847 as the German Methodist Episcopal Church, this congregation renamed itself the Salem Church of Ballwin in 1871. In 2002, it took its current name. Although the church organized in 1847, they didn’t erect a permanent building until 1855. The first church, a small white frame building, was on a lot bought for twenty dollars from John Ball, the founder of Ballwin. They also used the building as a school and later sold it to the Board of Education as the first school in the city of Ballwin. That building, located at 110 Elm Street, was demolished in 1900 to make way for a more substantial structure, which has since been moved to a new location.

The present brick church went up in 1870 on Manchester Road. It was the only Methodist church in St. Louis that continued to have worship services in German until World War I, at which time the ministers were forced by public opinion to change to English.

Through time, Manchester Road has moved and widened. The church, which also has a cemetery, was forced to relocate about 300 burials. John Ball and his wife Mary were moved to the cemetery at Manchester Methodist Church, which they also helped found. Some Ball family members remain at the Salem Cemetery.

Address: 14825 Manchester Road, Ballwin, Missouri 63011

Telephone: 636-256-7171

Website: https://salemballwinumc.org/

Location 1847–1870: 110 Elm Street, Ballwin, Missouri 63011, German Methodist Episcopal Church

(This street no longer exists, but it was west of Ries Road, just south of Manchester in the area that is today the site of a Lowe’s store.)

GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.5934685, -90.2212451  View Map

Location 1870–present: 14825 Manchester Road, Ballwin, Missouri 63011

GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.5934685, -90.2212451  View Map