It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.
Missouri
State Archives, Missouri State Information
Center,
[EMAIL]
P.O. Box 1747, 600 West Main Str, Jefferson City, MO 65102; Phone: (573) 751-3280,
Fax: (573) 526-7333
"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette." Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum, Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
West Central Missouri Genealogical Society and Library
P.O. Box 4, Warrensburg, MO 64093; Phone: (660) 747-6264,
[EMAIL]
Northland
Genealogy Society
P.O. Box 14121, Parkville, MO 64152; Phone: (816) 741-3981,
[EMAIL]
White
River Valley Historical Society , P.O. Box 555,
Point Lookout, MO 65726
African
Historical & Geneaolgical Research Society
P.O. Box 4964, St. Louis, MO 63108; 314-652-5330
Afro-American
Historical & Genealogical Society-Landon Creek Chapter
P.O. Box 231804, St. Louis, MO 63121-0804
Jewish
Genealogical Society, C/O United Hebrew Congregation
One Gudder Campus, 13788 Conway Rd., Creve Coeur 63141
German
American Heritage Society, 10 Maryland Plaza, St.
Louis, MO 63108; (314) 367-4303
German
Cultural Institute, 326 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis,
MO 63108; (314) 367-2452
German
Cultural Society, 3652 S. Jefferson, St. Louis, MO
63118; (314) 771-8368
Carondelet
Historical Society , 6303 Michigan, St. Louis MO
63111; (314) 481-6303
St.
Louis Genealogical Society (Please send correspondence
to the PO Box)
#4 Sunnen Drive, Suite 140, PO Box 43010, St. Louis, Missouri 63143-0010;
314-647-8547 phone;314-647-8548 fax
Tri-County
Genealogical Society, (Vernon - Cedar - St.
Clair Counties)
218 W. Walnut, P. O. Box B, Nevada, MO 64772; Phone: (417) 876-2976 tricountygenealogy@centurytel.net
White
River Valley Historical Society, P.O. Box 555, Point
Lookout, MO 65726
Statewide and locally, many genealogical periodicals are published in Missouri. Both the Missouri Historical Review and the Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal cover the state on a broader spectrum. The active local organizations can be contacted regarding their current publications as well as activities. To determine available material of a local nature refer to the Directory published by State Historical Society of Missouri.
Statewide or regional publications include the following: [ see specific county page for individual county list ]
Western
Historical Manuscript Collection-Kansas City
302 Newcomb Hall,
University of Missouri-Kansas City,
5100 Rockhill Road,
Kansas City, MO 64110
Phone: (816) 235-1543; Fax: (816) 235-5500,
E-mail: WHMCKC@umkc.edu
The State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia holds the most complete newspaper collection. The earliest extant is the Missouri Gazette, 1808-14, which has been microfilmed. The society has published Guide to Missouri Newspapers: When and Where 1808-1963 compiled by William H. Taft, (Columbia: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1964). In addition, A Catalogue of Missouri Newspapers on Microfilm is also available from the society for $10. The society will loan their microfilmed newspapers through the interlibrary loan system.
Several early newspapers have been abstracted for their genealogical material. These include The Liberty Tribune, The Springfield Advertiser, The St. Louis Christian Advocate, Death Records From Missouri Newspapers 1810-1857, Death Records of Missouri Men, and Death Records of Missouri Pioneer Women. These have been privately published and are available in many libraries.
The State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia has indexed some of its newspapers, particularly those located in their immediate geographic area, and will check that index for you. The list of these counties (as of 1984) was published as “Newspapers Indexed for Obituaries,” Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal, Vol. 16, (Fall 1984): 185. The Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis has a unique obituary clippings collection which began over one hundred years ago. This collection concentrates on newspapers published in the eastern part of the state.
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
