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St. Louis Genealogy and Local History

Birth Records for St. Louis

Saint Louis County, Missouri register of births (1883-1895) and stillbirths (1883-1908)

 

Indexed sources

Missouri. St. Louis County. St. Louis County Clerk. Vital Records. Register of Births, 1883-1895 and Register of Stillbirths: 1883-1908. Microfilm. St. Louis County Library fillm no. STLV-1 (Missouri State Archives film no. C36954).

Description

The State of Missouri first passed legislation for county-by-county recording of births and deaths in 1883, but records are incomplete as recording wasn't mandatory. Although the legislation was repealed in 1893, St. Louis County continued to record births and deaths until 1910 when new legislation made records compulsory. From 1883 to 1895, more than 3,300 births were recorded for St. Louis County, with the first birth listed on September 28, 1883. From 1883 until 1908, more than 200 stillbirths were recorded.

Photocopies of indexed articles may be requested by email from the History and Genealogy Department. Limit of three searches per request. Submit a lookup request online.

About the Records

For live births, the index includes father's name, mother's maiden name, child's name (when listed), birth date and order of birth within the register. Additional information on the microfilm includes

  • Date recorded
  • Sex and race or color of child
  • Number of order of birth in family
  • Place of birth
  • Name of father, age and occupation
  • Name of mother, maiden name and age
  • Nationality and place of birth of mother and father
  • Residence of mother
  • Name and address of medical attendant
  • Name and address of person making certificate

For stillbirths, the index includes father's name, mother's name, birth date and order of stillbirth within the register. Additional information on the microfilm includes:

  • Date recorded
  • Sex and race or color of child
  • Place of birth
  • Name of father and mother
  • Nationality of mother and father
  • Residence of mother
  • Cause of death (if known)
  • Signature and address of medical attendant
  • Name and address of person making certificate
  • Undertaker and place of burial

User’s Guide for the Microfilm Set, Record of Births 1850–1910 and Index to Record of Births, 1910–Dec 1929 for St. Louis, Missouri

This user’s guide was created based on a microfilm set of birth registers (1850–1910) and indexes to births (1910–Dec 1929) for the City of St. Louis.  This set is now available on FamilySearch:  MO, St. Louis City, Record of Births, 1850–1910

OVERVIEW OF THE SET

While this microfilm set contains a wealth of information, it is consistently a challenge to use. Researchers may find pages that are:

  • in good condition and readable
  • in poor condition and nearly impossible to read
  • torn, or are missing the tops of pages—containing the dates and headers
  • mended with tape, which obscures whatever was written beneath the tape
  • usually not numbered
  • when numbered, the page numbering appears to be done at a later time and not always to be correct
  • blank and form gaps between the pages which do contain recorded information

Keeping this roll-by-roll guide beside the microfilm reader helps one remain oriented while working with this record set that lacks a consistent alphabetical or chronological order.

RECORDS OF BIRTHS, 1850–1910

The records cover the both St. Louis City and County until roughly 1883, then the city only thereafter.

Occasionally in the finding aid listings there is a question mark next to a date. This means that the date was uncertain. On some rolls, when the records were filmed, it appears that the pages were loose within the books and that no effort was made to put the pages into any semblance of order. This listing for these rolls will help locate the needed pages.

Birth records were generally listed in the order in which they were recorded, not in the order of birth. This may mean that a birth for January may not be listed until September if the parents did not register the birth right away. Also, some scattered births may be recorded at the end of the year, so check the end of December for births that occurred earlier in the year. If a birth is not located in the expected place, then check the entire year for that birth.

Occasionally there are no entries for a particular letter for a given time period. The reasons for this are unknown. The most common instance for this is the letter X. It is noted in this guide when entries are missing for a letter or time period or other specific instances where records appear to be missing.

For some of the less common letters, such as I or Q, all the entries are sometimes listed under a single heading with only the year indicated. However, all of the entries for that year are within this list.

Once in a while, a page appears with a sign that says “Correction”. A re-filmed page should immediately follow the “Correction” page. Also, a page or pages were sometimes filmed more than once. Simply keep going, and the listings will continue on the following pages.

INDEX TO RECORDS OF BIRTHS, 1910–DEC 1929

These are arranged differently than the birth registers. Within the entries for surnames beginning with a specific letter of the alphabet, vowel headings appear at the top of each page—A, E, I, O, U & Y. The names are usually listed in a column corresponding to the first vowel following the first letter of the name, for example: Franke would be found in the column headed A, and Abels would be found in the column headed E. Within these headings, the listings are generally arranged by month, so the months are scattered throughout the letter. Because there are a number of exceptions, it is important to take a look at the entries for any book and see how the clerk(s) arranged the names, then search accordingly. Entries may not be consistent within a book because different clerks entered the information in different ways. Also, the months are more scattered within each letter. Be sure to check the entire listing for any letter for these books. The last reel of the set, RBSL–25, is different. It does not contain vowel headings and the entries are simply listed by date in order by the first letter of the last name.

For the Complete Users Guide, including the reel-by-reel breakdown, please download the included PDF below: 

Missouri Birth Index

Reclaim the Records has acquired and made publicly available the Missouri Birth and Death Index from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.  Researchers can search index entries from 1920 - 2015 on the website: https://www.missouribirthindex.com/

In Missouri, only the registrant (the person named on the birth certificate), a member of his/her family, his/her guardian, or one of their official representatives shall be considered to have a direct and tangible interest and may be issued a certified copy of a vital record such as a birth certificate. Immediate family members can include those family members and in-laws in the direct line of descent up to, but not including, cousins. Official representatives can include an attorney, physician, or other authorized agent acting on behalf of the registrant or his/her family. Official representatives need to demonstrate a link between themselves and the registrant on the vital record or qualified family member.

Read the Missouri Code of State Regulations - 19 CSR 10-10 or check out the detailed examples on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) website for more information.

Pre-1910 Births in St. Louis

The Missouri State Archives maintains a Pre-1910 Birth and Death database.  Missouri did not begin issuing Birth and Death Certificates until 1910 - so any records of Birth or Death were kept by the local county. 

 

The Missouri Birth and Death database can be found in the lower left-hand corner of the search screen. As Civil Registration was not require prior to 1910, many individuals will not be found in the Pre-1910 Birth Registers.