Skip to Main Content

St. Louis Cemeteries and Burials

W - Cemeteries

Cemetery Name:  Walnut Plains

Location: Southwest corner Clayton Rd and Brentwood Rd.
Year Opened:  1834
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 37
Removals To and From: TO: Bellefontaine
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W01
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: Members of the Clayton and McCausland families were removed to Bellefontaine Cemetery however there is no record of other removals from this former cemetery.

Cemetery Name:  Walter

Location: Babler Forest d=Dr. at Franklin Co. border
Year Opened:  Family
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation:
Number of Burials: 1
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W15
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: . Undoubtedly there are more burials in that location.

Cemetery Name:  Walton (Judge)

Location: Probably a single grave - unknown location.
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 1
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W02
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes:

Cemetery Name:  Wardenburg

Location: 1033 Highway BA near Babler State Park, Wildwood.
Year Opened:  1884
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 11
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W03
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources: At Rest in Wildwood, R 977.865 A861
Notes:

Cemetery Name:  Warfield

Location: 1/2 mile west of Pond Road, off Manchester Rd., Wildwood
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 8
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W04
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: On old Richard Funk property

Cemetery Name:  Washington Park

Location: 5500 James S. McDonnell Blvd.
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: African American
Number of Burials: 0
Removals To and From: Various.  See SLGS Cem. Vol. 5, pp. 109-206
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 3
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W05
Fiche / Film: 
Sacred Green Space (Pg.): 437
Additional Sources: Washington Park Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri Reinterments, R 977.866 W319
Notes: Located at intersection of Natural Bridge Road and Brown Road in North St. Louis County.  Many burials removed for airport and metrolink expansion.  Cemetery in poor condition and has been in private hands for decades.  Records: There are 2 files of physical cards. Name Cards (a.k.a. burial cards) and Lot Cards. Ideally there should be:

1. one name card for each person buried containing:

a. last name, first name (with suffixes attached in this field)

b. age

c. address (many times this contains a hospital)

d. cause, place, and date of death

e. burial section, lot, and grave

f. date of interment

g. other information like burial permit and undertaker

2. one lot card for each section/lot containing:

a. purchaser’s info, salesperson, price (out of scope at this time)

b. name of each person, grave number, date of interment

c. notes on container and grave type

Data Issues:

1. Some people are in one file but not the other.

2. Sept 1987-1989: Over One-Thousand name cards contain no section/lot/grave and some people who appear on lot cards have no name card at all.  These lot cards are hand-written on index cards and easy to identify

Cemetery Maps

 

Locating a Burial at Washington Park
Each search for a grave at Washington Park Cemetery, Berkeley, MO, is a research project. The following process was developed by Dan Newman, long-time Washington Park volunteer and recorded by Kathy Franke, St. Louis Genealogical Society:

  1. Once you find the Section/Lot/Grave numbers, go to a map of the section. (If no map exists, you have to kind of figure out the section layout yourself).
  2. Find a grave marker in the section and look up the location of that person’s grave by using Find-a-Grave or cemetery records at St. Louis Genealogical Society or Missouri Historical Society.
  3. Locate that lot number on the section map and note it’s relative distance from the lot you seek.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until your search leads you to either a grave marker for your person or to a nearby grave.
  5. When you are close by, you may use measurements to find the grave you are seeking.
  6. Many stones have moved over the years by either erosion or human intervention. So you must use your detective skills to decide which locations to trust.

Measurements:

  1. Most lots are either 3-grave lots or 6-grave lots, measuring 10’ x 9’ and 10’ x 18’, respectively. The lot dimensions are on the surveyors’ maps. (That is 10 feet by 9 feet and 10 feet by 18 feet.)
  2. Be aware that the maps show ditto marks for adjoining lots which may look like the number 11. Look for the lot measurements on a lot near the edge of the section.
  3. Walkways are usually 4 feet wide.
  4. Measuring from grave 1 to the adjoining lot’s grave 1 should be 10 feet.
  5. Measuring from grave 1 to grave 2 in a 10’ lot will be 3 feet, 4 inches.

General layouts of WPC:

  1. Original maps of the whole cemetery show section 9 near the front, it was never used up there (except for one burial). Section 9 is in the back along Hwy 70. Where it is shown on the map is now Sec 1A.
  2. Section 6 and 6A seem to be the same area.
  3. As far as the layout of graves within a lot, most have the graves arranged with 1 being in the South West corner (or on the left as you face the gravestone) and 6 being in the North East corner of the lot.

1

2

3

4

5

6

  1. A few lots are laid out in the reverse. This can be difficult to determine:

6

5

4

3

2

1

  1. All sections have odd-shaped lots along roads or other obstacles.  These usually have a letter next to the lot number. This also occurs when the roads were narrowed to accommodate more graves than planned in the original surveys.

Cemetery Name:  Wesleyan (1)

Location: Franklin and Pratte (later Easton), St. Louis
Year Opened:  1820
Year Closed:  1851
Type or Affiliation: Methodist
Number of Burials: 7224
Removals To and From: TO: Centenary Methodist (2) AKA: Weslyan (2), Bridget of Erin, Rock Spring, Calvary
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 4
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W06
Fiche / Film: 0
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: Between 1823-1836, three cemeteries were established at the intersection of St Charles Road (AKA: Franklin AKA: Martin Luther King) and Pratte (AKA: Jefferson).  East of Pratte was a Presbyterian cemetery (est. before 1836), west of Pratte was a mixed Catholic / Public cemetery (deeded 1824), and west of the Catholic / Protestant was a Methodist cemetery (deeded 1828).  Plan of the City of St. Louis, 1850 - a map by Julius Hutawa documents the location of these three cemeteries.  Significant misinformation exists regarding these three cemeteries.  The burial of Rev. Thomas Drummond, now located at Centenary Church names his three spots of burial, the first being at Franklin Ave. and 23rd St - there is no evidence of a cemetery at 23rd street - it should read Pratte (Jefferson).  This is the first location of Centenary Methodist Cemetery (1), AKA: Wesleyan Cemetery (1).  Cemetery was abandoned sometime following the Cholera epidemic of 1849. By 1855, St. Charles Road (Franklin) was diverted through the cemetery (later Easton and later MLK).  12 Oct 1864 the Missouri Republican reported deplorable conditions at the cemetery and at some point post-1855 many of the bodies were removed and transferred to Centenary Methodist Cemetery (2) at Grand and Laclede. Similar removals were performed at the neighboring Catholic / Public Cemetery and some Methodist removals ended up in the vault at Bridget of Erin Parish. This would also suggest some might have ended up at Rock Spring or Calvary.

 

Cemetery Name:  Wesleyan (2)

Location: Grand Ave, Market St, and Laclede Ave.
Year Opened:  1847
Year Closed:  1878
Type or Affiliation: Methodist
Number of Burials:
Removals To: Centenary Methodist (3)                                  
Removals From: Centenary Methodist (1), AKA: Wesleyan (1)
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 4
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W06
Fiche / Film: 0
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: Sacred Green Space, Ann Morris, dates second location to 1840-1874. AKA Centenary Methodist Cemetery (2)

Centenary Methodist Church established Wesleyan Cemetery at the southwest and southeast corners of Grand and Laclede Avenues in 1847. The grounds comprised 12-3/4 acres and extended to Market Street on the east side of what is now Grand Avenue. The Wesleyan Cemetery Association was formed in 1851. Burials included those of more than 2400 African American. 

Encroachment of the city led the Association to establish New Wesleyan Cemetery at the southeast corner of Olive Street Rd. and Hanley Ave. in 1874. Most graves were moved to this new location, although some were transferred to other burial grounds. New Wesleyan cemetery closed in 1952, and graves were moved to Memorial Park Cemetery and other locations.

Plot map of New Wesleyan Cemetery (jpg)

Indexes

Wesleyan Cemetery records were indexed by the St. Louis Genealogical Society and included in Vol. 4 of St. Louis Burials, a CD-ROM publication that can be used in the History and Genealogy Department. Two additional indexes are available on this website:

Wesleyan Cemetery records on microfilm

Cemetery records are available for Wesleyan and New Wesleyan Cemetery from 1847 through 1952 and include removal records. Microfilm copies are available on film no. CMC-1 (FHL film no. 1405557) in the History and Genealogy Department.  The contents of that film are:

Item​ 1
White burials         1855 - 1860    
Private lots            1855 - 1861    
White burials         1861 - 1866    
Colored burials      1855 - 1866    
Burials in vault       1858 - 1861    
Colored burials      1866 - 1868

Item​ 2
Lots sold in New Wesleyan Cemetery                                                 1878 - 1880     Pg. 56 - 62
White removals                                                                                    1878 - 1880     Pg. 63 - 207
Lots purchased or exchanged by Wesleyan Cemetery Association    1865 - 1885     Pg. 211 - 224
Lots sold in New Wesleyan Cemetery                                                 1880 - 1883     Pg. 225
White removals                                                                                    1880                Pg. 227 - 229
Lots vacant but not repurchased                                                                                  Pg. 237
Colored removals                                                                                 1878 - 1879     Pg. 241 - 612

Item​ 3
Lots sold                                                                           1878 - 1884
Lots repurchased by Wesleyan Cemetery Association    1865 - 1885
Plot maps

Item 4
White burials                      1848 - 1855
Lists of burials by block     
Private lots                         1848 - 1855
Burials in vault                   1848 - 1855
Colored burials                   1847 - 1854

Item 5
Transcription of burials in New Wesleyan Cemetery    1892 - 1874    Reverse chronological order

Item 6
Transcript of sales book kept at Waggoner Undertaking

Item 7
Lot owners     
Single graves            1889 - 1903
Removal records     
Record of sales after May 1, 1928     

Item 8 
Burials recorded on receipt book stubs    1891 - 1899

Item 9
Burials recorded on receipt book stubs    1913 - 1927
 
Item 10
Map of New Wesleyan Cemetery

Cemetery Name:  Wesleyan (3)

Location: Olive and Hanley Roads, University City (Southeast corner)
Year Opened:  1878
Year Closed:  1950
Type or Affiliation: Methodist
Number of Burials:
Removals To and From: Ohave Shalom, Memorial Park, Bellefontaine
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 4
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W06
Fiche / Film: 0
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:  "The Cemeteries of University City"  [R 977.865 H217C]
Notes: AKA Centenary Methodist Cemetery (3)

Centenary Methodist Church established Wesleyan Cemetery at the southwest and southeast corners of Grand and Laclede Avenues in 1847. The grounds comprised 12-3/4 acres and extended to Market Street on the east side of what is now Grand Avenue. The Wesleyan Cemetery Association was formed in 1851. Burials included those of more than 2400 African Americans. 

Encroachment of the city led the Association to establish New Wesleyan Cemetery at the southeast corner of Olive Street Rd. and Hanley Ave. in 1874. Most graves were moved to this new location, although some were transferred to other burial grounds. New Wesleyan cemetery closed in 1952, and graves were moved to Memorial Park Cemetery and other locations.

Cemetery Map

Indexes

Burial Stubs

History & Genealogy obtained and digitized the burial stubs from Wesleyan Cemetery.   The attached PDFs are an index and scans of the stubs with an index.  

List of Colored Persons in Wesleyan Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri, 1847 – 1868

More than 2,400 "Colored Persons" were buried in Wesleyan Methodist Cemetery in what is now downtown St. Louis between 1847 and 1868. This index to the burials was created by Gloria E. Dettleff from names abstracted from cemetery records included on Family History Library film no. 1405557. The index and explanatory text are copyright © 2008 Gloria E. Dettleff and used by permission.

Key to index

  • Blk = Block
  • Gr = Grave
  • y = year
  • m = month
  • d = day
  • h = hour

Microfilm Contents  CMC-1 (FHL 1405557) 

Item​ 1

Description                                                  Dates    
White burials                                                 1855 - 1860    
Private lots                                                    1855 - 1861    
White burials                                                 1861 - 1866    
Colored burials                                              1855 - 1866    
Burials in vault                                               1858 - 1861    
Colored burials                                              1866 - 1868    

Item 2

Description                                                   Dates              Page
Lots sold in New Wesleyan Cemetery           1878 - 1880     56 - 62
White removals                                              1878 - 1880     63 - 207
Lots purchased or exchanged
by Wesleyan Cemetery Association              1865 - 1885      211 - 224
Lots sold in New Wesleyan Cemetery           1880 - 1883      225
White removals                                              1880                 227 - 229
Lots vacant but not repurchased                                            237
Colored removals                                           1878 - 1879     241 - 612

Item 3

Description                                                    Dates
Lots sold                                                         1878 - 1884
Lots repurchased by
Wesleyan Cemetery Association                    1865 - 1885
Plot maps    

Item 4

Description                                                    Dates
White burials                                                   1848 - 1855
Lists of burials by block    
Private lots                                                      1848 - 1855
Burials in vault                                                1848 - 1855
Colored burials                                               1847 - 1854

Item 5

Description                                                     Dates   
Transcription of burials in
New Wesleyan Cemetery                                1892 - 1874    
(Reverse chronological order)

Item 6

Description
Transcript of sales book kept at Waggoner Undertaking
 

Item 7

Description                                                      Dates
Lot owners    
Single graves                                                    1889 - 1903
Removal records    
Record of sales after May 1, 1928    

Item​ 8

Description                                                       Dates
Burials recorded on receipt book stubs             1891 - 1899

Item​ 9

Description                                                       Dates
Burials recorded on receipt book stubs             1913 - 1927

Item 10

Description
Map of New Wesleyan Cemetery

 

Cemetery Name:  Westerman

Location: Lemp, Utah, Cherokee, and Potomac
Year Opened:  1855
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: German Evangelical
Number of Burials:
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number:
StLGS CD Ref. Number:
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: Located across Cherokee from German Baptist (Lemp, Utah, Cherokee, Wisconsin). Jacob Westerman for whom named after was affiliated with St. Marcus.  Forerunner for St. Peter's Evangelical Cemetery (2101 Lucas and Hunt) and St. Marcus Evangelical Cemetery (7901 Gravois).  In 1906, Shepard School was constructed on the lot.

Cemetery Name:  Western Evangelical Lutheran

Location: Marcus and Lexington Streets.
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Lutheran
Number of Burials: 2404
Removals To and From: unknown
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.): 1 (147)
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W10
Fiche / Film: 
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources: Western Ev. Lutheran Cemetery, R 977.866 B671W
Notes: AKA: Paxon-Lutheran Cemetery

Western Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
3540 Marcus Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63115


This cemetery is located at Marcus and Lexington Avenues, adjacent to Immanuel Lutheran Church and southwest of Bellefontaine Cemetery. It was known as Paxon Cemetery or Papin Saxon Cemetery and includes many burials from Zion Lutheran Church as well as Immanual.
 
Lutheran Church Records are available on St. Louis County Library Lutheran Church Film #66 (Concordia Seminary Film 1817).  Text of records is in English.   Found on the film:

Internments    1877-1910    Register in chronological order by date of death. Includes place of birth, age, date of death, location where death occurred, cause of death and physician's name.
One Entry    1967    
One Entry    1968    

Cemetery Name:  Wetzel Farm

Location: Wildwood - Unknown
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 3
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W11
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes:

Cemetery Name:  Wickersham

Location: Midland Ave, University City.
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 5
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.): 1 (54)
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W12
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: North of Canton

Cemetery Name:  Will

Location: 4209 Bates Ave. St. Louis
Year Opened:  1845
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Lutheran
Number of Burials: 15234
Removals To and From: From: Evangelical Holy Cross (1856) and  Trinity
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: C22
Fiche / Film: 
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:
Notes: AKA: Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery (1845), New Saxon Cemetery (1860), Concordia Cemetery.

Cemetery Name:  Williams Family Cemetery

Location: 180 Larkin Industrial Court, Fenton
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 20+
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number:  W13
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources:  "Fenton, Missouri Area Cemeteries" [R 977.865 D238F]
Notes:

Cemetery Name:  Willming

Location: Wildwood - Unknown
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials: 3
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number: 2
StLGS CD Ref. Number: W14
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources: At Rest in Wildwood, R 977.865 A861
Notes:

Cemetery Name:  Wulf

Location:
Year Opened:  
Year Closed:  
Type or Affiliation: Family
Number of Burials:
Removals To and From:
Old Cemeteries of St. Louis Vol. (Pg.):
StLGS CD Vol. Number:
StLGS CD Ref. Number:
Fiche / Film:
Sacred Green Space (Pg.):
Additional Sources: At Rest in Wildwood, R 977.865 A861
Notes: