Missing someone in census records? They may have moved, passed away, or their name could be misspelled—like “Rigsby,” which was recorded as “Rorbgon.” Even the enumerator noted difficulty finding these names elsewhere!

On July 9, 1898, St. Louis grocer Henry Sauer left his wagon briefly while running errands at Union Station—only to return and find it gone! Curious about what happened next? Check out the full story in the picture above.

In the early 1900s, sisters Lillian and Ella Liebrecht defied their father’s disapproval by eloping—Lillian with Charles Miller in 1902 and Ella with Chas Fogerty in 1904—despite being primary caretakers for their father and brothers.

The 1900 census lists Edward Liebrecht as a widower, claiming his wife, Elizabeth, was dead. However, the 1920 census reveals Elizabeth was alive but a patient at the St. Louis Lunatic Asylum, likely misreported due to the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Early 20th-century newspapers often reported deaths with striking detail. For example, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described William Wolfgang Hacker’s workplace accident as being “struck in the abdomen by a board that flew out of a rip saw he was operating.”

This 19th-century baptismal record of Julius Henry Vollmer notes him as “the illegitimate son of Henrietta Vollmer (nee Hensing),” a practice then used to shame unwed mothers by documenting their “sin” in church records.

A 20th-century marriage may appear in church records but not civil ones due to filing oversights. In Thomas Florence and Catherine Prelli's case, Rev. Peter Engel never returned their marriage license, likely to avoid late fees, showing the value of checking multiple sources in genealogy.

Discover the power of genealogical translation with Backlog. Our experienced genealogists provide complete translations of key records, including a transcription of the original text, a listing of personal and place names, and explanatory footnotes. See how we approached the French baptism record of Nicolas Marchal in St. Louis, Missouri. From the title citing the collection to the verbatim translation preserving original punctuation, our method captures the essence of the original record

From its inception in the mid-1500s until 1941, Fraktur was the most common typeface used in Germany.

Knowledge management is an established yet evolving field, and the tools certainly reflect that range of maturity and complexity.

Backlog worked with the Carondelet Historical Society (CHS) in St. Louis, Missouri, to write archival policies and procedures tailored to their specific needs and goals. First, we conducted an Archival Needs Assessment.

I suggest a two-pronged approach to saving your precious family tree data. This may sound like a big undertaking, but after performing hundreds of hours of research, I am personally willing to go the extra mile to save and display my findings for the long run.

There are many ways you can connect to your heritage as you continue to trace it. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

At first glance, St. Louis might seem like an odd place to find national archives for religious congregations. But dig a little deeper, and it’s not as surprising.