German Americans

S

"Sister Jerome, Hospital Sister from Osage County," Herbert G. Kramer, no date (C2940)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Brief account of the life of Elizabeth Kramer (1852-1922), who became Sister Jerome, a nun in the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, including her obituary and eulogies of her.

Counties

Smith Family Papers, 1813-1848 (C2572)
0.04 cubic feet (2 folders)

 Finding Aid

German baptismal records and other German documents from 1813 for Conrad Andrew Smith, Warren County, MO; affidavit of intent to become a U.S. citizen, 1838; and oath of citizenship, 1840. Five letters in German by Conrad Andrew Smith, George Smith, and Adam Binzer. Some translations provided by the donor. Smith family genealogical information in accession folder.

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Smithton United Methodist Church (Smithton, Mo.) Records, 1865-1954 (C3704)
2 rolls of microfilm

 Finding Aid

The records of the Smithton United Methodist Church contain church membership records and minutes for the Ladies Aid Society, the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, and the Woman's Society of Christian Service, of the English and German churches which united in 1924 to form the Smithton United Methodist Church of Smithton, Pettis County, Missouri.

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"St Louis in Former Years", 1893 (C1130)
0.1 cubic feet (1 volume)

 Finding Aid

The typescript contains a history of the St. Louis German community written by E.D. Kargau and translated by William G. Bek.

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St. John's United Church of Christ (Pinckney, Mo.) Records, 1870-1978 (C3615)
1 roll of microfilm (1 folder, 2 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Church records, including births, confirmations, marriages, deaths, communions, family register, collections, and love offerings. The church was established in 1870 with fourteen families included in its membership.

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St. John's United Church of Christ (Concordia, Mo.) Records, 1863-1933 (C3905)
4 folders, 1 roll of microfilm

 Finding Aid

The records of St. John's United Church of Christ include the constitution, minutes, and annual reports of the church. The records are in German. A translation of the records is included in the collection.

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St. Louis Germans, 1850-1920: the Nature of an Immigrant Community and its Relation to the Assimilation Process Dissertation, 1970 (S0029)
1 roll microfilm

This manuscript is an unpublished dissertation by Audrey Olson documenting the assimilation of St. Louis Germans into American life.

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The State of Missouri: An Account with Special Reference to Immigration, translation by Elsa Nagel, no date (C2662)
0.4 cubic feet (54 folders)

 Finding Aid

The papers consist of two translated copies of the book, The State of Missouri; An Account with Special References to German Immigration, 1859, written by Friedrich Muench, an influential German writer and later Missouri politician. The translations were done by Elsa Nagel from the original German, and include one handwritten and one typed copy.

George Stein Travel Report, 1881 (C3287)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains a copy of an account of the George Stein family migration to America in the fall of 1881 aboard the SS NECKER, and their settlement in Clark County, Missouri.

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Leland Steinkuehler German Dialect Collection, 2005-2008 (CA6096)
1 folder, 8 audio cassettes, 10 CDs

Recordings and accompanying paperwork of interviews done with Missourians of German heritage from Concordia, Loose Creek, Westphalia, and St. Elizabeth, Missouri, as well as visitors from Meerbusch, Germany. Includes a comparison of dialects between three interviewees. The interviews were conducted by Leland Steinkuehler. Addition of recordings of a Lutheran Church service conducted in Low German and a narration with English translations by Reverend Alfred W. Rodewald, 2009.

Stone Hill Wine Company (Hermann, Mo.) Records, 1896-1919 (C0345)
7 oversize volumes

 Finding Aid

Ledgers, sale books, harvest book, bank draft register, warehouse receipt book, and price list for winery and brandy distillery owned and operated by George Stark and his sons, Ottmar G. and Louis J. The company included a bottling plant in St. Louis and a whiskey distillery in Bardstown, KY.

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John Jacob Sutter Collection, 1865-1871 (R0624)
0.02 cubic foot (2 folders)

 Finding Aid

The John Jacob Sutter Papers contains photocopies of a notebook and travel journal by John J. Sutter, a native of Germany and resident of Saint Louis, Missouri. The memoranda book covers Sutter’s service as inspector of artillery in the Department of the Missouri in 1865, and inspections at Cape Girardeau, Macon, Rolla, and Springfield, Missouri; and Fort Leavenworth, Fort Scott, and Paola, Kansas. The travel journal documents a trip from Saint Louis to Germany and return in 1871. The travel journal is in German.

T

Taube Family Papers, 1838-1906 (C3022)
1 roll of microfilm

 Finding Aid

The collection contains papers of a German American family in Westphalia, MO. Written mostly in German, this collection contains traditional New Year's cards and letters from the 1870s, 1880s, and 1900s, from Mathias, Ferdinand, and Heinrich Eichholz and others. A notebook begun in 1838 by Anna Margaretha (Temmen) Eicholz includes school exercises, financial account entries for 1856-1861, and a list of family births from 1852-1897.

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Tibbe-Cuthbertson Family Papers, 1846-1986 (C3711)
1.2 cubic feet (59 folders), 2 oversize items

 Finding Aid

The papers of a Washington, Missouri, family whose patriarch, Henry Tibbe, and his son, Anton, founded the Missouri Meerschaum Company, include family and business correspondence, genealogy, property deeds, an early history of the Missouri Meerschaum Company, material on a patent infringement dispute, pipe catalogs, clippings, and photographs.

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Henry Tomas Papers, 1950-1985 (S0810)
5 cubic feet, 32 folders, 90 photographs, 43 volumes

 Finding Aid

The Henry Tomas Papers include correspondence, sheet music, collections of stamps and postcards, and photographs. It also contains a series of newspaper clippings in Lithuanian. Henry Justine Tomas was born in Russia in 1918 and grew up in Lithuania. He worked as a translator for the United States intelligence services. He published Lietusviskasis Pamarys: Pakalnes ir Labguvos apskritys (“The Lithuanian Seashore: with local names and map”) in 1975.

 

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Trinity Lutheran Church (Altenberg, Mo.) Centennial Celebration Papers, 1967 (C2598)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Materials concerning centennial celebration of church.

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Turner Society Pamphlets, 1912-1945 (C0676)
0.08 cubic feet (4 folders)

 Finding Aid

Pamphlets and publications of St. Louis area Turner groups. Also a history of the American Turnerbund, 1924; an annual report of the national executive committee of American Turners, 1941; and copies of TURNER TOPICS, publication of American Turners.

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V

Charles Van Ravenswaay Collection, 1820-1971 (C2668)
1.2 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Material relating to the Trigg family of Boonville, MO; the papers of Harvey Bunce, Cooper County civic leader and vice-president of the Tebo and Neosho Railroad; and Charles Van Ravenswaay's correspondence and research notes on various families, institutions, historic sites and events in Cooper and Howard Counties, and miscellaneous material related primarily to Boonville, MO.

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Charles Van Ravenswaay Papers, 1841-1990 (C3873)
21.8 cubic feet (1,359 folders), 1 audio cassette

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, research notes, photographs, and literary manuscripts of historian and author Charles van Ravenswaay, former director of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis; Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts; and the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum and Gardens, Wilmington, Delaware.

Henry Voelkner Letters, 1861-1862 (C0436)
0.04 cubic feet (2 folders)

 Finding Aid

Letters written in German by a Union soldier fighting in Missouri during the Civil War, including description of the battle of Sugar Creek. Also typed translations.

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Vorwaerts Workmen's Singing Society Records, 1895-1977 (S0237)
3.2 cubic feet, 79 folders

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

German immigrants formed Arbeiter Gesangverein "Vorwaertrs" to maintain their musical heritage and to promote working-class interests. Voerwaerts and Damenchor Vorwaerts presented regular concerts and participated in national songfests. Walter Hoops edited the Saenger Zeitung, the national journal from 1967 to 1977. The collection contains protocol books, financial ledgers, correspondence, programs, and issues of the Saenger Zeitung.

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W

Martin Luther Walz Family Papers, 1888 (K1232)
0.01 c.f.

Genealogical information about members of the Walz family. Includes photograph of Walz as a young man, and a letter written to Walz by Emil Medious, a minister in Baiersdorf, Germany, about Walz's parents and siblings.

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Warren County (Mo.) Schuetzen Company No. 1 Records, 1893-1950 (C3647)
1 roll of microfilm (5 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Minutes, treasurer's reports and account books of a German social club established in Warren County in 1856. Books contain membership lists and records of the Schuetzenfest sponsored annually since the club was founded.

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Washington Savings and Loan Association (Washington, Mo.) Records, 1871-1925 (C3663)
0.45 cubic feet (1 folder, 3 oversize volumes)

 Finding Aid

Records of a German savings and loan association in Washington, Missouri, organized in 1871 and rechartered twice before it received a permanent charter and took its present name in 1908. Includes charter, bylaws, minutes of board meetings, and lists of stockholders. Minutes were kept in German until September 4, 1918.

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William Waye Papers, 1852-1894 (C0440)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Letters of a German family in both Germany and the U.S.

Stephen Werly Diary, 1862-1864 (C1949)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Civil War diary of the movements of the 21st Regiment of Missouri Volunteers, Company K. The original was written in German.

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Wingrath-Reistorff Family Record Book, 1754-1855 (C1800)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Photocopy of a receipt book used by Jacobus Reistorff and Christian Wingrath, German immigrants to Loose Creek, Missouri. Interspersed throughout the book are letters. Included is a partial transcription. Part of the German Heritage Archives.

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Theodore H. Wolff Papers, 1865-1979 (C3057)
0.8 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

Manuscripts, correspondence, and research materials used by Reverend Theodore Wolff in his writings. Also information on the Methodist movement in Missouri and other religious sectors.

Z

F.J. Zeisberg Autobiographical Sketches, no date (CA6541)
0.2 cubic feet

Photocopied memoirs of an immigrant who moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, from Germany in 1881. He became a music professor and co-founded the Jefferson City Conservatory. He later taught in Chicago and Virginia, before returning to Cole County, Missouri.

Counties

Helen Follenius Zook Letter, 1924 (C1468)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains one letter to William G. Bek, Grand Forks, North Dakota, from Fort Scott, Kansas, Apr. 3, 1924. Mrs. Zook, daughter of William Follenius and granddaughter of Paul Follenius, wrote a short biography of Paul Follenius (1799-1844), a biographical sketch of William Follenius (1829-1902) and a brief genealogy of Follenius and Zook families.