St. Clare Catholic Parish Records (O’Fallon)

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Compilation Copyright 2019, Gloria Dettleff. Donated to and for the use of the
St. Clair County Genealogical Society (SCCGS), as per Agreement, February, 2019.

SCCGS presents this data unaltered and as donated to the Society for genealogical research purposes only. SCCGS does not certify the accuracy of this data but recognizes it was done in good faith by an experienced compiler. The Society and the compiler recommend researchers verify information provided here with the original record from which it was derived, available online at FamilySearch.  Should the online image be unsatisfactory, help may be requested from the Archives of the Diocese of Belleville at (618) 722-5057.

In keeping with the compiler’s wishes and SCCGS’s Terms and Conditions of Use, you may not publish material from this site in whole or in part in any electronic, print or other medium, except as unique elements that are part of a unique family history or genealogy. For special circumstances, seek required permission in writing from SCCGS and the compiler. Kindly credit this work in your citation (an example). Commercial use is expressly prohibited.

About the Parish

St. Clare of Assisi Roman Catholic Church of O’Fallon, St. Clair, Illinois, is in the Diocese of Belleville of Southern Illinois, The parish dates from 1866 when 40 Catholic families in O’Fallon, Illinois, petitioned to have their own church. The history of this church, a list of pastors who served there since 1858 when Mass was held in private homes, and a dedication video of their new and current (2007) church building can be found here (link offsite).  

About these records, this database, caveats

• Most of these records were written in Latin and translated to give the gist of the meaning to the best of the compiler’s ability. 
• Due to small, difficult handwriting, faint images, and partially hidden areas, researchers can expect errors and incomplete entries. Please send corrections or comments to the SCCGS office, attention Ms. Dettleff.
• Many entries are out of sequence suggesting the entries were copied from another source. Most records appear in chronological order on numbered pages.
• The data
  • Location may refer to place born or current residence. Suggested records below may help determine the meaning of location.
  • The information contained in each entry varies. Some early records include personal information, e. g. a person’s birth place, the parents, spouse, and place of burial. Later entries record only a small amount of personal information.
  • When a burial place was mentioned in the record book, it is included in this database. When not mentioned, please scroll down to Further research.
• SCCGS also microfilmed these records which may contain additional events or record books not available from FamilySearch. The reverse may also apply. Further research suggestions below may be helpful. Read about SCCGS’s project. Images at FamilySearch are of superior quality.

Further research

• Before 1868, the priest from St. Joseph (Lebanon, Illinois) ministered St. Clare’s parishioners so religious events might be recorded there.
• Civil birth, death, and marriage certificates, if recorded, may provide additional information. See links.
  • If a person died in Missouri 1910-1968, their death certificate may be digitized and freely accessed on the Missouri Secretary of State website. That site also has abstracts of pre-1910 death records but not images.
• The place buried may be discovered or confirmed in other sources such as an obituary, funeral card, civil records, or a probate record.
  • Many grave markers from the early St. Clare’s parish cemetery have been photographed, see Findagrave web site (link is offsite). Today the majority of burials are in the parish cemetery, Mt. Calvary in Shiloh, Illinois.
• St. Clare’s baptismal records to 1930, communions, and confirmations on microfilm are at the Belleville Public Library. The sequence of St. Clare’s records on microfilm is found on reel 118 using this finding aid.

Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “St. Clare Catholic (O’Fallon, [Illinois]), Baptisms (1868 – 1907)”, St. Clair County Genealogical Society (stclair-ilgs.org : date viewed) ; [ancestor’s name, date of baptism].

Sample citation to a digital image of the original church register

FamilySearch provides a citation with each image on its website.

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Translation Aids

• Latin language aids
• French language aids
• Given names translated from French and Latin into English , courtesy American-French Genealogical Society.

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