St. John Orphanage at Glen Addie (Belleville, Illinois) Catholic Burials (1906–1936)

History

St. John Orphanage at Glen Addie on the Shiloh Road, opened in 1901 as a successor to St. Agnes’ (Belleville). Forty-three children from St. Agnes moved into the former mansion on land purchased from the Morrisons. Though much larger than their prior residence, the large rooms were much colder. Named for Mrs. Addie Morrison, it had 26 rooms, a carriage house, stables, smokehouse, summerhouse, chicken house and servants’ quarters. Priests from St. Peter’s served as chaplains over the years.

Care of the children for more than 40 years fell to the beloved Sister Alma Juengling of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ who arrived in 1909. She and other sisters of that Order rose early to carry water from the wells and cisterns to wash clothes over scrub boards by the light of kerosene lamps and lanterns. It wasn’t until 1927 that an improved laundry made washing easier. In the 1950s, fundraising picnics were held successfully and old buildings were razed so that new ones could replace them. At her passing in 1973, then Bishop Zuroweste said, “Sister Alma was a spiritual giant. We are all a little closer to God because she passed by and touched our lives.”

Closed in the early 1980s, the Glen Addie property today is the site of most Diocese offices, the Archives, and Hincke-Sense home for retired priests.

Baptisms, Communions, Confirmations

Records of Communions (1924, 1925 image 14) and Confirmations (1902–circa 1920s) are intermixed in one register online at FamilySearch.org grouped under St. Clair County > Shiloh > Corpus Christi and St. John Orphanage. Click for the direct link once signed in.

Burials and other records

Click for direct link once signed in.

Additional records are maintained at the Archives of the Diocese of Belleville at (618) 722-5057.

Caveats

• The Society and the compiler recommend researchers verify information provided on the SCCGS website with the original record extracted from images are online at FamilySearch. Also, verify the actual place buried (for example) with the cemetery sexton’s book, an obituary, funeral card, death certificate, or probate record. Courthouse, IRAD, and library addresses.
• Researchers are urged to correlate information here with that found in other records before forming conclusions about a person, family, or relationship.
• If the image is unsatisfactory (much ink bled through), request help from the Archives of the Diocese of Belleville at (618) 722-5057.
• Square brackets [  ] indicate wording added by the compiler to clarify an entry.
• Terminology reflects the time period and Roman Catholic Canon Law, both have changed over time.
• Cramped handwriting, faint images, possible transcription errors, and names spelled phonetically or with diacritical marks will undoubtedly affect this compilation. Search tips may help locate an ancestor’s name if misspelled.
• Given names abbreviated in the church book are spelled out when the English equivalent is certain (Elizabeth for Eliz., Louis for Ludovicus). When no apparent equivalent was known or ambiguous, the Latin name or initials were transcribed.

Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “St. John Orphanage at Glen Addie (Belleville, Illinois) Catholic Burials (1906–1936),” St. Clair County Genealogical Society (https://stclair-ilgs.org : date viewed) ; [ancestor’s name, date of burial].

Sample citation to a digital image of the original church register

The FamilySearch website provides a citation with each record.

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Further Research

• An authoritative history of St. John Orphanage is on the SCCGS Member website. Join
• If a person died in Missouri 1910-1968, access their death certificate on the Missouri Secretary of State web site.
• The Illinois State Archives’ Statewide Death Index (1916 – 1950) is the gateway to order less expensive death certificates through the Illinois State Genealogical Society than the County Clerk’s office.
• Deaths and Stillbirths filed at the St. Clair County Courthouse (1878–1916) are abstracted in the SCCGS Quarterly, Volumes 31–43 (2008–2020). Use the surname index and Table of Contents to hone a search.

Translation Aids

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

Bibliography

1. Burnett, Betty. A Time of Favor: The Story of the Catholic Family of Southern Illinois. St. Louis, Mo.: Patrice Press, 1987.
2. Diocese of Belleville. Centennial Heritage Festival and Picnic, Sunday, September 27. Belleville, Ill.: The Diocese, 1987.
3. Middeke, Raphael H. and Stanley J. Konieczny. Profiles from Our Heritage: Stories of Catholics Who Helped Shape the Church of Southern Illinois.  St. Louis, Mo.: Patrice Press, 1987.