St. Elizabeth (East St. Louis) Parish Records

Compilation Copyright 2020, Gloria Dettleff. Donated to and for the use of the
St. Clair County Genealogical Society (SCCGS), per Agreement, January 2020.

SCCGS presents this data unaltered and as donated to the Society. SCCGS does not certify the accuracy of this data but recognizes it was done in good faith by an experienced compiler. Source: images online at FamilySearch.

This database is for genealogical research purposes only. Commercial use is expressly prohibited. Record and database details. 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.

Please send corrections or comments to sccgsoffice@stclair-ilgs.org, attention Ms. Dettleff.

Sample Citation | Translation Aids
Baptisms (1894 – 1907) | ◊ | Marriages (1895 – 1932) | ◊ | Burials (1900 – 1956)

This church is in the Diocese of Belleville of Southern Illinois and it dates from 1894. Reverend Charles Kuhlmann was appointed by Rt. Rev. Bishop Janssen to organize a parish in Winstanley Park, a suburb of East St. Louis.  Mrs. Elizabeth Winstanley, a generous benefactor of the parish, donated land at the corner of Twenty-Fifth Street and Ridge Avenue where the church building eventually was constructed and dedicated in 1894, the same day St. Teresa Academy was blessed. Rev. Kulhmann was in charge until 1908 when his replacement, Rev. Fred Beuckman was appointed.  However, due to illness Rev. Beuckman was unable to accept the position and Rev. Peter Engel took over in June 1908. He was followed by Revs. Edward Borawski, and Edward Ratherman.

A large elementary school was erected in 1903 and expanded in 1915 to accommodate the increase in children attending the school.  They were instructed by Sisters of the Precious Blood who also taught at and lived at St. Teresa Academy situated in the next block.

Two parishioners became members of the sisterhood.  Agnes Hauser became Sr. Sylvana of Precious Blood and Margaret Leveling became Sr. Alexandra of the Servants of Mary.

The parish closed in 1964.

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The records and databases

• Some online pages are repeated. Entries appear to be copied from an earlier book and some are out of chronological order. Locate images of the original church books online at FamilySearch. Follow the Browse link there, arranged by county, city, then parish.
• The Society and the compiler recommend researchers verify information provided here with the original record from which it was derived, available online at FamilySearch. If the online image is unsatisfactory, help may be requested from the Archives of the Diocese of Belleville at (618) 722-5057.
• Researchers are urged to correlate information here with that found in other records before forming conclusions about a person, family, or relationship. Further research (click).
• 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.
• Some priests recorded more information than others.

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Baptisms (1894 – 1907)

• Baptisms begin 1894 and end circa 1907 following FamilySearch’s cut-off date. See Further research (click).
• Baptisms images (1897 – 1898, pages 8 and 9), omitted online are here, courtesy of the Diocese. These entries are included in the database.  Some dates were written in the wrong column, e.g., a child baptized before birth.

Marriages (1895 – 1932)

• Many marriages note a later revalidation.

Burials (1900 – 1956)

• Some death dates may be burial dates.
• Most burials were in Holy Cross (Fairview Heights), or Mt. Carmel (Belleville). This database includes burial places when noted in the books.

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Further research

• Baptisms up to 1930 are on microfilm reels 29 –31 in SCCGS holdings at the Belleville Public Library and St. Louis County Library on Lindbergh described here.
• Obituaries and tombstone inscriptions, will or estate records, and civil birth, death, or marriage certificates may fill in record gaps or provide more information about the people in this database. See courthouse and IRAD links offsite.
• If a person died in Missouri 1910-1968, their death certificate may be digitized and freely accessed on the  Missouri Secretary of State web site.
• The Illinois State Archives’ Statewide Death Index (1916 – 1950) is online. Order death certificates through the Illinois State Genealogical Society or the County Clerk’s office.

Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “St. Elizabeth (East St. Louis [Illinois]) Catholic Church Marriages (1895 –1932),” St. Clair County Genealogical Society (https://stclair-ilgs.org : date viewed); [ancestor’s name, date of marriage].

Sample citation to a digital image of the original church register

FamilySearch provides a citation with each image on its website.

Translation Aids

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

Bibliography:

Belleville Diocesan Review for 1928, The Messenger (supplement). Belleville, Ill.: Buechler Printing Company. [1929].

Belleville Diocesan Review for 1988, The Messenger (supplement). Belleville, Ill.: Buechler Printing Company. [1988].

The Messenger: Catholic Newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville: Commemorating Our Time of Favor, April 24, 1988. 1988.

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