St. Joseph (Lebanon) Catholic Parish Records

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. Joseph is located at 901 North Alton, Lebanon, Illinois, and was originally part of the St. Dominic Parish of Breese, Clinton County, Illinois. The congregation was mostly Irish and German immigrants. In 1862 Father Augustine Reineke organized this parish but a permanent priest was not present until Father Francis Trojan arrived in 1879.

About these records, this database, caveats

• The church books were mostly written in Latin. If recorded in the German language, be aware some letters sound like or may be used in place of the other, e.g., B = P, D = T, and F = V. Researchers are advised to be creative when searching for an ancestor.
• Due to small, difficult handwriting, faint images, and partially hidden areas, researchers can expect errors and incomplete entries. Please keep in mind that spelling was not standardized, spelling variations were the norm. Please send corrections or comments to the SCCGS office, attention Ms. Dettleff.
• SCCGS also microfilmed these records which may 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.
• The data
  • In some instances, data was consolidated from two or more columns into one for easier viewing on this website.
  • Many entries are out of sequence suggesting the entries were made from another source. Most records appear in chronological order on numbered pages.
  • The information contained in each entry varies, e.g., some priests included personal information such as a person’s birth place, the parents, spouse and also the place of burial.
• Baptisms
  • A location mentioned for parents might refer to place born. Use records suggested below to determine the meaning of location.
• Marriages
  •  A bride or groom’s location may refer to current residence, or perhaps place born. The census and records suggested below may help determine the meaning of location.
• Burials
  • When a burial place was mentioned in the record book, it is included in this database. However, many entries lacked the burial location so one might assume the deceased person is buried in St. Joseph’s cemetery. However, confirmation of actual place buried should be sought in other sources such as an obituary, funeral card, or death certificate, or probate record.

Further research

• Civil birth, death, and marriage certificates, if recorded, may provide additional information. See 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. That site also has abstracts of pre-1910 death records but not images.
• Microfilmed baptismal records to 1930 for St. Joseph (Lebanon) are at the Belleville Public Library. (A finding aid. St. Joseph Lebanon is on reel 103).

Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lebanon, Illinois, Baptisms (1882-1907)”, St. Clair County Genealogical Society (https://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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