St. Regis (East St. Louis) Parish Records

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 before forming conclusions about a person, family, or relationship, available online at the Browse link on FamilySearch. See also Further research suggestions below.

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 Commercial use is expressly prohibited.

Please send corrections or comments on this Contact form to the SCCGS office, attention Ms. Dettleff

Citation and Translation help

St. Regis Marriages (Jul 1909 – Jan 1932)

Parish, Chapel, and Schools

Created 20 June 1909  in the Alta Sita subdivision of East St. Louis, St. Regis Parish was formed from St. Mary’s (East St. Louis) and Immaculate Conception (Centreville). Parishioners were of Irish, French, and German descent. When the parish closed in 2006, it was consolidated with Immaculate Conception.  Chapel services first were held in the parlor of the pastor’s residence at 3117 Virginia place then in the new school building at 3500 Market Street. The parish school opened 8 September 1909 with 80 pupils and subsequently occupied the new two-story brick building at 3500 Market Street. Regis College operated only for a short time (September 1910 –  June 1913) due to low student enrollments.

Baptisms

Baptisms (1909- 19 October 1930) for this church are described on this list, microfilm reel 42. The microfilm is located at the Belleville Public Library in the St. Clair County Genealogical Society holdings. Images are not online at FamilySearch following its own cut-off date (circa 1907).

Marriages

Abstracts of the marriages are available on this website.

Burials

The parish had no cemetery. No burial registers were kept for St. Regis until the latter 1900s, now preserved at the Diocesan archives.

Caveats

• Names and phrases in Latin were translated to give the gist of the meaning to the best of the compiler’s ability. More recent entries may be written in English. 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.
• Square brackets [   ] indicate wording added by the compiler to clarify an entry.
• Researchers are urged to correlate information here with that found in other records.
• 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.
• Some priests recorded more information than others.

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Further research

• • Baptisms 1924–1930 and some later indexes are on in microfilm holdings of the SCCGS at the Belleville Public Library. See reels 16 and 17 in this descriptive finding aid, courtesy SCCGS. No images are online following FamilySearch’s own guidelines.
  • 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 these databases. 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.

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Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “St. Regis (East St. Louis [Illinois]) Catholic Marriages,” 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

St. John’s Orphanage edition of The Messenger. History of the Diocese of Belleville. Belleville, Ill: Joseph Nicholas Buechler, publisher. 1919.

The Messenger: Catholic Newspaper of the Diocese of Belleville: Commemorating Our Time of Favor, April 24, 1988. 1988. See pages 133, 146, 151.