St. Cyril and St. Methodius (East St. Louis) Catholic Church

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 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.

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

Sample Citation | Translation Aids

  Marriages | ♦ | Burials  | ♦ | Priests at Ss. Cyril and Methodius

About the Parish

St. Cyril and St. Methodius Catholic Church, East St. Louis, Illinois, is in the Diocese of Belleville of Southern Illinois.  Peter M. Polomsky organized Ss. Cyril and Methodius parish in 1911 for Bohemian Catholics. A two-story combination church and school building was erected at 1129 North Eleventh and Winstanley Streets, East St. Louis. From August 1913 – September 1914 the parish was a mission of St. Adalbert’s until Rev. Konkiel was appointed pastor. By 1918 about 56 Slovak families supported the parish. The parish moved to the Edgemont area of East St. Louis in 1958, then was consolidated with St. Phillip (French Village) on 6 May 1973. The former school and church facility were later used as a government Children’s Center for Behavioral Development.

Bibliography

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

Burnett, Betty. A Time of Favor: The Story of the Catholic Family of Southern Illinois. St. Louis, Mo.: Patrice Press, 1987.

East St. Louis City Directory for 1928

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

The records

• Terminology reflects the time period and Roman Catholic Canon Law, both have changed over time.
• Not all entries were recorded in strict chronological order for reasons unknown to the compilers.
• The quality of the original entries or images of those entries at FamilySearch may affect the accuracy of information in this database. 

Baptisms 

• Baptisms for this church begin 1911 but are not online at FamilySearch following its own cut-off date (circa 1907), however, microfilm covering 1911-1930 is available. See Further research below.

Marriages 1911 – 1932

• A bride or groom’s location may refer to current residence, or perhaps place born. Additional research suggestions (below) may help pinpoint the exact town of birth for immigrants.
• Some priests recorded more information than others.

Burials 1912 – 1957

• Burial places are included in this database when mentioned in the record book.

Comment column

• Brackets [ ] surround notes and observations added by Ms. Dettleff.

Handwriting

• St. Cyril and St. Methodius church had mostly Bohemian and Slovakian immigrants whose names were unfamiliar to the compiler. Small handwriting, faint copies, and difficult cursive handwriting may contribute to interpretation errors.
• Some letters are not in the English alphabet or had diacritical (accented) marks that the compiler could not duplicate.  Reasonable substitutions were used in place of these letters.
• Kindly send corrections or comments to sccgsoffice@stclair-ilgs.org, attention Ms. Dettleff.

Name spelling and pronunciation

• 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.
• Researchers are advised to determine the name by which the person was called by comparing information on this website to other independently created records, for example, church histories.

Further research

• SCCGS also microfilmed records of this church to 1930, located in its holdings at the Belleville Public Library.
  • A finding aid with sequence of records on the microfilm is available for Ss. Cyril and Methodius, East St. Louis, on reel 28. 
  • The microfilm may include additional events or record books not available from FamilySearch. The reverse may also apply.
• Researchers are urged to correlate information here with that found in other records before forming conclusions about a person, family, or relationship. Such records may include cemetery, census, land, obituary, and/or probate records. 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 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.

Sample citation to a specific record in this database

Gloria Dettleff, compiler, “Ss. Cyril and Methodius (East St. Louis [Illinois]) Catholic Church Marriages (1911 – 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.

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