Jefferson County Library - Genealogy

10/02/2025

Celebrate the start of Family History Month with us on Saturday, October 4th, starting at 10 AM! We will have several special guest speakers, tools to help you create digital heirlooms, and a chance to take home a free DNA kit! This event will be held at the JCL-Northwest Branch Meeting Room from 10 AM to 3 PM.

09/26/2025

We are celebrating Family History Month with our annual Family History Day at Northwest Branch on Saturday, October 4th, and attendees will have the chance to win one of several DNA kits! There will be a digitization station set up to convert your family photos, documents, records, and letters into digital format -- including a USB flash drive to store them on! Want to learn about DNA research, using newspaper archives, and what you can find at the Missouri State Archives? We'll have speakers throughout the day on these topics! Want to meet others in the community who are interested in family and local history? We'll see you there! Register for this event by visiting jeffcolib.org or call 636-677-8186

09/17/2025

Buster Brown (and his dog Tige) were seen all across the US in the early to mid-1900s in various print advertisements and brand deals. In 1904, the characters came to St. Louis and became associated with Brown Shoe Company.

Hear about the history of Buster Brown and how their image transformed consumer culture in this presentation by BB expert archivist and historian Dr. Kris Runberg Smith on Friday, September 19th, at noon.

This program is co-sponsored by Missouri Humanities -- mohumanities.org

09/05/2025

It's happening tomorrow!
We're excited to be a part of St. Louis County Library's History Expo on Saturday, September 6, starting at 10 AM. Stop by for a visit!

09/03/2025

Taking a walk down memory lane at the library! 🥰
Melissa and Barbara enjoyed flipping through our high school yearbook archives during a recent visit, finding familiar faces and treasured memories.

Our yearbook collection includes:
Northwest, Fox, De Soto, Seckman, and Herculaneum high schools, many area elementary and middle schools, and pre-1950 archives. Give us a call or stop in to see what memories we have for you to uncover! 💫

08/29/2025

📚✨ September is full of history at the JCL Genealogy & Local History Department! ✨📚

We’re excited to share a lineup of programs that bring the past to life:

🔎 Local History Expo – Join us as we participate in the St. Louis County Library’s Local History Expo, a great opportunity to connect with area organizations and explore regional resources.

👞 Buster Brown at the 1904 World’s Fair – Discover the story of Buster Brown, a comic strip character who became a cultural sensation at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

🏺 Cahokia Mounds: History & People – Learn about the remarkable civilization that once thrived at Cahokia Mounds and its lasting impact on our region.

Don’t miss your chance to explore fascinating stories and uncover history with us this September!

👉 For full event details, visit our calendar at jeffcolib.org

08/27/2025

It’s true! We’re excited to find a new team member for the Genealogy and Local History Room… is it you?

Looking to help your neighbors learn, connect, grow, and achieve?
📖🏠🌳 We have that in common! Consider joining the team at JCL-Northwest as a Genealogy Clerk!

Applicants can check out position specifics at jeffcolib.org/about-us/employment

08/12/2025

We are looking forward to sharing our newspaper archives searching tips and tricks on Thursday at our Cedar Hill location! If you would like to learn what there is to discover in the old news, we hope to see you there. Register online @ jeffcolib.org.

07/25/2025

07/19/2025

Genealogy programming for July and August!
On Wednesday, July 23rd, we are showing the History Channel film Full Metal Corset: Secret Soldiers of the Civil War, followed by a Q&A with a local CW reenactor.
We will be visiting the Cedar Hill Satellite on Thursday, August 14th, for a class on using the library's free digital newspaper resources, and the Windsor Branch on Tuesday, August 19th, for a beginner's guide to using FamilySearch. These are both hands-on computer classes so we ask that attendees have basic computer knowledge. You can learn more and register through our events calendar on jeffcolib.org.

07/16/2025

On this day in history, the first atomic bomb test was successfully exploded in New Mexico on July 16, 1945.
What does this have to do with Jefferson County? Two men from Festus were employed at the factory in Tennessee, where the bombs were manufactured, according to this article from the Tri-City Independent news from August 9, 1945 (page 1).

06/27/2025

Breaking news: we're taking a day off to celebrate our nation's birthday! 🎉 Jefferson County Library will be closed on Friday, July 4th, but don't worry, our eResources are always on the clock at https://www.jeffcolib.org/econtent/access-emedia.