The MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES … where history begins Published by Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State STATE ARCHIVES OPENS ST.LOUIS BRANCH PAGE 3 Death Records Database Online PAGE 4 Teaching American History PAGE 5 Annual Meeting Report Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (r), is pictured here with State Representative Kathlyn PAGE 6 Fares (l), sponsor of the legislation creating the St. Louis branch of the Missouri State Archives. Also pictured are State Archivist Kenneth H. Winn , left center; St. Louis Circuit Court Clerk Mormon History Mariano Favazza , center; and U.S. Representative William L. Clay , right center. Conference PAGE 6 Archives’ Traveling Exhibits PAGE 13 SUMMER 2006 Missouri State Archives... where history begins From the State Archivist The purpose of the Friends of A Document That Changed My Mind the Missouri State Archives is to render support and assistance to the Missouri State Archives. As a he Missouri State Archives has more than 336 million pages of doc - not-for-profit corporation, the uments in its active collection, making it one of the largest reposito - Friends is supported by mem - T berships and gifts. Please address ries of historical records in the world. These records date from correspondence to Friends of 1770 and boast records from Daniel Boone, Jesse James, Ernest Heming - the Missouri State Archives, PO way and Harry Truman. Box 242, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0242, or you The most famous names do not can visit the Friends on the web always make for the most interest - at: www.friendsofmsa.org/. ing documents, however. I am fre - Friends of the Missouri quently asked if I have a favorite State Archives Board of document within the collection. Directors That is, perhaps, like asking some - one to name their favorite song, Bob Priddy, President Wade Nash, Vice President which, for most people, is impossi - Sandra Walls, Secretary ble to do. I can, however, think of Thomas Holloway, Treasurer a document that had a profound ef - Roseann Bentley fect on me. About twelve years Steve Ehlmann ago, I saw for the first time an 1863 Ann Carter Fleming poster of a sheriff’s slave sale in William Foley, Ph.D. Boone County that listed two-year- Louis Gerteis, Ph.D. old children for auction—Jack and Wayne Goode Lizzie, along with the farm Gary Kremer, Ph.D. Charles Kruse animals. I had once taught a class Hon. Stephen Limbaugh on antebellum slavery at Washing - Vicki Myers ton University, and had long since Elizabeth Pool been aware of the break-up of slave Robert Sandfort, Ph.D. families when white owners died. Sally Sprague Finding this poster, as part of an or - Ex-officio: dinary probate estate file, made slavery seem much more immediate and Robin Carnahan, heart-rending than the abstract discussions I read about in books. It also Secretary of State led me to appreciate the richness in probate records that I had largely ig - Kenneth H. Winn, Ph.D. nored—something I discovered every genealogist already knew. Up to that State Archivist point the Missouri State Archives had only peripherally worked on making Alana Murray, Archives Staff court records available to the public. That quickly began to change—and Liaison to the Friends e-mail: [email protected] court records, whether “humble” probate, circuit court or those of the Phone: (573) 526-1981 Missouri Supreme Court, now make up the largest single documentary area FAX: (573) 526-7333 in which we work. Laura Wilson Newsletter Editor We have other documents that might change your mind too. Why don’t you come and take a look? Krista Myer Director of Publications See you in the Reading Room, Michael Douglas-Llyr Graphic Designer Kenneth H. Winn State Archivist 2 Summer 2006 The collec - Opening of Archives’ St. tion’s Civil War Louis Branch records have re - cently received significant he first branch of the Missouri State support with a T Archives to be located outside the capitol $300,000 grant city was officially dedicated in St. Louis from the on June 26, 2006. The facility, professional staff, National En - student interns and volunteers, outside funding, dowment for and legislation authorizing the Secretary of State the Humanities to open the archives has been driven by the com - (NEH) to make pelling nature of the St. Louis Circuit Court cases related to records. The documents – mostly from the nine - the war avail - teenth century and numbering four million pages able to the – comprise Missouri’s largest collection of histori - public prior to cally valuable records previously unknown by con - the war’s 2011 temporary historians. sesquicentenni - Secretary of State Carnahan (r) reviews original Circuit Court documents with interest from Chief The documents take St. Louis from a small vil - al. Additional - of Staff Mindy Mazur (l) and Communications Di - lage on the edge of the American frontier ly, preservation rector Stacie Temple. through the city’s emergence as a Midwestern of these cases metropolis. Topics range from ordinary debt and has been named a NEH “We the People” project land disputes to — a special designation for efforts that significant - steamboats and ly advance the study, teaching and understanding immigration, of American history. The initiative includes more slavery, the Civil than 230,000 pages of material. This enormous War and Recon - volume demonstrates how litigation exploded struction. While during the period with citizens suing over proper - the bulk of ty confiscated or damaged by troops and bush - records range whackers. Other individuals fought for rights and from 1804 to liberties in response to the required administra - 1875, some tion of loyalty oaths. documents pre- date 1800 and Since 2001, many significant cases have been many reach to placed online. The first was the original Dred 1900. Records Scott case, followed by ninety-eight cases related provide impor - to Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and addition - tant information al members of the Corps of Discovery. The on - on the lives of line availability of the Lewis & Clark records several famous earned a “Legacy Award” from the Missouri State Archivist Kenneth Winn addresses the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission in Missourians, crowd gathered for the opening of Missouri such as St. Louis 2002. Also, nearly three hundred cases involving State Archives-St. Louis. slaves suing for freedom went online in 2003. fur barons Au - This group of records is the largest single collec - guste and Pierre Chouteau, U.S. Senator Thomas tion of freedom suits in the nation and has already Hart Benton, Missouri Botanical Garden founder proved an invaluable discovery by changing our Henry Shaw, Civil War politicians Frank and understanding of slavery in St. Louis. Montgomery Blair, bridge builder James B. Eads and entrepreneur Adolphus Busch, Sr. An annotated guide — only recently completed continued on page 4 Summer 2006 3 Missouri State Archives — St. Louis the project. Washington University’s American Culture Studies Program works to maintain the continued from page 3 project website; and Southern Illinois University- — is now available for the collection’s earliest Edwardsville, St. Louis University, the University records; with some 80,000 documents dating of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University from 1804 to 1830. This tool, which will greatly all encourage students to serve the project as in - enhance access, was made possi - terns. Early funding was pro - ble through the multi-year Save vided by UMB Bank and the America’s Treasures grant, The documents …comprise Bar Association of Metropoli - awarded for preservation and tan St. Louis, along with access of these early records. Missouri’s largest collection of historically valuable records grants from the White House The St. Louis Circuit Court Millennium Council and the Historical Records Project orig - previously unknown by National Trust for Historic inated in 1999 as a partnership contemporary historians. Preservation, and the Nation - between the Office of the Sec - al Endowment for the Hu - retary of State and St. Louis manities. Circuit Clerk Mariano Favazza. The collections held by the Missouri State The Circuit Clerk’s office has continually provid - Archives-St. Louis are limitless in their ability to ed access to the records and made possible the teach us about the past. With “new” information recently-renovated space that houses the MSA-St. being uncovered, long-held positions and opin - Louis. Over the years, additional institutions ions will be altered. have joined the effort, largely through an Aca - demic Advisory Committee with scholars and ad - For more information about the Archives in St. ministrators from nine academic institutions help - Louis, please contact Supervising Archivist ing to determine which records should be high - Michael Everman at (314) 588-1746 or lighted and assisting with general operations for [email protected]. Death Records Database raphy, movement and related occupations, and aid construction of the larger social history Online through individual records. For example, the n April 6, 2006, the Archives unveiled its death records reveal the year with the highest O largest online project - more than two number of Missouri deaths to be 1918 – the million death certificates dating from same year as the world-wide influenza pandemic. 1910 through 1955 - searchable by name, coun - Access and review of a certificate listing this ty, or month and year. The public response to cause of death for a relative alters what might this e-collection has been highly rewarding for have been only a heading in a history book to Archives staff and volunteers, and the debut more realistic and immediate comprehension of brought near staggering numbers of research and such an event. photocopy requests. Since then, the database has In addition to conclusions that can be drawn been accessed over two million times, and from crunching the numbers, the death records Archives reference staff have processed more than also reveal biographical details on famous individ - six thousand pieces of mail requesting copies of uals such as the notorious Frank James and James over twenty-four thousand records.