St. Louis History and Ethnic Groups 2 – Compact
Early History of St. Louis
St. Louis was founded by the Frenchman Pierre LaClede in 1764. Not long after, the land was sold to the Spanish, but it was returned to the French by 1802. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Americans from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and other states migrated to St. Louis, as did Englishmen exploring the new frontier.
Native American groups were already in the area, and African Americans—both free and enslaved—were part of the early settlement. For a glimpse at some of the earliest landowners in the Missouri Territory (1805, 1806, and 1819), see the Missouri Territorial Papers.
The City of St. Louis was established by city charter in 1823. By 1830, Germans and soon Irish immigrants arrived on the banks of the Mississippi, bringing their ethnic cultures with them. Jewish families arrived in small numbers, and by 1841 there were enough Jews to form a congregation. Thereafter, Polish, Czech, and Italian immigrants arrived.
More modern immigration has seen Scandinavians, Hispanics, natives of the Caribbean, and immigrants from many Asian countries arrive in St. Louis.
The 1876 City–County Separation
The most unique aspect of St. Louis history was the separation (or “divorce”) between St. Louis County and St. Louis City that occurred in 1876. Prior to that year, what is today St. Louis City and St. Louis County were all under the jurisdiction of St. Louis County, with the county courthouse located near the river.
The city leaders decided they did not want to support the outlying communities, forming an independent City of St. Louis with its current boundaries. The remainder of St. Louis County formed its own government in 1877 and established its courthouse in Clayton.
When researching a St. Louis ancestor, it is often necessary to check both city and county records for events after 1876. Records for events before that date remained with the city; later records are found in St. Louis County.
- St. Louisans with 50 Years Residency in 1909
- Index to The History of St. Louis County, Missouri (1911)
Ethnic Communities in St. Louis
St. Louis neighborhoods in both the city and county developed as ethnic communities, each with houses of worship, businesses, and social organizations. Learning where your ancestors lived can help you understand how ethnic heritage shaped their lives.
Peopling St. Louis: The Immigrant Experience
Click on each title below to expand the details and see the data.
African Americans in St. Louis
African Americans have played an important role in the cultural, political, and spiritual history of St. Louis since 1764. They were members of the party that accompanied Pierre de Laclède Liguest when he founded the trading post and village that became St. Louis.
In a 1799 census, St. Louis had a population of 925, of which 46% were people of African descent. African American communities were established in St. Louis County as early as the 1860s, including Webster Groves and Rock Hill. The predominantly Black community of Kinloch developed in the 1890s.
St. Louis City Hall holds Certificate of Character documents dating from 1804 to 1860 for free-born or emancipated persons of African ancestry. These unindexed records, along with court records, document the licensed “free negroes” permitted to live in the city.
Free Negroes Licensed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1835
African American marriages were performed in St. Louis before the Civil War but were not legally recognized until afterward. Herman Steines and his son Frederick recorded many of these marriages.
- Colored Marriages Performed by Herman Steines and Frederick W. Steines, J.P.s, 1865–1871
- Herman Steines, J.P. & Frederick W. Steines, J.P. Marriage Records
Many enslaved Missourians joined the Union army between 1863 and 1865. Descriptive recruitment lists were created for each recruit, often containing detailed personal notes. These records document physical descriptions, birthplaces, and former slave owners.
Most of Missouri’s descriptive recruitment lists are preserved in National Archives microfilm publication M1894, Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863–1865.
After the Civil War, St. Louis remained segregated. African Americans developed their own newspapers and social organizations. An 1890 newspaper article referenced the African American Elite.
Czech / Bohemians
Czechs (Bohemians) from the Austrian Empire began arriving in St. Louis in 1848. They settled in an area once called Frenchtown, later Bohemian Hill, now known as the Soulard neighborhood.
Ninety percent of Czech immigrants were literate, making them the most literate immigrant group in nineteenth-century St. Louis. Many were bilingual, speaking Czech and German.
Key Czech religious, cultural, and social institutions developed in St. Louis, including St. John Nepomuk Parish and St. Wenceslaus Parish. In 1931, a special parish publication documented these communities.
Czech freethinkers formed the Cesko-Slovansky Podporujici Spolek (C.S.P.S.) in 1854. In 1890 they built the Czech National Hall. In the 1950s, Czech organizations relocated to 4690 Lansdowne Avenue.
Czechoslovak Society of America – St. Louis
Thanks to June M. Sommer for originally creating this material. See her articles in the StLGS Quarterly.
French
French settlers migrated to the St. Louis area from New Orleans, Quebec, and Detroit in the 1700s. Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau established the village of St. Louis in 1764.
Early St. Louis featured French street layouts, a central public plaza, and shared land known as the St. Louis Commons. French and Spanish governments issued the earliest land grants.
After the Louisiana Purchase, land ownership disputes continued into the mid-1800s. The population remained predominantly French well into the nineteenth century.
The French City – City of St. Louis
Researchers should be aware of dit names, also called double surnames, used by many French families.
Germans
German immigration to St. Louis began in the 1820s and surged in the 1830s. Gottfried Duden’s writings promoted Missouri as a destination.
By 1850, more than half of St. Louis’s population was of German descent. Germans founded churches, newspapers, businesses, and played a major role in keeping Missouri in the Union during the Civil War.
German Immigrants Arriving Aboard the Bark Mississippi, 1856
The St. Louis Genealogical Society sponsors a German Special Interest Group.
Irish
The largest Irish community in St. Louis was Kerry Patch, near today’s downtown. Another major Irish community developed in Dogtown near Forest Park.
Italians
Italian immigrants arrived primarily in the late 1800s, settling first in downtown “Little Italy” and later in The Hill neighborhood.
Italian burial records are associated with the Fratellanza Society.
Polish
Polish immigrants arrived in St. Louis in the mid to late 1800s, settling primarily on the near north side. Polish Jews also arrived, fleeing pogroms and persecution.
Spanish
Although founded by the French, St. Louis was ruled by Spain for approximately thirty years. Spanish records were later preserved and microfilmed.
Last modified: 04-Jan-2026 18:59