St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Parish was founded in 1847 by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick. It was the first parish to be located in what was then considered the "suburbs" of St. Louis as the village/city expanded to the south and west.

At that time, many of the Catholic founding families of St. Louis moved to the parish. They include families of French, Irish, German and Spanish origin.

As in all Catholic Parishes, the Sacramental Record Books of St. John's, document in some detail information regarding Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings and Funerals. These exist from the founding of the parish.

Many of the oldest Record Books are fragile because of age. At least until the early 1900's most of the information was recorded in Latin and in a very elaborate script which is often difficult to read. For these reasons, and because of privacy protection restrictions, the Record Books are not available to the public for personal review.

Individuals seeking genealogy information for family members who were at one time members of this parish are welcome to request a copy of the information available in our Record Books. Please observe the following:

1. Submit by mail or email (insert parish email address) the name(s) of the individuals for which you wish information. Telephone requests are not accepted. Include the full name and the approximate dates of birth and death.

2. A postal mail address to which the information can be sent.

3. All requests are personally handled by the parish secretary and as her time permits. Her daily parish responsibilities take priority, Genealogy inquiries are handled as promptly as possible. It would be realistic to anticipate a response within a month of inquiry.

4. If your request is for information involving more than a single individual, and multiple dates for (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation,Marriage, Funeral) there is a $10 per hour (minimum of one hour) research fee assessed, payable to the parish, before the information is provided.

5. Questions or clarifications of the above can be made in writing or by phone at 314-421-3467. Parish office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:00 pm -- 6:00 pm.

geneology@stjohnapostleandevangelist.org