SNGF: Database Wishes

Randy at Genea-Musings for his weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, challenges:

Define one or more genealogy or family history databases, that are not currently online, that would really help you in your research. Where does this database currently reside?

It almost seems like copying his selection, but I've found newspaper archives so helpful. My selections:

1) The St. Louis Post Dispatch

1874-1922 is online, if you have access to ProQuest. 1988-current is also online, if you have access to NewsBank, or through the newspaper's own archives, though they charge to read the articles. The 66 years inbetween aren't online to my knowledge. The St. Louis Public Library has a great index of the Post Dispatch obituaries (1880-1930, 1942-1945, 1960-1965, 1992-2008). As wonderful as it is, there are gaps. Bob Doerr's website has the obituaries indexed from 1975-1977. (Bob Doerr edited the Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal from 1992-2009. He passed away in September.)

2) The St. Louis Globe Democrat

The Mercantile Library is working on an index of their massive (1930-1986) Clippings file. This too is wonderful, but I'm greedy and want more.

It would be great if a historical archive similar to ProQuest's for the Post Dispatch was created. The St. Louis County Library has the paper on microfilm back to 1853, when it was The Missouri Democrat. (The library does have an index of obituaries for the Globe for the year 1880. It's a start.)

3) St. Louis Jewish Newspapers

An index or database for

• The St. Louis Jewish Tribune 1879-1884
• The St. Louis Free Press 1885-1887
• The St. Louis Jewish Voice 1888-1920
• The St. Louis Jewish Light 1947-1977

The above four papers for the years above are available on microfilm at the St. Louis County Library. The Jewish Light is still in existence; Bound copies from 1947 to current can be found at the Saul Brodsky Community Library.