Antique Metro St. Louis Postcards

Use of Free Graphics: Permission is granted for free use of these images for student school work, family history, noncommercial genealogy, educational web pages, not-for-profit historical organization use, hardcopy album, or educational report. Credit must read, "Image courtesy of Scott K. Williams, www.stlouistimeportal.com" (if on the web, please hyperlink the website domain name.) If credit can not be put along side picture, then a credit line following the article is acceptable. Commercial requests are normally granted, especially if a complimentary copy of the publication can be shared. Website developers wanting to use specific Images should download the images to their computer and upload to it their web server. [ NOTE: These images may NOT be harvested for clip art collection websites, or sold as part of clipart compilations. Although many of these postcards are public domain, the image files are copyrighted.] Special requests may be made for a higher resolution rescan, but some type of compensation for my time should be considered before making the request.

Feel free to email me your comments as well. Email me at: showmemule"at"earthlink.net (replace "at" with @). Please be warned I don't check email often and I often can't reply individually.

St. Louis Parks and Entertainment:

Undated postcard of Mardis-Gras Night, Cave Dancing Academy, St. Louis, Mo. Ahern & Albers, Owners. Published by the Simplicity Co. Publishers, Grand Rapids, MI. This is probably circa 1910.

St. Louis Churches:

St. Louis Churches: St. Peter's German Evangelical; St. Peters Episcopal; the Old Cathedral; the New Cathedral; Church of the Messiah (Unitarian); Church of the Messiah (Unitarian) Brick building; Grand Ave. Baptist Church; First Presbyterian Church; St. Alphonsus Ligouri "Rock" (Catholic) Church; First Church of Christ Scientist.

St. Louis Street Scenes:

6th Street Looking North from Olive, St. Louis, Mo. Majestic No. 540, not postmarked. Circa 1910

St. Louis Markets and Mercantile Businesses:

1907 Postcard of old Union Market in foreground at left. Behind it, Famous Department Store.

More Cards on St. Louis Markets

River Scenes:

Levee near Eads Bridge, St. Louis, Mo. Unloading peanuts from a steamer. Following the Civil War, newly freed slaves took over a niche dominated by the Irish before 1861-1865. (However black rivermen have always worked the river as far back as colonial times.)

Restaurants / Cafes of St. Louis

Tony Faust Restaurant, corner of Elm and Broadway. At this location the first "Arc Lamps" in the city went into operation in 1878. Arrow Postcard Co., St. Louis, Mo. Postmarked 1910. Note: real image is much more clearer than this.

More Cards on St. Louis Restaurants and Cafes

Hospitals of St. Louis

St. Louis Railroads:

Union Station Switch Yards, St. Louis, Mo., circa 1910. No. 1058, V.O. Hammon Pub. Co., Chicago.

More St. Louis Railroad Postcards

St. Louis County Postcards:

University City looking North (probably from Delmar). One Cent postage. Divided back. Handwritten note dated 1909.

More St. Louis County Postcards

St. Louis Military Postcards:

Jefferson Barracks Artillery unit (probably Battery A, 128th Reg't). One Cent Postmarked smudged. Divided back, no publisher listed. Before 1910's, before 1917.

Metro East, Illinois Postcards:

Second street of Alton, Illinois, looking from Market Street toward the grain elevators. Dark building at left is the courthouse. Barth's Drug Store is on right. Arrow on image was annotated by sender as the direction of the main business section. Taken in the 1910's by H.H. Bregstone of St. Louis.

Postcards of Alton, Illinois

Miscellaneous Postcard Themes:

St. Louis Fire Department battling a winter fire using some new technology, a "water tower in action". Unknown location in city. Postmarked 1908.

A Little About Me

While growing up in Ferguson, north St. Louis County, Missouri my favorite past-time was searching for fossils and Indian artifacts (mostly pottery and stone implements) that would wash up after every "gulley-washer".) And if it was not something prehistoric, it was historic, like an old bottle, or even a rusty World War I land mine (a disarmed one that my grandfather had thrown out, after using it for years as a counter-balance on a chicken feeder.) Note: I grew up (1960s-1970s) on the land where my grandfather once had his chicken farm/ranch.

My maternal grandparents had a strong interest in genealogy. My grandmother was instructed by her grandmother to record (and commit to memory), her entire maternal line back to her ancestors that fought in the American Revolution. My grandfather was born in a rustic log cabin in the Freedom Hills of northwest Alabama, and showered me with his fascinating accounts of his growing up from poverty to traveling the world in the U.S. Navy during World War I.

Part of my family history goes back to Joshua Wynne (1665-1715), who along with his brother, served as Indian Interpreters for the (Nottoway, Meherrin, Pamunkey and Chickahominy) Indians of Virginia. When I found one of Wynne's adventures entailed traveling great distances by canoe to retrieve a local chief that was taken hostage by Iroquois raiders, it was like reading "Last of the Mohicans". There also ancestor, Margaret Wood (d. 1719), the adopted daughter of Maj. Gen. Abraham Wood, commander of Ft. Henry, who initiated the English fur trade with the Cherokees. Furthermore, my ggg grandmother, Leacy Johnston, b. circa 1800 on Cherokee lands of eastern Tennessee was also of Cherokee descent. So this hooked me into interest of aboriginal American history.

While at McCluer high school (Ferguson-Florissant school district), this fascination motivated me into temporarily living in a Cheyenne-style tipi for the late fall through winter and into spring (6 months) that was located in my parent's backyard. I learned stone-age technologies from John White of the Kampsville area of Illinois. As an anthropologist of Cherokee-Scottish background, he was able teach me how to create pottery from local clay, twine from tree bark, cattail mats, ancient houses, a dug-out canoe, and much more. But I am sorry to say, John went away in 2006 after a sudden illness, and we lost a great man with his passing.

Today I live in Florissant in north St. Louis County and pursue a wide range of interests.

Margaret O'Neal (1849-1930), gg grandmother of author. Margaret was a daughter of Charlie O'Neal and Martha Patsy Hillhouse. Margaret married Royal Luce. I also have another photo of Margaret wearing a buffalo robe during a visit of my grandfather, James O. Williams, before he left for France in World War I.

My earliest Missouri ancestor was John "Spencer" O'Neal, formerly of Frankfort Kentucky (previously of Muhlenberg Co., KY). Born about 1775, he was the son of Thomas O'Neal, b. abt. 1741 in Virginia. Spencer O'Neal first came to Missouri in 1805, then went back to Kentucky where he served in the War of 1812, with a company of "mounted spies" and later in Capt. Lewis Kincheloe's company of Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia. He was mustered out with the rank of Sergeant. By 1815 his wife, Huldah Butler O'Neal died. It was at this time he mad his second trip Missouri, this time bringing along his sons, Jesse, John, and Charlie. On May 15, 1818, he married Nancy Woolsey in Washington County, Mo. Although they seemed to have moved around a lot in the early 1820's, by the end of that decade, they settled along the Osage river, near Lebanon in Laclede County, Mo. Spencer later moved to Greene County, Mo and resided there until 1836. In 1837 he moved to the Yocum Creek area of Osage township, Carroll County Arkansas. Spencer died in late 1840 to early 1841. His wife Nancy passed away by 1844. At least two children, a son and daughter were born to his second marriage, only one is known by name, Susannah, b. 10 Nov 1826.

When the Civil War broke out the O'Neal's were a divided bunch, some serving the Confederacy and others for the Union. Spencer's son Charlie* made sure all his boys stayed on the Union side-- serving in the 1st Arkansas Cavalry (US). Regardless which side they served, they were independently minded frontiersmen, native southerners but not ones that developed the high-flaunt lifestyle of having mansions and slaves. The first battle was one actually fought on the O'Neal farm. Charlie had dug a cellar large enough for the horses and family, which they used as the bullets whizzed overhead. Three or four of his sons were in that battle, fought there along Yocum Creek. Eventually Charlie took the non-combatant part of the family to the Springfield, Missouri area where they waited out the war as refugees. Charlie himself, never enlisted due to his age. He nearly lost his life when some Confederates were going to hang him, but an officer for unknown reason stopped the execution and set him free. Charlie did shoulder a rifle during the war. An impending Confederate raid on Springfield, required a makeshift militia to man the fortification around the town. They took part in successfully repulsing the Confederates at the 2nd Battle of Springfield, as the engagement has been called. [*Charlie married Martha Patsy Hillhouse in Laclede Co., Mo., they had 13 children, 12 living to adulthood. Their daughter, Margaret, was my gg grandmother, married Royal Luce in Greene county, Missouri.]

Even in religion, the O'Neals were some of the most independent thinkers. Back in Ireland they were certainly Catholic, but being Catholic on the American frontier was not possible. For whatever reason, they attached themselves to the independent "primitive Baptists" and later some became adherents to the non-denominational, "Christian Church".

The O' Neal lineage began with Spencer's grandfather, John O'Neal who was banished by the English king and arrived in chains to the Virginia colony. In 1747 he was living in the frontier western region of the colony, Augusta County, Virginia. By 1751 he and his son, Thomas are charged with larceny. In 1755, John reports to the sheriff that he was assaulted by two men, yet the county will not arrest them. According to a court case, "King vs. O'Neal", a group of colonists signed a petition against John O'Neal, saying, he "...threatens to shoot us if he see any of us out of our own plantations, that he will do us all the damage he can by killing our horses, cattle, &c...". What was the true story behind these charges is not known. They may have been trumped up as two of the petitioners (Patrick Cain, and Robert Patterson) denied they ever signed the document. Another, Gawen Black says he was "over-persuaded" to sign the document. During the trial for the case (Feb 14, 1756) it is stated that John was tried for "speaking treasonable words, acquitted, but committed for abusing the Government and cursing the Bible" (O'Neal was Irish, most likely Catholic, so he may have justified himself by not subscribing to the King James' Bible.)

On Nov. 18, 1756, his wife, Mary, is listed as a widow. On Nov 25, 1756, he son, Thomas O'Neal age 16, chose a guardian. In June 1757, Thomas, age 16 and 6 months, agrees to serve as an apprentice to Henry Murray. During the American Revolution, Thomas O'Neal enlisted in the Virginia militia fighting against English forces. After the war, the family settled in Kentucky where John Spencer O'Neal was born. It is not known at this time what siblings he may have had.

If your from this O'Neal lineage, I would appreciate hearing from you and the details of your line. Reportedly a photograph of Charlie O'Neal is known to exist with descendants in the Springfield, Mo area. I would appreciate a copy of this image if anyone knows of its whereabouts. I will pay whatever costs necessary for duplication--Scott Williams, showmemule"at"earthlink.net (replace "at" with @)

Revolutionary War:

Lt. Col. Henry "Hal" Dixon, my gggg grandfather, North Carolina Line Continental Army. The son of Henry Dickson, Sr. and Elizabeth Abernathy were of Scottish (perhaps Scots-Irish) ancestry. "Hal" Dixon is now recognized as having a big impact on the revolution. He was most famous for his actions at the Battle of Camden after being abandoned by his General, Horatio Gates (who fled the battlefield). After refusing to surrender, his North Carolinians have gone down in history as the only American militia to have cut through British regulars in a bayonet charge. After being wounded three times in battle, he was mortally wounded near Round "O", South Carolina. After Dixon's death, many North Carolinians memorialized his name by naming a son after him. Hal's eldest son, Wynne Dixon, served beside his father, survived the war, eventually settling in Henderson Co., Ky. There is a monument dedicated to him at Guilford Courthouse National Battlefield Park. Lt. Col Hal Dixon was married to Martha Wynne and their youngest child, Susannah Dixon, married John Williams, Jr. in Caswell Co., NC before settling in Bedford Co., Tennessee.
Maj. Tillman Dixon, GGGG Granduncle Tillman--a brother of "Hal" Dixon. He was also of the NC Continental Army with rank being a Captain. He suffered as a POW after the fall of Charleston, SC. Later he explored Tennessee in search of pension lands for revolutionary war soldiers. His Tennessee home was built in North Carolina, but not moved an inch. Here in 1797 at the recommendation of George Washington, he entertained the King of France, King Louis-Philippe I who was touring America in exile. Yet, when the King complained about having to share a bed with the Dixon children, Tillman took him down a notch by stating the Dixon's were of royal blood themselves. (Tillman was married to Maria Don Carlos). See photos of the home during one of my visits.

Antebellum:

Ft. Belle Fontaine (War of 1812 history in north St. Louis County, Mo.)
Making Treaties: Good Faith or Deception? The Injustice to Aboriginal Americans in Illinois and Missouri. "What do we know of the laws and customs of the White people ? They might buy our bodies for dissection..."--Black Hawk

Civil War:

Benton Barracks ("Camp Benton") Perhaps the most important historical site forgotten in St. Louis.
"Ships of Iron", Eads' Ironclads and Monitors of Carondelet and St. Louis, Mo.
Black Confederates (Kinsmen, Maj. J B McCreary hand carried a petition to the Confederate Congress demanding slaves be recruited as soldiers). Most people don't know that many black Southerners fought for the south.
Slavery in St. Louis Forgotten history of slavery in the upper South (Article dedicated to my GG GrandUncles, Alexander McCreery and Dr. Samuel Mitichell were abolitionists, helped found Africa, Illinois; and a Underground Railroader.)
U.S. Colored Troops (Recruited in St. Louis)
Roddey's 4th Alabama Cavalry, CSA
Missouri Civil War Museum (Jefferson Barracks)

Biographical:

Gov. James Bennett McCreary (McCreery), kinsman-- Soldier, U.S. Senator, Governor of Kentucky. This was a very progressive family. They were either abolitionists or advocates for allowing slaves to become soldiers. One cousin Phocian McCreery was a co-founder of Washington University in St. Louis. My earliest known McCreery ancestor, James McCreery, a common Irish carpenter who eloped to America with Nancy Agnes Crawford, who came from a prominent Dublin family that very much disapproved of the marriage. The early McCreery's like most American Irish or Scots-Irish were "United Irishmen" who fought the English whenever and wherever they could. The early members of the family settled in Augusta Co, Virginia before heading West.

Genealogical:

Williams Family History My Williams line is from LLanogollen along the River Dee in North Wales. They were famous for their "Old Williams" and "Old Nick" Whiskey. Many members of the family fought, died fighting or were executed by the English during the American Revolution. Many were Congressmen, U.S. Senator, even a Governor appointed by Thomas Jefferson. Professional Soldiers and Authors. One stray cousin, Thomas Lanier "Tennessee", would become a world famous playwright from St. Louis. The family tree includes, Col. Richard Irving Dodge, (namesake of Dodge City, Kansas) frontier Army officer and author, "The Plains of North America and Their Inhabitants" (1877). New DNA Research Project.
Williams Farm, Ferguson, north St. Louis County, Mo. My Grandfather served in the trenches of France during World War I. He was a powerplant engineer for Laclede Light and Power as well as a chicken farmer.
James Family Another one of my many Welsh ancestral families. Originally settling in Chester Co., Pennsylvania, by 1820 they were living in Franklin County, Alabama. While the early generations of the Williams' family were wealthy, the James' were on the opposite side of the financial spectrum. New DNA Research Project.
George Family of Franklin County, Alabama and adjacent Mississippi. Not much is known on early origins. Possibly Welsh in origin. They were the poorest of the poor side of my family.

General St. Louis History: www.StLouisTimePortal.org

Links:

Website created by Scott K. Williams, Florissant, St. Louis County, Missouri. USA

(And surrounding Illinois and Missouri Metro Area)

Old Courthouse, St. Louis, Mo. Published by V. O. Hammon Publishing Co., circa 1907-1914.

Antique Metro St. Louis Postcard Collection

(St. Louis City / County and Surrounding areas of Missouri and Illinois) Note: Besides historical views, this online collection will be continually expanding as time allows to include cards of vintage humor, Victorian and holiday themes.

St. Louis Parks and Entertainment:

The World's Largest Floating Ballroom, the dance floor of the S.S. Admiral, circa 1940's.

St. Louis Park Postcards , Page One

St. Louis Park Postcards, Page Two

St. Louis Amusement Parks (including horse racing)

St. Louis Churches:

St. Louis Street Scenes:

St. Louis Street Scenes in Postcards Page One (Washington, 6th, and 12th Street scenes)

St. Louis Street Scenes in Postcards Page Two (Broadway and Olive)

St. Louis Street Scenes in Postcards Page Three (Franklin Avenue and Old Post Office Scenes)

St. Louis Street Scenes in Postcards Page Four (Grand Ave., Grand Ave. Suspension Bridge, water tower.)

St. Louis Street Scenes in Postcards Page Five (Bissell Water Tower, at Bissell and Blair Ave. views of the north city)