St. Louis German Social Groups

Before insurance, pensions, labor unions, or Social Security were widely available, groups (collectively known as benevolent and protective associations) collected dues that would be distributed to members who met with misfortune. Members also visited the sick and attended funerals. They strengthened their bonds with social activities. Before it was common to own an automobile, meeting places needed to be near the home or public transportation. More popular organizations might have dozens of chapters.

City directories of the 1880s–1920s have many pages of listings of such groups. They generally appear under the category Societies. 

There were also benevolent and protective organizations that were formed specifically by and for Germans. Most of these were founded in New York or other eastern cities. Chapters quickly spread across the United States, including St. Louis. These included:

• Sons of Hermann: mutual aid, founded 1840  

• Harugari: mutual aid, founded 1847  

• Allgemeiner Deutscher Unterstützungs Verein: mutual aid, founding date unknown

• Steuben Society of America: fraternal, founded 1919 

The era between the American Civil War and World War I was the heyday of fraternal organizations (e.g., Druids, Elks, Woodmen) in the United States. These national or international groups had numerous chapters throughout St. Louis, and local Germans participated in these as well. Larger groups with numerous chapters have their own subheadings in the directory. 

• To identify groups that likely had high German participation, look for Germanic or German-centric lodge names such as Allemania, Concordia, Germania, Goethe, Harmonie, Humboldt, Lessing, Schiller, or Teutonia.