For our first ever #FridayFind we have the case of a missing marriage record

Written By Dmitri Schmidt

Why would a 20th-century marriage appear in the church records (as seen here) but not in the civil records?

Thanks to a deep dive by our genealogists, we now know that Rev. Peter Engel, the priest who performed Thomas Florence and Catherine Prelli’s wedding, never returned their marriage license to the county. While unusual, an unfiled marriage record is not without precedent. As penalties could be inflicted for late filing, clergymen worried about the accumulation of late fees never returned them.

Have you hit a stonewall while researching your family? Reach out to us at emma@backlog-archivists.com!

Stay tuned to learn more about what our genealogists unearth in their research!

Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Parish Records, St. Clair, East St. Louis, St. Elizabeth Parish, Marriages 1905-1932. Pg. 53, 25 Nov. 1917

Dmitri Schmidt

Dmitri plays a pivotal role in coordinating Backlog’s outreach efforts. They curate our weekly #FridayFinds and #ArchivalTips social media posts, shedding light on items discovered in our genealogy work and providing tips and tricks to approaching problems in the archives.

Dmitri holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and German Studies from Saint Louis University. During their university years, they dedicated over 1000 hours to interning and volunteering at local St. Louis institutions, including the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis University Museum of Art. As the Collections Intern at the Science Center, Dmitri assisted in developing and installing the "Into the Vault" exhibit.

Before joining Backlog, Dmitri served as a Fulbright Grantee, teaching English as a second language in former East Germany. From guiding 11th graders in analyzing pop albums as poetry to discussing the significance of the civil rights movement with 8th graders, they covered a broad spectrum of subjects. While reveling in connecting with students and injecting fun into grammar lessons, Dmitri's deep passion for all things archival eventually drew them back home.

Today, Dmitri works as a Herbarium Assistant at the Missouri Botanical Garden, helping digitize the millions of preserved plant specimens. After being scanned and transcribed, these images aid scholars around the globe in furthering botanical research. Dmitri also serves as the archivist for the Kirkwood Historical Society. They are currently overseeing the “Journeys into Kirkwood’s History” project, which aims to digitize documents related to Kirkwood’s early Black settlements.

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