This month in St. Louis history...

In 1865, Missouri abolishes slavery in state

On January, 11, 1865, a Missouri Constitutional Convention voted for immediate emancipation of all slaves in the state. Convention delegates were meeting in St. Louis at the time.

Before that time, Missouri laws treated slaves as sanctioned and protected property. That means they could be bought and sold, willed, inherited, hired out and seized for debt.

Also, slave marriages weren't recognized in Missouri. The reason: such marriages might interfere with the owner's rights to his slave property.

The 1865 action also rescinded an 1847 constitutional amendment that forbade the education of Missouri blacks.

The 1865 constitutional convention was held in the Mercantile Library in St. Louis. That library has long been a place where historic records of Missouri have been kept. The first library building was at the corner of Broadway and Locust streets in downtown St. Louis.

The library erected its second building at Broadway and Locust in 1889. At the present time, the library and its records are at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The year 1865 marked the end of the Civil War. The debate about slavery abolishment and other legislative actions gave indications of how divided the state was in its loyalties during the war.

That same year, a new state constitution included a provision that denied voting rights to anyone who refused to deny sympathy for the Southern cause. This provision was repealed five years later.

Ironically, 1865 also was the year George Washington Carver was born a slave in Missouri. After gaining a college education, Carver went on to become one of the nation's noted scientists of the time.

If you're interested in more state history, you can try a couple of websites. One is run by the Missouri Secretary of State at www.sos.state.mo.us/archives. Another is from the University of Missouri-Kansas City at www.umkc.edu/imc/missouri.htm.

Also, if you would like to know more about the Mercantile Library, you can call Assistant Director Charles Brown at (314) 516-7243 or e-mail him at cbrown@umsl.edu

 

Famous St. Louisans' birthdays

One St. Louisan who was born here but made her mark in Europe had a birthday in January. Another person with a January birthday was a baseball player who was born elsewhere but made his mark in St. Louis.

Opera singer Grace Brumbry was born in St. Louis in St. Louis on Jan. 4, 1937.

She had some initial success as a singer both locally and elsewhere in the U.S. But, it wasn't until she moved to Europe that she developed an international reputation. Other African-American singers and entertainers in those earlier days also went to Europe for fame.

Although Ms. Brumbry now lives in Europe, she comes back to St. Louis to perform. She was here late last year for singing engagements.

Famed baseball player Dizzy Dean was born on Jan. 16, 1910. But, his fame developed as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. He and his brother, Paul, both starred with the Cardinals.

One of the famous incidents for the Deans as Cardinals happened when both started games in a doubleheader. Dizzy pitched first and won a one-hitter. Paul pitched second and pitched a no-hitter.

Dizzy was quoted after the games as saying, "Paul, if you had told me you were going to pitch a no-hitter, I would have done the same."

After his pitching days were over, Dizzy was a famous baseball announcer. His natural "down-home" style of speaking brought entertainment as well as baseball knowledge to his broadcasts.

Both Ms. Brumbry and Dean are honored in the St. Louis Walk of Fame in downtown University City. For more information about them and others, check out the website at:
www.stlouiswalkoffame.org