Discover the Past - "Oysters to Angus: Three Generations of the St. Louis Faust Family"

In Oysters to Angus, Tony Faust entered rough and rowdy St. Louis in the mid-nineteenth century. As patriarch of the Faust family, he lived lavishly while rebelling against those who wished to shut down his saloon. Tony's savvy son, Edward, rose to the top of the St. Louis business elite, and in so doing, shunned his German-American heritage. In contrast, Tony Faust's steady grandson, Leicester, quietly built his farm in rural St. Louis County. That land became his legacy: a park built upon the proud Faust name.

Through it all, the Fausts navigate the timeline alongside the iconic Busch family, firmly entrenching them selves as movers and shakers of the St. Louis scene. A narrative that has never been told, Oysters to Angus is historically important to both St. Louis as well as greater Missouri, where German immigration and rural growth developed in its own right. 

About the Presenter:

Elizabeth Kurrus is a historian and author in St. Louis, Missouri. She earned her Bachelors in history from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and her Masters in public history from James Madison University in Virginia. For the past fifteen years, she has served as Director of Archives for a 183-year-old church. Additionally, Elizabeth conducts independent research for clients seeking information on everything from family histories to historic railroads. Elizabeth has published two books, "Oysters to Angus: Three Generations of the St. Louis Faust Family" and "Ethnic St. Louis." She is researching her next publication on St. Louis' participation in provisioning westward migrants of the Oregon and California Trails.