Herman Gottlieb Kiel clipped and organized newspaper information which volunteers compiled into nearly 100,000 pages of Franklin County historical and genealogical information. Kiel compiled this information for the period of 1875 - 1925.
The original files containing thousands of pieces of paper were saved at Kiel's death by individuals concerned with losing precious Franklin County history.
The original files were copied and arranged by surname and fill a bookcase full of binders. Those copies are available without charge for research and copies of individual pages are available for a small fee.
Kiel published a book, "The Centennial Biographical Directory of Franklin County, Missouri" in 1925 containing 88 lists recording Franklin County citizens and organizations/occupations of early residents.
In 1986, the Washington Historical Society reprinted the book. It is no longer available.