www.immigrantships.net is the former Immigrant Ship's Transcriber's web that drove into Rootsweb, but now stands alone. The transcriptions are far from complete, but can be helpful. I pulled up the S/S H. Purrinton from LaHarve, France to New Orleans arriving May 1, 1854. Found no one I sought, but noticed the destination of 340 of the 355 passengers was St. Louis, MO, the other 15 were destined for Cincinnati, OH. The 340 persons destined for St. Louis were from Germany. Perhaps you'll find someone you seek. If you are looking for deaths in Illinois prior to 1916 through the Illinois State Archives web, don't despair. The entries are in-process and will take a long time to complete. Keep checking. The Illinois death index after 1916 has a lot of data, but all counties are not complete. Keep checking. I was fortunate to obtain two free uncertified death certificates before the State closed the doors to freebies. If you are an Illinois resident, they are still free; others pay $10.00 in advance. The two death certificates I obtained, revealed the names of my cousin's grand parents and great grandparents, where they were born, if born abroad, how many years lived in the USA. The Missouri Archives on-line death and birth index is slowly progressing. Some St. Louis entries, but thousands more will be added. Keep checking. If you are ambitious and want to help others, please consider volunteering to transcribe records for either Illinois or Missouri. I am in-process of transcribing Missouri records. Happy hunting for the ghosts of Christmas past. June in St. Louis "on The Hill"