Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

• That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
• We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
• On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Milesville (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Milesville. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Milesville is located in Haakon County.

To see how the shape of South Dakota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Haakon County: Dewey, Jackson, Jones, Meade, Pennington, Stanley & Ziebach.

Below are the counties that are near Milesville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Milesville:

• Haakon County     (The home county of Milesville)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Milesville, with the one closest to Milesville listed first.
  • Hartley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
    • Hartley is located in Haakon County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 129 people
  • Moenville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moenville
    • Moenville is located in Haakon County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 18 people
  • Philip
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philip
    • Philip is located in Haakon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philip <2>
• Meade County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Milesville, with the one closest to Milesville listed first.
  • Howes
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howes
    • Howes is located in Meade County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howes <2>
  • Plainview
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
    • Plainview is located in Meade County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
• Pennington County
  • Creighton
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creighton
    • Creighton is located in Pennington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Creighton <2>
• Ziebach County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Milesville, with the one closest to Milesville listed first.
  • Bridger
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridger
    • Bridger is located in Ziebach County
  • Cherry Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
    • Cherry Creek is located in Ziebach County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherry Creek <2>
  • Red Scaffold
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Scaffold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Scaffold
    • Red Scaffold is located in Ziebach County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 372 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Milesville, see our County-by-County Page for Milesville.

Newspapers Published in Milesville ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Milesville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Milesville, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Milesville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Milesville:

• Websites specific to South Dakota
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the South Dakota State Archives

• Pages specific to Haakon County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Meade County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Pennington County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Ziebach County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of South Dakota
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of South Dakota
  • Cemeteries of Haakon County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of South Dakota
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of South Dakota
  • Cemeteries of Haakon County

Cemeteries Near Milesville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Milesville.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Milesville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Milesville, with the one closest to Milesville listed first.

• Milesville Cemetery
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milesville Cemetery
• Topbar Cemetery
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Topbar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Topbar Cemetery
• Wellsburg Union Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wellsburg Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wellsburg Union Cemetery
• Hilland Cemetery
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hilland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hilland Cemetery
• Dowling Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dowling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dowling Cemetery
• Little Dog Cemetery
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Dog Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Dog Cemetery
• Rose Cemetery
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Cemetery
• Mattison Cemetery
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mattison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mattison Cemetery
• St. Marks Cemetery
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
• Robbs Flat Cemetery
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robbs Flat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robbs Flat Cemetery
• Buffalo Cemetery
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buffalo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo Cemetery
• St. Pius Cemetery
  (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pius Cemetery
• Continue List   (4 more) ...
  • Eaglestaff Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eaglestaff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eaglestaff Cemetery
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
  • Creighton Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Creighton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Creighton Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

While we didn't find Milesville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Milesville.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Milesville, with the one closest to Milesville listed first.

• Grindstone
  (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grindstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grindstone
  • Grindstone is located in Haakon County
• Philip
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philip
  • Philip is located in Haakon County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 753 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philip <2>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Milesville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Milesville.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Milesville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/