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The Commemorative Quarter for Montana





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 Living Springs (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 Living Springs. 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.

Name Variations for Living Springs ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Living Springs: Living Spgs. (or less commonly used: Living Spngs. or Living Sprngs.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and doctors 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.

Living Springs is located in Wheatland County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wheatland County: Fergus, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Meagher & Sweet Grass.

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

  • Wheatland County     (The home county of Living Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Living Springs, with the one closest to Living Springs listed first.
    • Hedgesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgesville
      • Hedgesville is located in Wheatland County
    • Judith Gap
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shawmut
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Harlowton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harlowton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlowton
      • Harlowton is located in Wheatland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 998 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harlowton <1>
    • Twodot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Fergus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Living Springs, with the one closest to Living Springs listed first.
    • Garneill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Straw
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Straw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straw
      • Straw is located in Fergus County
    • Moore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
      • Moore is located in Fergus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moore <1>
    • Glengarry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glengarry
      • Glengarry is located in Fergus County
    • Heath
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heath
      • Heath is located in Fergus County
  • Golden Valley County
    • Ryegate
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryegate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryegate
      • Ryegate is located in Golden Valley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryegate <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Living Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Living Springs.

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 Living Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hedgesville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hedgesville Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hedgesville Cemetery is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<4> to the south of Shawmut.
    • The Hedgesville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hedges Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2285731 <5>
  • Judith Gap Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Judith Gap Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Judith Gap Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Judith Gap.
    • The Judith Gap Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #197831 <5>
  • Rothiemay Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Garneill Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garneill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garneill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ubet Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ubet Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ubet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harlowton Catholic Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Harlowton Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harlowton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Harlowton Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Harlowton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #511955 <5>
  • Barber Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barber Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buffalo - Straw Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo - Straw Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Buffalo - Straw Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Straw.
    • The Buffalo - Straw Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Buffalo Cemetery
    • Straw Cemetery
  • Beaver Creek Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ryegate Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ryegate Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ryegate Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Ryegate.
    • The Ryegate Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ryegate City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #323959 <5>
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Resurrection Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resurrection Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Resurrection Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Ryegate.
      • The Resurrection Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Catholic Cemetery
      • Ryegate Catholic Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #324002 <5>
    • Pine Grove Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Duncan Ranch Colony
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duncan Ranch Colony
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Duncan Ranch Colony is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the east of Harlowton.
      • The Duncan Ranch Colony has also been known as:
      • Duncan Ranch Colony Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2484271 <5>

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.<6>

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

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

  • Shawmut
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Buffalo
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottonwood
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
    • Cottonwood is located in Fergus County

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

Newspapers Published in Living Springs ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Living Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Living Springs, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Living Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Living Springs:

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

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Living Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Living Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5922, Longitude: -109.5363       In this case, the coordinates for Living Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Living Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025