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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 Alexandria (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 Alexandria. 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 southwest 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 south.

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 south 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.

Alexandria is located in Hanson County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hanson County: Davison, Hutchinson, McCook, Miner & Sanborn.

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

  • Hanson County     (The home county of Alexandria)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Fulton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockport Colony
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
    • Farmer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Farmer is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Emery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Plano
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Plano is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • Epiphany
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Epiphany is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epiphany
      • Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
    • Farwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Farwell is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Ethan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitchell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • River Bluff Addition
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Loomis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Vernon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Douglas County
    • Hillside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hillside is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • New Elm Springs Colony
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • New Elm Springs Colony is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elm Springs Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 600 people
    • Milltown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
    • Dimock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tschetter Colony
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Tschetter Colony is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tschetter Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 80 people
    • Parkston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolf Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Wolf Creek is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
      • Estimated population in 2014: 195 people
    • Freeman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Olivet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Menno
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Menno is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menno <1>
    • Tripp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Tripp is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripp
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 614 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripp <1>
  • McCook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Spencer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgewater
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Salem
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Unityville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Unityville is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unityville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 52 people
    • Salem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Canistota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Miner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Canova
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fedora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Roswell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Roswell is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • Vilas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Vilas is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Howard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sanborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Letcher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Artesian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Cuthbert
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cuthbert is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
    • Forestburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
  • Turner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alexandria, with the one closest to Alexandria listed first.
    • Dolton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dolton is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Monroe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Alexandria ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alexandria.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Alexandria - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • St. Martins Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Martins Lutheran Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Martins Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Emery.
    • The St. Martins Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Martins Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97588 <2>
  • Elfert Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Martins Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Martins Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Martins Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Emery.
    • The St. Martins Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Martins Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97586 <2>
  • Emery Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Spencer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Redstone Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (96 more) ...
    • New Hope Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunset Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • New Home Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Alexandria had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alexandria had a population of 650 people.

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

  • Fulton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Farmer
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Farmer is located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
  • Emery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Spencer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ethan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mitchell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Milltown
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
    • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
  • Bridgewater
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Farwell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Farwell is located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Parkston
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Canova
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Canistota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Roswell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Roswell is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • Letcher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Alexandria ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alexandria.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Alexandria. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Alexandria and those printed in the larger area surrounding Alexandria.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Alexandria.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Alexandria:

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 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.
<3>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 Alexandria, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Alexandria) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.