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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 Artesian (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 Artesian. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Artesian is located in Sanborn County.

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 Sanborn County: Aurora, Beadle, Davison, Hanson, Jerauld, Kingsbury & Miner.

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

  • Sanborn County     (The home county of Artesian)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Forestburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
    • Letcher
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cuthbert
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Cuthbert is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
    • Woonsocket
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Aurora County
    • Storla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Storla is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storla
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6 people
  • Beadle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Cavour
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Morningside
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Morningside is located in Beadle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morningside
    • Huron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Huron is located in Beadle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,420 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huron <1>
    • Yale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Loomis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitchell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • River Bluff Addition
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Mount Vernon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hanson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Farwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Farwell is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Plano
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Plano is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • Epiphany
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Epiphany is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epiphany
      • Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
    • Fulton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Farmer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Farmer is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Alexandria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rockport Colony
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
  • Jerauld County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Alpena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lane
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Esmond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
    • Iroquois
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Manchester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
  • Lake County
    • Winfred
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • McCook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Spencer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Unityville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Unityville is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unityville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 52 people
  • Miner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Artesian, with the one closest to Artesian listed first.
    • Fedora
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Roswell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Roswell is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • Carthage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Vilas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Vilas is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Howard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Canova
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Artesian ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Artesian.

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 Artesian - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Diana Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fedora Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Butler Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Morgans Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Prairie Flower Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Farwell Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Roswell Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Silver Creek Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (59 more) ...
    • West Lawn Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Redstone Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bonny Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Artesian had a population of 256 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Artesian had a population of 134 people.

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

  • Forestburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
  • Farwell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Farwell is located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Roswell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Roswell is located in Miner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
    • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
  • Letcher
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Carthage
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Vilas
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Vilas is located in Miner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
  • Woonsocket
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Fulton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Howard
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Esmond
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
    • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
  • Mitchell
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Farmer
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Farmer is located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Canova
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Cavour
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Alexandria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Artesian ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Artesian.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Artesian. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Artesian and those printed in the larger area surrounding Artesian.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Artesian.

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 Artesian:

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>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 Artesian, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Artesian) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.