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 Astoria (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 Astoria. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Astoria is located in Deuel 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 Deuel County: Lac qui Parle (MN), Lincoln (MN), Yellow Medicine (MN), Brookings, Codington, Grant & Hamlin.
Below are the counties that are near Astoria. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Astoria:
- Deuel County (The home county of Astoria)
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Toronto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brandt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Johnsonville is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonville
- Clear Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gary
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Moritz
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Moritz is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moritz
- Estimated population in 2011: 13 people
- Altamont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Altamont is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Tunerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Tunerville is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunerville
- Estimated population in 2014: 218 people
- Bemis
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bemis is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
- Goodwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brookings County
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- White
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Grove Addition
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Grove Addition is located in Brookings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grove Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 471 people
- Bushnell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bushnell is located in Brookings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Bruce
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyview
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyview is located in Brookings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
- Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
- Aurora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brookings
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elkton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Volga
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Medary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Medary is located in Brookings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,442 people
- Codington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Kranzburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Appleby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Appleby is located in Codington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
- Hamlin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Estelline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dempster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dempster is located in Hamlin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempster
- Stone Bridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Stone Bridge is located in Hamlin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 105 people
- Castlewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Alsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Alsville is located in Hamlin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsville
- Kones Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kones Corner is located in Hamlin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kones Corner
- Moody County
- Ward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lac qui Parle County (MN)
- Providence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Lincoln County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Hendricks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ivanhoe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Arco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Benton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tyler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tyler is located in Lincoln County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,058 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tyler <1>
- Lyon County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Taunton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Minneota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Canby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
- Porter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Saint Leo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Astoria, see our County-by-County Page for Astoria.
Cemeteries Near Astoria ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Astoria.
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 Astoria - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Astoria covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Bethany Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Wood Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leganger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Toronto Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Trulock Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hendricks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hansonville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Blom Prairie Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mikkelson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Highland Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (99 more) ...
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fair View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bohemian Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
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 Astoria in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Astoria.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Astoria, with the one closest to Astoria listed first.
- Toronto
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hendricks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brandt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- White
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bushnell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bushnell is located in Brookings County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Wilno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wilno is located in Lincoln County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilno
- Gary
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Canby
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
- Estelline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bruce
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Porter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Aurora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Altamont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Altamont is located in Deuel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
- Dempster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dempster is located in Hamlin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempster
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Astoria. See our List of 1890's Communities around Astoria.
Newspapers Published in Astoria ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Astoria.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Astoria, 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 Astoria.
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 Astoria:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Deuel County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brookings County
- Codington County
- Hamlin County
- Moody County
- Lac qui Parle County
- Lincoln County
- Lyon County
- Yellow Medicine County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Astoria) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Astoria, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |