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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 Bryant (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 Bryant. 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 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.

Bryant is located in Hamlin 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 Hamlin County: Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant & Kingsbury.

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

  • Hamlin County     (The home county of Bryant)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryant, with the one closest to Bryant listed first.
    • Lake Norden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hazel
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
      • Hazel is located in Hamlin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hazel <1>
    • Hayti
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti
      • Hayti is located in Hamlin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayti <1>
    • Alsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Thomas
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Stone Bridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bridge
      • Stone Bridge is located in Hamlin County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 105 people
    • Kones Corner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Castlewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Dempster
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Estelline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estelline have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelline
      • Estelline is located in Hamlin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estelline <1>
  • Beadle County
  • Brookings County
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryant, with the one closest to Bryant listed first.
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Success have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
      • Success is located in Clark County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
    • Vienna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vienna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
      • Vienna is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vienna <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Vienna
      • From Bryant to Vienna
    • Willow Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Lake
      • Willow Lake is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Lake <1>
    • Naples
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pitrodie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
      • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Elrod
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elrod have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
      • Elrod is located in Clark County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 92 people
    • Merton ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
      • Merton is located in Clark County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Carpenter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Clark
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryant, with the one closest to Bryant listed first.
    • Grover
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Grover is located in Codington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
    • Henry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Kampeska
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Appleby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Watertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bryant, with the one closest to Bryant listed first.
    • Erwin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erwin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
      • Erwin is located in Kingsbury County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erwin <1>
    • De Smet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Badger
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bancroft
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bancroft. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bancroft
      • From Bryant to Bancroft
    • Lake Preston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Hetland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Manchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manchester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Osceola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Osceola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Osceola is located in Kingsbury County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 90 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Osceola
      • From Bryant to Osceola
    • Arlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Kingsbury County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <1>
    • Iroquois
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Oldham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oldham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
      • Oldham is located in Kingsbury County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oldham <1>
    • Esmond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esmond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
      • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people

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

Cemeteries Near Bryant ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bryant.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Our Redeemer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Redeemer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Redeemer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clara Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Scandinavian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scandinavian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scandinavian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Erwin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Garfield Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spirt Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spirt Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spirt Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vienna Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vienna Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vienna Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dixon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dixon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dixon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethania Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (80 more) ...
    • Kellerton Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kellerton Zion Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kellerton Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Collins Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Collins Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Collins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Peters Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bryant had a population of 172 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bryant had a population of 457 people.

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

  • Success ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Success have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
    • Success is located in Clark County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
  • Erwin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erwin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwin
    • Erwin is located in Kingsbury County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erwin <1>
  • Vienna
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vienna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
    • Vienna is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vienna <1>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Vienna
    • From Bryant to Vienna
  • Willow Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Lake
    • Willow Lake is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Lake <1>
  • Hazel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel
    • Hazel is located in Hamlin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hazel <1>
  • Naples
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Hayti
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayti
    • Hayti is located in Hamlin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayti <1>
  • De Smet
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Bancroft
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bancroft. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Bancroft
    • From Bryant to Bancroft
  • Lake Preston
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Hetland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Grover
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
    • Grover is located in Codington County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pitrodie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
      • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Manchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manchester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Henry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bryant ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bryant.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bryant. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bryant and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bryant.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Bryant.

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 Bryant:

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

The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.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>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.
<5>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- Bryant) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bryant. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5905, Longitude: -97.4672    
<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 Bryant, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025