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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 Corsica (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 Corsica. 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 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.

Corsica is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Aurora, Charles Mix, Davison & Hutchinson.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Corsica)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Corsica, with the one closest to Corsica listed first.
    • Douglas City ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Douglas City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
    • Harrison
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Armour
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Hillside is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
    • New Holland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Joubert
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • Delmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Corsica, with the one closest to Corsica listed first.
    • Stickney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Aurora Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
    • Plankinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • White Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Storla
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Storla is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storla
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6 people
  • Charles Mix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Corsica, with the one closest to Corsica listed first.
    • Geddes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Geddes is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geddes <1>
    • Lake Andes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Ravinia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Platte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
    • Wagner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wagner is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wagner <1>
    • Pickstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Dante
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dante is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dante <1>
    • Marty
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Marty is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marty
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marty <1>
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Corsica, with the one closest to Corsica listed first.
    • Mount Vernon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ethan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Mitchell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • River Bluff Addition
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Loomis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Gregory County
    • Fort Randall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Fort Randall is located in Gregory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
  • Hanson County
    • Rockport Colony
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Corsica, with the one closest to Corsica listed first.
    • Dimock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Parkston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Tripp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • New Elm Springs Colony
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people

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

Cemeteries Near Corsica ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Corsica.

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

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

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

  • Graceland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Ebenezer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Aurora Center Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • German Reform Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Old St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Roberts Chapel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • New Holland Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • St. Paul Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • St. John Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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>

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

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

  • Grandview ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Grandview is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Harrison
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Armour
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • New Holland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Joubert
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Joubert is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
    • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Delmont
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Plankinton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Parkston
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Mount Vernon
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ethan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Platte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
    • Tripp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • White Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mitchell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wheeler ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Corsica ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Corsica.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Corsica. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Corsica and those printed in the larger area surrounding Corsica.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Corsica.

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 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 Corsica:

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 Corsica, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Corsica) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.