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 Davis (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 Davis. 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 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 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.
Davis is located in Turner 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 Turner County: Clay, Hutchinson, Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha & Yankton.
Below are the counties that are near Davis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Davis:
- Turner County (The home county of Davis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Hooker
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Hurley
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chancellor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Viborg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Centerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Parker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irene
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Spring Valley is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Marion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dolton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dolton is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Glenwood ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
- Komstad ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Komstad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komstad
- Estimated population in 2014: 12 people
- Riverside ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Riverside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Wakonda
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lodi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
- Hub City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hub City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
- Alsen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alsen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsen
- Bloomingdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bloomingdale is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Westreville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Westreville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westreville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 208 people
- Greenfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Greenfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 40 people
- Meckling
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hutchinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Freeman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Menno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Lennox
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Worthing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Harrisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Canton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Moe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Moe is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moe
- Shindler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shindler is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shindler
- Population from the 2010 Census: 584 people
- Fairview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hudson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- McCook County
- Canistota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Minnehaha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- El Rancho Acres
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- El Rancho Acres is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Rancho Acres
- Estimated population in 2014: 27 people
- Pumpkin Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pumpkin Center is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
- West Acres Development
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Acres Development is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Acres Development
- Estimated population in 2014: 180 people
- Hayward Addition
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hayward Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Silver Valley Addition
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Valley Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 112 people
- Webster Grove Addition
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Webster Grove Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster Grove Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 156 people
- Sioux Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ellis Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ellis Corner is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Corner
- Estimated population in 2014: 99 people
- Hartford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Split Rock Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
- Humboldt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Norton Acres
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Norton Acres is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Acres
- Population from the 2010 Census: 342 people
- Pine Lakes Addition
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Lakes Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes Addition
- Population from the 2010 Census: 314 people
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Beresford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beresford is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
- Former name for Beresford:
- Paris
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beresford <1>
- Emmet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Emmet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
- Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
- Alcester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nora is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
- Big Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Big Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Spink
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Spink is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spink
- Estimated population in 2014: 237 people
- Yankton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
- Midway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Midway is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Volin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Valleyview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Valleyview is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleyview
- Gayville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jamesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jamesville is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
- Mission Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lyon County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Beloit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Beloit is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Klondike
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Klondike is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Inwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Davis, see our County-by-County Page for Davis.
Cemeteries Near Davis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Davis.
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 Davis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Davis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Frieling Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Turner County Evangelical Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Melhus Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hattervig Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hurley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Chancellor Reformed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Swan Lake Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lennox Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Riverview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (129 more) ...
- Bethania Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lennox Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chancellor Baptist Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 Davis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Davis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Davis, with the one closest to Davis listed first.
- Hurley
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lennox
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Parker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Worthing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Spring Valley is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Riverside ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Riverside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Komstad ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Komstad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komstad
- Estimated population in 2014: 12 people
- Beresford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beresford is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
- Former name for Beresford:
- Paris
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beresford <1>
- Marion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wakonda
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lodi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lodi is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
- Dalesburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dalesburg is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalesburg
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Harrisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Davis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Davis.
Newspapers Published in Davis ...
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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Davis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Davis, 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 Davis.
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 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 Davis:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Turner County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Hutchinson County
- Lincoln County
- McCook County
- Minnehaha County
- Union County
- Yankton County
- Lyon 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Davis) 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 Davis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |