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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 Dempster (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 Dempster. 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 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.

Dempster 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 Dempster. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dempster:

  • Hamlin County     (The home county of Dempster)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Estelline
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estelline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Stone Bridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Castlewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Alsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Kones Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hayti
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Lake Norden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Thomas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hazel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Bryant
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Brookings County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Bruce
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • North Grove Addition
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Grove Addition have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grove Addition
      • North Grove Addition is located in Brookings County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 471 people
    • White
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
      • White is located in Brookings County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White <2>
    • Volga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Sunnyview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brookings
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Bushnell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sinai
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinai have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinai
      • Sinai is located in Brookings County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinai <2>
    • Aurora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Brookings County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <2>
    • Medary
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
      • Medary is located in Brookings County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,442 people
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Vienna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Naples
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Success have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Appleby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Kranzburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kranzburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kranzburg
      • Kranzburg is located in Codington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kranzburg <2>
    • Grover
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Watertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Kampeska
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Rauville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rauville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauville
      • Rauville is located in Codington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 292 people
    • Waverly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Henry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Deuel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Johnsonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bemis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Toronto
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Clear Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Brandt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandt
      • Brandt is located in Deuel County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandt <2>
    • Goodwin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
      • Goodwin is located in Deuel County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodwin <2>
    • Altamont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Deuel County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Astoria
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Astoria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astoria
      • Astoria is located in Deuel County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Astoria <2>
    • Tunerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunerville
      • Tunerville is located in Deuel County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 218 people
    • Moritz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gary
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Deuel County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
  • Grant County
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dempster, with the one closest to Dempster listed first.
    • Badger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Arlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Hetland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Erwin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Lake Preston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Lincoln County (MN)

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

Cemeteries Near Dempster ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dempster.

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

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

  • Hamlin Reformed Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamlin Reformed Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamlin Reformed Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Castlewood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • East Norden Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Norden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Norden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bemis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bemis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bemis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Poinsett Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Poinsett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Poinsett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Tabor Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bemis Christian Reformed Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (99 more) ...
    • Trasta Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trasta Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trasta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Havana Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant View Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Dempster had a population of 28 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Estelline
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estelline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Castlewood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Hayti
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Bruce
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Appleby
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Bemis
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Toronto
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Clear Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Brandt
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandt
    • Brandt is located in Deuel County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandt <2>
  • Goodwin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
    • Goodwin is located in Deuel County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodwin <2>
  • Kranzburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kranzburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kranzburg
    • Kranzburg is located in Codington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kranzburg <2>
  • Altamont
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Altamont is located in Deuel County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Grover
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Arlington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • White
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
      • White is located in Brookings County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Dempster ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dempster.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dempster, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dempster.

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 Dempster:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Dempster. 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>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Dempster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dempster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.6324, Longitude: -96.9521    
<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 Dempster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025