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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 Elrod (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 Elrod. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Elrod is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Beadle, Codington, Day, Hamlin, Kingsbury & Spink.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of Elrod)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Garden City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Clark
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Naples
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Naples is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Vienna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Bradley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Merton ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Merton is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Raymond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Crocker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Success is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
      • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
    • Carpenter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Henry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Henry is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Kampeska
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Kampeska is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
      • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
    • Wallace
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Grover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Grover is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
    • Florence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Watertown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Rauville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Rauville is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 292 people
    • Appleby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Appleby is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
    • Waverly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Day County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Lily
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lily is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Butler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Butler is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
    • Crandall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Crandall is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
  • Hamlin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Hazel
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Thomas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Thomas is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
      • Estimated population in 2014: 290 people
    • Bryant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hayti
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Kones Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Kones Corner is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kones Corner
    • Lake Norden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Castlewood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Alsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Alsville is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsville
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Bancroft
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Erwin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Spink County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Elrod, with the one closest to Elrod listed first.
    • Doland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Turton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • LaDelle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • LaDelle is located in Spink County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaDelle

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

Cemeteries Near Elrod ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elrod.

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

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

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

  • South Elrod Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Garden City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Henry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lorinda Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Our Saviors Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Naples Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Phipps Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (83 more) ...
    • Strange Graves
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Darlington Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • West Merton Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elrod had a population of 25 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2014, Elrod had a population of 92 people.

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

  • Garden City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Henry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Henry is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
  • Clark
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Naples
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Naples is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Hazel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Julian ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Julian is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
  • Vienna
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Bradley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Kampeska
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Kampeska is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
    • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
  • Grover
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Grover is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
    • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
  • Merton ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Merton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
    • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
  • Carlton ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Raymond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Willow Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lily
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lily is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people

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

Newspapers Published in Elrod ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Elrod.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elrod, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Elrod.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Elrod:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Elrod) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Elrod, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.