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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 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 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Naples is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Vienna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • 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>
    • Bradley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Merton ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Raymond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <1>
    • Crocker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Willow Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Success have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Carpenter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pitrodie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
  • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Henry is located in Codington County
      • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
      • Kampeska is located in Codington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
    • Wallace
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
      • Wallace is located in Codington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallace <1>
    • Grover
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Florence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Codington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <1>
    • Watertown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Rauville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rauville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Appleby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
      • Appleby is located in Codington County
    • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Lily is located in Day County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Butler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Butler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Butler is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
    • Crandall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
      • Crandall is located in Day County
  • 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)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Thomas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
      • Thomas is located in Hamlin County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 290 people
    • Bryant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hayti
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayti have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Kones Corner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kones Corner
      • Kones Corner is located in Hamlin County
    • 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)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsville
      • Alsville is located in Hamlin County
  • 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)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Erwin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erwin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
  • 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)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doland
      • Doland is located in Spink County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Doland <1>
    • Turton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turton
      • Turton is located in Spink County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turton <1>

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.

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 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Elrod Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Elrod Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Garden City Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Henry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Henry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Henry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lorinda Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lorinda Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lorinda Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Our Saviors Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Saviors Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Saviors Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Naples Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Naples Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Naples Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Phipps Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phipps Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phipps Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (83 more) ...
    • Strange Graves
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strange Graves
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strange Graves have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Darlington Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Darlington Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Darlington Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Darlington Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<4> to the north of Clark.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #96909 <5>
    • West Merton Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Merton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Merton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Henry is located in Codington County
    • 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)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Naples is located in Clark County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Hazel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
  • Julian ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Julian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
    • Julian is located in Clark County
  • Vienna
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2>
    • 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>
  • Bradley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Kampeska
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
    • Kampeska is located in Codington County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
  • Grover
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
  • Merton ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
  • Carlton ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
    • Carlton is located in Clark County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Raymond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <1>
    • Willow Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Lily
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Lily is located in Day County
      • 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]<4>. 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 start 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:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Elrod. 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>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.
<3>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.
<4>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- Elrod) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Elrod. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8864, Longitude: -97.5737       In this case, the coordinates for Elrod have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<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 Elrod, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025