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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 Epiphany (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 Epiphany. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Epiphany is primarily located in Hanson County. A portion of Epiphany extends into Miner 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 Hanson County: Davison, Hutchinson, McCook, Miner & Sanborn.

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

  • Hanson County     (The home county of Epiphany)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Farmer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Farmer is also located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Fulton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Farwell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Farwell is also located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Plano
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Plano is also located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • Alexandria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Emery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Emery is also located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emery <1>
    • Rockport Colony
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockport Colony is also located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Mitchell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • River Bluff Addition
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Loomis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Ethan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • New Elm Springs Colony
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • 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 south)
      • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
    • Dimock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Kingsbury County
    • Esmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Winfred
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Junius
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Junius is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junius
    • Prairie Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
      • Estimated population in 2014: 18 people
    • Franklin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Franklin is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Estimated population in 2014: 333 people
    • Madison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Ramona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • McCook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Spencer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Unityville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Unityville is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unityville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 52 people
    • Salem
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Salem is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Salem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bridgewater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Canistota
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Montrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Miner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Canova
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Roswell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Roswell is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • Vilas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Vilas is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Fedora
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Howard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Carthage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Sanborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Epiphany, with the one closest to Epiphany listed first.
    • Artesian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Letcher
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Forestburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
    • Cuthbert
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cuthbert is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
  • Turner County
    • Dolton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dolton is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people

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

Cemeteries Near Epiphany ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Epiphany.

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

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

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

  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Redstone Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Unityville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Canova Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Spencer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Farwell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Roswell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (70 more) ...
    • Olsen Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Sun Prairie Baptist Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Fedora Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Farmer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Farmer is also located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
  • Canova
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Spencer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Roswell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Roswell is located in Miner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
    • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
  • Fulton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Vilas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Vilas is located in Miner County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
  • Farwell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Farwell is also located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Howard
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Alexandria
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Emery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Emery is also located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emery <1>
  • Artesian
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Winfred
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Mitchell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bridgewater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Epiphany ...

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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Epiphany.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Epiphany, 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 Epiphany.

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 Epiphany:

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>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 Epiphany, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Epiphany) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.