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 Fort Randall (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 Fort Randall. 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.
Name Variations for Fort Randall ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Randall: Ft. Randall
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fort Randall. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fort Randall.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Fort Randall is located in Gregory 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 Gregory County: Boyd (NE), Keya Paha (NE), Charles Mix, Lyman & Tripp.
Below are the counties that are near Fort Randall. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fort Randall:
- Gregory County (The home county of Fort Randall)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Fairfax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- East Gregory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Gregory is located in Gregory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Bonesteel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Charles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Herrick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bon Homme County
- Avon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Charles Mix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Pickstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Marty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Andes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ravinia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Geddes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wagner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Dante
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Platte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Armour
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Joubert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- New Holland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Harrison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Delmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Corsica
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Douglas City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas City is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
- Boyd County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Gross
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gross is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2 people
- Spencer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Anoka
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Anoka is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Bristow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Butte
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lynch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Monowi
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Monowi is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monowi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
- Naper
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Holt County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Paddock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Redbird
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Redbird is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
- Dustin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dustin is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Cleveland ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cleveland is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Knox County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Verdel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Verdel is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30 people
- Knoxville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Knoxville is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- Pishelville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pishelville is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pishelville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort Randall, see our County-by-County Page for Fort Randall.
Cemeteries Near Fort Randall ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Randall.
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 Fort Randall - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fort Randall covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Randall Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Old Ft. Randall Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Immanuel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Old Immanuel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rosedale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cedar Presbyterian Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Old Settlers Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lake View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bethelhem Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mission Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (82 more) ...
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bohemian Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<2>
While we didn't find Fort Randall in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort Randall.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fort Randall, with the one closest to Fort Randall listed first.
- Spencer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bristow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Butte
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Wheeler ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Lynch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Paddock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Catalpa ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Catalpa is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catalpa
- Armour
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dustin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dustin is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Dorsey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dorsey is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorsey
- Platte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- New Holland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Joubert
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- Avon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fort Randall. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Randall.
Newspapers Published in Fort Randall ...
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 Fort Randall.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Randall, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Randall.
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 Fort Randall:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Gregory County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bon Homme County
- Charles Mix County
- Douglas County
- Boyd County
- Holt County
- Knox 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> | 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 Fort Randall, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Fort Randall) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |