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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 Galena (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 Galena. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Galena is located in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County: Butte, Meade, Pennington, Crook (WY) & Weston (WY).

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

  • Lawrence County     (The home county of Galena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Galena, with the one closest to Galena listed first.
    • Roubaix
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roubaix
      • Roubaix is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2013: 14 people
    • Deadwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centennial City ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centennial City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial City
      • Centennial City is located in Lawrence County
    • Central City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Central City is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Lead
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead
      • Lead is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,947 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lead <1>
    • Crook City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crook City
      • Crook City is located in Lawrence County
    • Lancaster City ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster City
      • Lancaster City is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 419 people
    • Englewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
      • Englewood is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Whitewood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
      • Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <1>
    • Greenwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Greenwood is located in Lawrence County
      • Greenwood has also been known as:
      • Laflin
    • Trojan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan
      • Trojan is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 627 people
    • Tomahawk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tomahawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
      • Tomahawk is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 36 people
    • Dumont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
      • Dumont is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 45 people
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Galena, with the one closest to Galena listed first.
    • Vale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fruitdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitdale <1>
    • Nisland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nisland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisland
      • Nisland is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nisland <1>
    • Belle Fourche
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Fourche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Fourche
      • Belle Fourche is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,742 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle Fourche <1>
    • Newell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Newell is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newell <1>
  • Meade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Galena, with the one closest to Galena listed first.
    • Sturgis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Tilford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
      • Tilford is located in Meade County
    • Piedmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Summerset
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Blackhawk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Pennington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Galena, with the one closest to Galena listed first.
    • Rochford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Fairview ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Myersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myersville
      • Myersville is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10 people
    • Canyon City ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon City
      • Canyon City is located in Pennington County
    • Mystic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
      • Mystic is located in Pennington County
    • Silver City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
      • Silver City is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
    • Johnson Siding
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Siding
      • Johnson Siding is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 659 people
    • Pactola ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pactola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactola
      • Pactola is located in Pennington County
    • South Canyon Country Estates
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Canyon Country Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canyon Country Estates
      • South Canyon Country Estates is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 364 people
    • Ridgeland Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgeland Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland Heights
      • Ridgeland Heights is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 11 people
    • Sioux Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sioux Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Village
      • Sioux Village is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
    • Sheridan ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheridan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
      • Sheridan is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 447 people
    • Rapid City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Crook County (WY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Galena, with the one closest to Galena listed first.
    • Beulah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Moskee ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moskee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moskee
      • Moskee is located in Crook County (WY)
  • Weston County (WY)

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

Newspapers Published in Galena ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Galena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Galena, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Galena.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Galena:

Cemeteries Near Galena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Galena.

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

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

  • Galena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Seth Bullock Grave
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seth Bullock Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seth Bullock Grave
  • St. Ambrose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Moran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • South Lead Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • West Lead Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Lead Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Lead Cemetery
  • Crook City Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Crook City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Crook City Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Crook City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crook City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2276694 <4>
  • Englewood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Black Hills National Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bear Butte Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (31 more) ...
    • Terry Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Terry Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Terry Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2310671 <4>
    • Anderson Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Meadow Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain Meadow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain Meadow Cemetery

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 Galena had a population of 252 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Brownsville ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
    • Brownsville is located in Lawrence County
  • Deadwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pluma
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pluma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pluma
    • Pluma is located in Lawrence County
  • Woodville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Woodville is located in Lawrence County
  • Central City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Central City is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Terraville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terraville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terraville
    • Terraville is located in Lawrence County
  • Lead
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lead have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead
    • Lead is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,947 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lead <1>
  • Englewood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
    • Englewood is located in Lawrence County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
  • Crook City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crook City
    • Crook City is located in Lawrence County
  • Sturgis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitewood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
    • Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <1>
  • Tilford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
    • Tilford is located in Meade County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Nemo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Nahant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nahant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahant
      • Nahant is located in Lawrence County
    • Gregory ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
      • Gregory is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,264 people

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Galena. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lawrence County: www.lawrence.sd.us/

The official website for State of South Dakota: 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>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.
<3>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- Galena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Galena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3345, Longitude: -103.6407    
<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>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.
<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 Galena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024