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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 Harrison (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 Harrison. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Harrison is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Aurora, Charles Mix, Davison & Hutchinson.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Harrison)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • New Holland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Corsica
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Joubert
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • Douglas City ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Douglas City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
    • Armour
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Hillside is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
    • Delmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Aurora Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
    • Stickney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Plankinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • White Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brule County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Eagle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Eagle is located in Brule County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
    • Kimball
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Charles Mix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Geddes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Geddes is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geddes <1>
    • Platte
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
    • Lake Andes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ravinia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Pickstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wagner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wagner is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wagner <1>
    • Academy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Academy is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
    • Marty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Marty is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marty
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marty <1>
    • Platte Colony
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Platte Colony is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 51 people
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Mount Vernon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ethan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Gregory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • East Gregory
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East Gregory is located in Gregory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Fort Randall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Fort Randall is located in Gregory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Dimock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Parkston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Harrison ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harrison.

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

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

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

  • Harrison Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • New Holland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Aurora Center Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Morningside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Old St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • German Reform Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (78 more) ...
    • Old Ebenezer Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • St. John Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Harrison had a population of 322 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • New Holland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Joubert
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Joubert is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
    • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Grandview ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Grandview is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Armour
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Platte
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
  • Plankinton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Delmont
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • White Lake
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mount Vernon
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Wheeler ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
  • Parkston
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Ethan
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Eagle
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Eagle is located in Brule County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harrison ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harrison.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harrison. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harrison and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harrison.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Harrison.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Harrison:

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 Harrison, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Harrison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.