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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 Hazel (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 Hazel. 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 hospitals 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.

Hazel is located in Hamlin 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 Hamlin County: Brookings, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant & Kingsbury.

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

  • Hamlin County     (The home county of Hazel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hazel, with the one closest to Hazel listed first.
    • Thomas
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Thomas is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
      • Estimated population in 2014: 290 people
    • Hayti
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Kones Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Kones Corner is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kones Corner
    • Lake Norden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Castlewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Alsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alsville is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsville
    • Stone Bridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Stone Bridge is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bridge
      • Estimated population in 2014: 105 people
    • Dempster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Dempster is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempster
    • Estelline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hazel, with the one closest to Hazel listed first.
    • Vienna
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Naples
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Naples is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Elrod
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Elrod is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
      • Estimated population in 2014: 92 people
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Success is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
      • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
    • Willow Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Clark
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Merton ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Merton is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Bradley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Carpenter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Raymond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hazel, with the one closest to Hazel listed first.
    • Grover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Grover is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
    • Henry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Henry is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Kampeska
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Kampeska is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
      • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
    • Appleby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Appleby is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
    • Watertown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Florence
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Rauville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Rauville is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 292 people
    • Wallace
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Kranzburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Waverly
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Deuel County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hazel, with the one closest to Hazel listed first.
    • Bemis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bemis is located in Deuel County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
    • Goodwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hazel, with the one closest to Hazel listed first.
    • Erwin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Badger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bancroft
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • De Smet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hetland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Lake Preston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Arlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Osceola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Osceola is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Estimated population in 2014: 90 people

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

Cemeteries Near Hazel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hazel.

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

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

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

  • Hazel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Kellerton Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Strange Graves
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dixon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Our Saviors Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • New Hope Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Naples Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Vienna Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (93 more) ...
    • Oxford Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lorinda Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • St. Henry Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hazel had a population of 84 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hazel had a population of 86 people.

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

  • Vienna
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Grover
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Grover is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
    • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
  • Naples
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Naples is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Henry
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Henry is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
  • Kampeska
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kampeska is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
    • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
  • Hayti
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bryant
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Elrod
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Elrod is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
    • Estimated population in 2014: 92 people
  • Willow Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Success ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Success is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
    • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
  • Appleby
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Appleby is located in Codington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleby
  • Watertown
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Garden City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Castlewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Erwin
      (18 miles [29 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 Hazel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hazel.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hazel ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hazel.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hazel. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hazel and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hazel.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Hazel.

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 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 Hazel:

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 Hazel, 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- Hazel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.