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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 Mellette (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 Mellette. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Mellette is located in Spink 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 Spink County: Beadle, Brown, Clark, Day, Edmunds, Faulk & Hand.

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

  • Spink County     (The home county of Mellette)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mellette, with the one closest to Mellette listed first.
    • Northville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Duxbury
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Duxbury is located in Spink County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duxbury
      • Estimated population in 2014: 531 people
    • Brentford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Ashton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Conde
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Redfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Turton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Frankfort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Doland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tulare
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Spink Colony
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Spink Colony is located in Spink County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spink Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 155 people
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mellette, with the one closest to Mellette listed first.
    • Mansfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Warner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Stratford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Randolph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Randolph is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
    • Verdon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Verdon is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
    • Jobee Acres
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jobee Acres is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jobee Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
    • Melrose Addition
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Melrose Addition is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 221 people
    • Aberdeen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bath Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Bath Corner is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Corner
    • Ferney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bath
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Gederos Estates
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Gederos Estates is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gederos Estates
      • Estimated population in 2014: 212 people
    • Prairie Wood Village Addition
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Prairie Wood Village Addition is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Wood Village Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 276 people
  • Day County
    • Crandall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Crandall is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
  • Edmunds County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mellette, with the one closest to Mellette listed first.
    • Mina
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Mina is located in Edmunds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mina
      • Mina has also been known as:
      • Cortland
      • Cortlandt
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mina <1>
    • Powell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Powell is located in Edmunds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
    • Craven
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Craven is located in Edmunds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
    • Craven Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Craven Corner is located in Edmunds County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven Corner
  • Faulk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mellette, with the one closest to Mellette listed first.
    • Chelsea
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Chelsea is located in Faulk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people
    • Devoe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Devoe is located in Faulk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devoe
      • Estimated population in 2014: 23 people
    • Zell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Zell is located in Faulk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Cresbard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rockham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Miranda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Miranda is located in Faulk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miranda
      • Estimated population in 2014: 122 people
    • Wecota
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Mellette ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mellette.

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

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Plainview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Baldwin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ashton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Warner Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Clifton Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • East Rondell Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Scandinavia Lutheran Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • United Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (36 more) ...
    • Devoe Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Greenlawn Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • St. Bernard Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mellette had a population of 241 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mellette had a population of 212 people.

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

  • Northville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Mansfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Duxbury
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Duxbury is located in Spink County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duxbury
    • Estimated population in 2014: 531 people
  • Ashton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Athol
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Athol is located in Spink County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athol
  • Warner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Rudolph
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Rudolph is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
  • Devoe
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Devoe is located in Faulk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devoe
    • Estimated population in 2014: 23 people
  • Redfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Conde
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Zell
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Zell is located in Faulk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
    • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
  • Turton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Verdon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Verdon is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
    • Frankfort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Aberdeen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mellette ...

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 Mellette.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mellette. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mellette and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mellette.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Mellette.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Mellette:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mellette) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Mellette, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.