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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 Mount Vernon (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 Mount Vernon. 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 Mount Vernon ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mount Vernon: Mt. Vernon

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mount Vernon. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mount Vernon.

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 northwest 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 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.

Mount Vernon is located in Davison 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 Davison County: Aurora, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson & Sanborn.

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

  • Davison County     (The home county of Mount Vernon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • River Bluff Addition
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Loomis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mitchell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Ethan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Storla
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Storla is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storla
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6 people
    • Plankinton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Stickney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Aurora Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
    • White Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Hillside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Hillside is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
    • Corsica
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Douglas City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Douglas City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
    • Harrison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • New Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Armour
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Joubert
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Hanson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Plano
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Plano is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • Farwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Farwell is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Fulton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rockport Colony
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
    • Alexandria
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Farmer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Farmer is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Dimock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Parkston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • New Elm Springs Colony
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • New Elm Springs Colony is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elm Springs Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 600 people
    • Milltown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
  • Jerauld County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Lane
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Crow Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Crow Lake is located in Jerauld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Lake
    • Wessington Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Sanborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mount Vernon, with the one closest to Mount Vernon listed first.
    • Letcher
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cuthbert
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Cuthbert is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuthbert
    • Forestburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
    • Woonsocket
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Artesian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Mount Vernon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mount Vernon.

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 Mount Vernon - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mt. Vernon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Knutson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Nicolaisen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Victor Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Dudley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Plankinton Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Silver Ridge Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (70 more) ...
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Graceland Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Church of God Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mount Vernon had a population of 127 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mount Vernon had a population of 438 people.

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

  • Mitchell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Plankinton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Letcher
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Ethan
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Farwell
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Farwell is located in Hanson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Fulton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Grandview ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Grandview is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Forestburg
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Forestburg is located in Sanborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestburg
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 73 people
  • White Lake
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Harrison
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Woonsocket
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Alexandria
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Parkston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • New Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Artesian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Mount Vernon ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mount Vernon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Mount Vernon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Mount Vernon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Mount Vernon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Mount Vernon.

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 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 Mount Vernon:

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 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.
<3>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 Mount Vernon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Mount Vernon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.