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 Nora (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 Nora. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Nora is located in Union 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 Union County: Plymouth (IA), Sioux (IA), Woodbury (IA), Dakota (NE), Dixon (NE), Clay & Lincoln.
Below are the counties that are near Nora. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Nora:
- Union County (The home county of Nora)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Emmet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Emmet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
- Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
- Big Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Big Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Spink
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Spink is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spink
- Estimated population in 2014: 237 people
- Alcester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beresford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Beresford is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
- Former name for Beresford:
- Paris
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beresford <1>
- Junction City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Junction City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Richland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Richland is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Estimated population in 2014: 215 people
- Elk Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Jefferson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- McCook Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McCook Lake is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook Lake
- North Sioux City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Alsen
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alsen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsen
- Greenfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 40 people
- Hub City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hub City is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
- Glenwood ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glenwood is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
- Komstad ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Komstad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komstad
- Estimated population in 2014: 12 people
- Bloomingdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bloomingdale is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Riverside ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Riverside is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Burbank
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lodi
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lodi is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
- Vermillion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westreville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Westreville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westreville
- Population from the 2010 Census: 208 people
- Meckling
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wakonda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Moe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Moe is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moe
- Hudson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Worthing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lennox
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Turner County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Centerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hooker is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Irene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Viborg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Davis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hurley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yankton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Gayville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Volin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mission Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Valleyview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Valleyview is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleyview
- Lyon County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Beloit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Beloit is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Inwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Plymouth County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Akron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Akron is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Akron <1>
- Westfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millnerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Millnerville is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millnerville
- Craig
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Craig is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Adaville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Adaville is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adaville
- Brunsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Brunsville is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Struble
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Struble is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Merrill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Le Mars
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sioux County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Chatsworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chatsworth is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Hawarden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- McNally
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- McNally is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNally
- Ireton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lebanon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lebanon is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon
- Maurice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Maurice is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Rock Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sioux Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Westbrook Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Westbrook Village is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
- Cedar County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Obert
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Obert is located in Cedar County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obert
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22 people
- Wynot
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Helena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dixon County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Newcastle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maskell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maskell is located in Dixon County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maskell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Ponca
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Martinsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Martinsburg is located in Dixon County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Nora, see our County-by-County Page for Nora.
Cemeteries Near Nora ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nora.
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 Nora - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Nora covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Nora Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Peace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Peace Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Big Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rockfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brule Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brule Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Brule Creek Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southeast of Spink.
- The Brule Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Brule Creek Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1973015 <3>
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Erickson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ahlsborg Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beresford Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (133 more) ...
- St. Johns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Old Brule Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gothland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 in 1895, Nora had a post office and no railroad service. In 2014, Nora had a population of 240 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Nora, with the one closest to Nora listed first.
- Emmet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Emmet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
- Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
- Big Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Big Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Alsen
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alsen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsen
- Spink
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Spink is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spink
- Estimated population in 2014: 237 people
- Alcester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greenfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 40 people
- Chatsworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Chatsworth is located in Sioux County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Marshalltown ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Marshalltown is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
- Clay Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Clay Point is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Point
- Beresford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Beresford is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
- Former name for Beresford:
- Paris
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beresford <1>
- Akron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Akron is located in Plymouth County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,454 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Akron <1>
- Dalesburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dalesburg is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalesburg
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Richland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Richland is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
- Estimated population in 2014: 215 people
- Hawarden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Komstad ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Komstad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komstad
- Estimated population in 2014: 12 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Nora. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nora.
Newspapers Published in Nora ...
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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nora.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nora, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nora.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Nora:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Lincoln County
- Turner County
- Yankton County
- Lyon County
- Plymouth County
- Sioux County
- Cedar County
- Dixon County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nora) 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 Nora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |