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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 North Spearfish (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 North Spearfish. 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 North Spearfish ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for North Spearfish: N. Spearfish

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.

North Spearfish is located in Lawrence County.

To see how the shape of South Dakota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lawrence County: Butte, Meade, Pennington, Crook (WY) & Weston (WY).

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

  • Lawrence County     (The home county of North Spearfish)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Spearfish, with the one closest to North Spearfish listed first.
    • Spearfish
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearfish
      • Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,900 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearfish <2>
    • Carbonate ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbonate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonate
      • Carbonate is located in Lawrence County
    • Maurice
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Maurice is located in Lawrence County
    • Saint Onge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Preston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 185 people
    • Ragged Top ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragged Top have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragged Top
      • Ragged Top is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 73 people
    • Savoy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lancaster City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster City
      • Lancaster City is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 419 people
    • Trojan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trojan
      • Trojan is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 627 people
    • Central City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
      • Central City is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Tinton ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinton
      • Tinton is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 477 people
    • Deadwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lead
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead
      • Lead is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,947 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lead <2>
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Spearfish, with the one closest to North Spearfish listed first.
    • Belle Fourche
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Fourche have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Fourche
      • Belle Fourche is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,742 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle Fourche <2>
    • Fruitdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitdale
      • Fruitdale is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitdale <2>
    • Nisland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nisland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisland
      • Nisland is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nisland <2>
    • Vale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Newell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Newell is located in Butte County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newell <2>
  • Meade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Spearfish, with the one closest to North Spearfish listed first.
    • Sturgis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Tilford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tilford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
      • Tilford is located in Meade County
  • Pennington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Spearfish, with the one closest to North Spearfish listed first.
    • Rochford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Myersville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myersville
      • Myersville is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10 people
    • Fairview ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
  • Crook County (WY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Spearfish, with the one closest to North Spearfish listed first.
    • Beulah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Aladdin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Moskee ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moskee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moskee
      • Moskee is located in Crook County (WY)
    • Sundance
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Alva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Weston County (WY)
    • Horton ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
      • Horton is located in Weston County (WY)

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

Newspapers Published in North Spearfish ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Spearfish.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Spearfish, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Spearfish.

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 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 North Spearfish:

Cemeteries Near North Spearfish ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Spearfish.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Carbonate Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • St. Onge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Pine Slope Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Beulah Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Preston Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Little Dane Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
  • Bear Gulch Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bear Gulch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bear Gulch Cemetery
  • St. Ambrose Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Minnesota Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Minnesota Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Minnesota Cemetery
  • Continue List   (30 more) ...
    • Terry Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Terry Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Terry Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2310671 <4>
    • West Lead Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Lead Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Lead Cemetery
    • South Lead Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)

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.<6>

While we didn't find North Spearfish in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of North Spearfish.

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

  • Spearfish
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearfish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearfish
    • Spearfish is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,900 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearfish <2>
  • Carbonate ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbonate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbonate
    • Carbonate is located in Lawrence County
  • Saint Onge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Beulah
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Central City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Central City is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Terraville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terraville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terraville
    • Terraville is located in Lawrence County
  • Belle Fourche
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Fourche have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Fourche
    • Belle Fourche is located in Butte County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,742 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle Fourche <2>
  • Lead
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lead
    • Lead is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,947 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lead <2>
  • Pluma
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pluma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pluma
    • Pluma is located in Lawrence County
  • Deadwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Whitewood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewood
    • Whitewood is located in Lawrence County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitewood <2>
  • Crook City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crook City
    • Crook City is located in Lawrence County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Snoma ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snoma
      • Snoma is located in Butte County
    • Englewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
      • Englewood is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Woodville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Lawrence County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for North Spearfish. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lawrence County: www.lawrence.sd.us/

The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- North Spearfish) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in North Spearfish. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5067, Longitude: -103.8921       In this case, the coordinates for North Spearfish have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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 North Spearfish, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024