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 Novak (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 Novak. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Novak is located in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County: Butte, Meade, Pennington, Crook (WY) & Weston (WY).
Below are the counties that are near Novak. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Novak:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Novak)
- The following are listed by their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Greenwood
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Greenwood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Greenwood has also been known as:
- Laflin
- Tomahawk
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tomahawk is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Estimated population in 2014: 36 people
- Nemo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Merritt
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Merritt is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
- Estimated population in 2014: 175 people
- Roubaix
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Roubaix is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roubaix
- Estimated population in 2013: 14 people
- Diamond City ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Diamond City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
- Galena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Galena is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,264 people
- Nahant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Nahant is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahant
- Woodville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Englewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Englewood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
- Dumont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dumont is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
- Estimated population in 2014: 45 people
- Flatiron ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Flatiron is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatiron
- Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
- Butte County
- Vale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Custer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Berne
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Berne is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berne
- Spokane ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Spokane is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spokane
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,237 people
- Meade County
- The following are listed by their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Piedmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tilford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tilford is located in Meade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
- Summerset
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Blackhawk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sturgis
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bend
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bend is located in Meade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bend
- Pennington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Canyon City ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Canyon City is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon City
- Silver City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Silver City is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
- Fairview ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
- Pactola ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pactola is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactola
- Johnson Siding
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson Siding is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Siding
- Population from the 2010 Census: 659 people
- Mystic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mystic is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
- Rochford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- South Canyon Country Estates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- South Canyon Country Estates is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canyon Country Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 364 people
- Myersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Myersville is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myersville
- Estimated population in 2014: 10 people
- Ridgeland Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeland Heights is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 11 people
- Redfern
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Redfern is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfern
- Sioux Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sioux Village is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Village
- Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
- Sheridan ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sheridan is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Estimated population in 2014: 447 people
- Weston County (WY)
- Four Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Novak, see our County-by-County Page for Novak.
Cemeteries Near Novak ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Novak.
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 Novak - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Novak covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Mountain Meadow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Piedmont Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Galena Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Black Hills National Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rochford Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blackhawk Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ft. Meade National Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bear Butte Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mt. Moran Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Seth Bullock Grave
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (28 more) ...
- South Lead Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lead Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the South Lead Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lead.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2180695 <2>
- Englewood Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- St. Ambrose Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 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.<4>
While we didn't find Novak in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Novak.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Novak, with the one closest to Novak listed first.
- Nemo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Merritt
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Merritt is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
- Estimated population in 2014: 175 people
- Piedmont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tilford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tilford is located in Meade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
- Brownsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Silver City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Silver City is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
- Galena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Galena is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
- Nahant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Nahant is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nahant
- Gregory ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gregory is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,264 people
- Rochford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mystic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mystic is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
- Pactola ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pactola is located in Pennington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactola
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Woodville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Blackhawk
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Englewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Englewood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englewood
- Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Novak. See our List of 1890's Communities around Novak.
Newspapers Published in Novak ...
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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Novak.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Novak, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Novak.
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 Novak:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butte County
- Custer County
- Meade County
- Pennington County
- Weston 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Novak) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Novak, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |