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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 Pedro (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 Pedro. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Pedro is located in Pennington 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 Pennington County: Custer, Haakon, Jackson, Lawrence, Meade, Oglala Lakota & Weston (WY).

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

  • Pennington County     (The home county of Pedro)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pedro, with the one closest to Pedro listed first.
    • Creighton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Quinn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinn
      • Quinn is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quinn <1>
    • Wasta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wasta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasta
      • Wasta is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasta <1>
    • Wall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
      • Wall is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 885 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wall <1>
  • Haakon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pedro, with the one closest to Pedro listed first.
    • Hartley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Hartley is located in Haakon County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 129 people
    • Milesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Meade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pedro, with the one closest to Pedro listed first.
    • Plainview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
      • Plainview is located in Meade County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Howes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Marcus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • White Owl
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Elm Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Enning
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enning have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enning
      • Enning is located in Meade County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enning <1>
    • Red Owl
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Owl
      • Red Owl is located in Meade County
    • Union Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Ziebach County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pedro, with the one closest to Pedro listed first.
    • Bridger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridger
      • Bridger is located in Ziebach County
    • Red Scaffold
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Scaffold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Scaffold
      • Red Scaffold is located in Ziebach County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 372 people

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

Cemeteries Near Pedro ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pedro.

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 Pedro covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dowling Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dowling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dowling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Creighton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Creighton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Creighton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wellsburg Union Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wellsburg Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wellsburg Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hilland Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hilland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hilland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Topbar Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Topbar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Topbar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • White Owl Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Owl Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Owl Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Milesville Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Pius Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pius Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Eaglestaff Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eaglestaff Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eaglestaff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Little Dog Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Dog Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Dog Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

  • Grindstone
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grindstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grindstone
    • Grindstone is located in Haakon County

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

Newspapers Published in Pedro ...

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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pedro.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pedro, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pedro.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Pedro:

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

The official website for Pennington County: www.co.pennington.sd.us/

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

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 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.
<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 Pedro, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Pedro) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pedro. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4200, Longitude: -102.1190       In this case, the coordinates for Pedro have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025