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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 Pierpont (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 Pierpont. 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.

Pierpont is located in Day 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 Day County: Brown, Clark, Codington, Grant, Marshall, Roberts & Spink.

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

  • Day County     (The home county of Pierpont)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pierpont, with the one closest to Pierpont listed first.
    • Andover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristol
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Holmquist
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Holmquist is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmquist
      • Estimated population in 2014: 154 people
    • Roslyn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Butler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Butler is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
    • Webster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Grenville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lily
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lily is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lily
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4 people
    • Crandall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Crandall is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
    • Waubay
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pierpont, with the one closest to Pierpont listed first.
    • Groton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Claremont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Huffton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Huffton is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 316 people
    • Ferney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Putney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Putney is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putney
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • James
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • James is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Tacoma Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Tacoma Park is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 413 people
    • Verdon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Verdon is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
    • Bath
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bath Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bath Corner is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Corner
    • Columbia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Houghton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pierpont, with the one closest to Pierpont listed first.
    • Crocker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bradley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pierpont, with the one closest to Pierpont listed first.
    • Langford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Spain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Spain is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people
    • Amherst
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Britton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • West Britton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • West Britton is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Britton
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,368 people
    • Eden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Eden is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
    • Lake City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kidder
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Kidder is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidder
      • Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
    • Newark
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Newark is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
      • Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
  • Spink County
    • Conde
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Pierpont ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pierpont.

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 Pierpont - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Homer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Andover Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bergen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Peter Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • All Saints Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Skudesnes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Hanson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Falnes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Augustana Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • New Sweden Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tabor Lutheran Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (54 more) ...
    • Free Mission Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fron Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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 Pierpont had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pierpont had a population of 116 people.

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

  • Andover
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Langford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bristol
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Groton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Spain
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Spain is located in Marshall County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
    • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people
  • Claremont
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Huffton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Huffton is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffton
    • Estimated population in 2014: 316 people
  • Roslyn
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Ferney
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Amherst
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Butler
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Butler is located in Day County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
  • Putney
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Putney is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putney
    • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Webster
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • James
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • James is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
    • Britton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pierpont ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pierpont.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pierpont. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pierpont and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pierpont.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Pierpont.

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 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 Pierpont:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pierpont) 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 Pierpont, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.