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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 Ramona (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 Ramona. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Ramona is located in Lake 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 Lake County: Brookings, Kingsbury, McCook, Miner, Minnehaha & Moody.

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

  • Lake County     (The home county of Ramona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Junius
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Junius is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junius
    • Prairie Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Prairie Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
      • Estimated population in 2014: 18 people
    • Madison
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nunda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Prairie Queen ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Prairie Queen is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Queen
    • Winfred
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rutland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Peninsula Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Peninsula Park is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peninsula Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
    • Wentworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Franklin is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Estimated population in 2014: 333 people
    • Brant Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Brant Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant Lake
    • Chester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Brookings County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Sinai
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sinai is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinai
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinai <1>
    • Volga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Volga is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,080 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Volga <1>
    • Medary
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Medary is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,442 people
    • Brookings
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunnyview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunnyview is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
      • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
    • Bruce
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bruce is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bruce <1>
    • Aurora
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • North Grove Addition
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • North Grove Addition is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Grove Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 471 people
  • Hanson County
    • Epiphany
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Epiphany is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epiphany
      • Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Oldham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hetland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Lake Preston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • De Smet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Badger
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Erwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Esmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
    • Manchester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
  • McCook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Unityville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Unityville is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unityville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 52 people
    • Montrose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Salem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Salem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Salem is located in McCook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
  • Miner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Howard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Vilas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Vilas is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Canova
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carthage
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Roswell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Roswell is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roswell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • Fedora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Minnehaha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Huntimer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Huntimer is located in Minnehaha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntimer
      • Estimated population in 2014: 590 people
    • Colton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Moody County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ramona, with the one closest to Ramona listed first.
    • Dyce ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Dyce is located in Moody County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyce
    • Colman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lone Tree
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Lone Tree is located in Moody County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Tree
      • Estimated population in 2014: 14 people
    • Sioux Falls Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sioux Falls Junction is located in Moody County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Falls Junction
      • Estimated population in 2014: 119 people
    • Egan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Ramona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ramona.

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

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

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

  • St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Anns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ash Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Toles Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Andreas Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Oldham Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oldham Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Oldham.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97346 <3>
  • Oldham Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Catherine's Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Winfred Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Thomas Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (101 more) ...
    • United Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie Queen Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • East Sinai Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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 in 1895, Ramona had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Ramona had a population of 202 people.

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

  • Oldham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Madison
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Prairie Queen ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Prairie Queen is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Queen
  • Winfred
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sinai
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sinai is located in Brookings County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinai
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinai <1>
  • Orland ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Orland is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
  • Wentworth
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Howard
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Estimated population in 2014: 333 people
  • Arlington
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Hetland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Lake Preston
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Brant Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Brant Lake is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant Lake
    • Vilas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Vilas is located in Miner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Volga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Volga is located in Brookings County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,080 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Volga <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ramona ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ramona.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ramona. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ramona and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ramona.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2> of Ramona.

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 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 Ramona:

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