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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 Saint Francis (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 Saint Francis. 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 Saint Francis ...

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 Saint Francis: St. Francis

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 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.

Saint Francis is located in Todd 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 Todd County: Cherry (NE), Bennett, Mellette & Tripp.

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

  • Todd County     (The home county of Saint Francis)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis, with the one closest to Saint Francis listed first.
    • Two Strike
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Two Strike have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Two Strike
      • Two Strike is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 209 people
    • Rosebud
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
      • Spring Creek is located in Todd County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 122 people
    • Lakeview
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
      • Lakeview is located in Todd County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 799 people
    • Soldier Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soldier Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldier Creek
      • Soldier Creek is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 227 people
    • Parmelee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Olsonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olsonville
      • Olsonville is located in Todd County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 72 people
    • Mission
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Antelope
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope
      • Antelope is located in Todd County
    • White Horse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Horse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse
      • White Horse is located in Todd County
    • Littleburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleburg
      • Littleburg is located in Todd County
    • Hidden Timber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Timber
      • Hidden Timber is located in Todd County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 45 people
    • Okreek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Bennett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis, with the one closest to Saint Francis listed first.
    • Vetal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vetal
      • Vetal is located in Bennett County
    • Tuthill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Mellette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis, with the one closest to Saint Francis listed first.
    • Norris
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • White River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White River
      • White River is located in Mellette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White River <2>
  • Cherry County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Francis, with the one closest to Saint Francis listed first.
    • Kilgore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kilgore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
      • Kilgore is located in Cherry County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kilgore <2>
    • Crookston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Nenzel
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nenzel
      • Nenzel is located in Cherry County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nenzel <2>
    • Cody
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cody have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
      • Cody is located in Cherry County (NE)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cody <2>
    • Valentine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Saint Francis ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Francis.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saint Francis, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saint Francis.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Saint Francis:

Cemeteries Near Saint Francis ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Francis.

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

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

  • Star Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Star Cemetery
  • St. Angelo Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Angelo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Angelo Cemetery
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick Cemetery
  • Pure Water Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pure Water Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pure Water Cemetery
  • Spotted Tail Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spotted Tail Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spotted Tail Cemetery
  • Salt Camp Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salt Camp Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salt Camp Cemetery
  • Ironwood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ironwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ironwood Cemetery
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
  • White Horse Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the White Horse Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the White Horse Cemetery
  • Peyote Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peyote Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peyote Cemetery
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Agnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Agnes Cemetery
  • Continue List   (26 more) ...
    • Hollow Horn Bear Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollow Horn Bear Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollow Horn Bear Cemetery
    • Gurue Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gurue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gurue Cemetery
    • Epiphany Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Epiphany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Epiphany Cemetery

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 Saint Francis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saint Francis.

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

  • Rosebud
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Kilgore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kilgore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
    • Kilgore is located in Cherry County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kilgore <2>
  • Crookston
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Nenzel
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nenzel
    • Nenzel is located in Cherry County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 20 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nenzel <2>
  • Cody
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cody have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
    • Cody is located in Cherry County (NE)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cody <2>
  • Valentine
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)

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

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

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 'straight-line' (or 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- Saint Francis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Francis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1449, Longitude: -100.9037    
<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 Saint Francis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024