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 Scotland (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 Scotland. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Scotland is located in Bon Homme 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 Bon Homme County: Knox (NE), Charles Mix, Hutchinson & Yankton.
Below are the counties that are near Scotland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Scotland:
- Bon Homme County (The home county of Scotland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Tyndall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tabor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Avon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kingsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kingsburg is located in Bon Homme County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 697 people
- Springfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins is located in Bon Homme County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Charles Mix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Dante
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wagner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Davison County
- Ethan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas County
- Delmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hanson County
- Rockport Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
- Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
- Hutchinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Olivet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Kaylor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Menno
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tripp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wolf Creek is located in Hutchinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 195 people
- Tschetter Colony
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tschetter Colony is located in Hutchinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tschetter Colony
- Estimated population in 2014: 80 people
- Milltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
- Freeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parkston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Elm Springs Colony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- New Elm Springs Colony is located in Hutchinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elm Springs Colony
- Estimated population in 2014: 600 people
- Dimock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- McCook County
- Bridgewater
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Turner County
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Spring Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Spring Valley is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Irene
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dolton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dolton is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yankton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Lesterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jamesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Jamesville is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
- Midway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Midway is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Utica
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
- Fairview Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Heights is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
- Oak Hills Addition
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hills Addition is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 23 people
- Yankton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Valleyview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valleyview is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleyview
- Mission Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Volin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar County (NE)
- Aten
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Aten is located in Cedar County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aten
- Knox County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Santee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Santee is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Tewsville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Tewsville is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewsville
- Lindy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lindy is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindy
- Crofton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Scotland, see our County-by-County Page for Scotland.
Cemeteries Near Scotland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Scotland.
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 Scotland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Scotland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Freidensthal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Reform Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Petersburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reform Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Siamental Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Odessa Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hoffnugstahl Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (135 more) ...
- Our Savior's East Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Our Savior's East Cemetery
- The Our Savior's East Cemetery has also been known as:
- East Cemetery
- James River Lutheran Cemetery
- James River Norske Lutheran Cemetery
- Hoffnungstal Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- St.s Cyril & Methodius Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Scotland had a population of 1,083 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Scotland had a population of 792 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Scotland, with the one closest to Scotland listed first.
- Olivet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lesterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Menno
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tyndall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jamesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Jamesville is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
- Tripp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Tabor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Utica
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeport
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lakeport is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
- Avon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Milltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
- Continue List (10 more) ...
- Freeman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parkston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Scotland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Scotland.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Scotland ...
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 Scotland.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Scotland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Scotland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Scotland.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Scotland.
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 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 Scotland:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Bon Homme County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Charles Mix County
- Davison County
- Douglas County
- Hanson County
- Hutchinson County
- McCook County
- Turner County
- Yankton County
- Cedar County
- Knox 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Scotland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Scotland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |