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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Scotland is located in Bon Homme 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 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsburg
- Kingsburg is located in Bon Homme County
- Estimated population in 2014: 697 people
- Springfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield is located in Bon Homme County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <1>
- Perkins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Perkins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Perkins is located in Bon Homme County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dante have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Dante is located in Charles Mix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dante <1>
- Wagner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wagner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
- Wagner is located in Charles Mix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wagner <1>
- Davison County
- Ethan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Douglas County
- Delmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delmont
- Delmont is located in Douglas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delmont <1>
- Hanson County
- Rockport Colony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
- Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Olivet is located in Hutchinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olivet <1>
- Kaylor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Menno
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Menno. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Menno is located in Hutchinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menno <1>
- Tripp
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
- Wolf Creek is located in Hutchinson County
- Estimated population in 2014: 195 people
- Tschetter Colony
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tschetter Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tschetter Colony
- Tschetter Colony is located in Hutchinson County
- Estimated population in 2014: 80 people
- Milltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Elm Springs Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elm Springs Colony
- New Elm Springs Colony is located in Hutchinson County
- Estimated population in 2014: 600 people
- Dimock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dimock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimock
- Dimock is located in Hutchinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dimock <1>
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in Turner County
- Irene
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irene have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Irene is located in Turner County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irene <1>
- Dolton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
- Dolton is located in Turner County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lesterville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
- Lesterville is located in Yankton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lesterville <1>
- Jamesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jamesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Jamesville is located in Yankton County
- Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
- Midway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Midway is located in Yankton County
- Utica
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utica have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Utica is located in Yankton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Utica <1>
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
- Fairview Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Heights
- Fairview Heights is located in Yankton County
- Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
- Oak Hills Addition
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Hills Addition have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills Addition
- Oak Hills Addition is located in Yankton County
- Estimated population in 2014: 23 people
- Yankton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Valleyview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleyview
- Valleyview is located in Yankton County
- 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)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aten
- Aten is located in Cedar County (NE)
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Santee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santee
- Santee is located in Knox County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Tewsville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tewsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewsville
- Tewsville is located in Knox County (NE)
- Lindy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindy
- Lindy is located in Knox County (NE)
- Crofton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crofton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crofton
- Crofton is located in Knox County (NE)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 661 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crofton <1>
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.
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 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)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Freidensthal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Freidensthal Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Freidensthal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Reform Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reform Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reform Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Petersburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Petersburg Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Petersburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Reform Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reform Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reform Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- West Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Siamental Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Siamental Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Siamental Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Gall Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gall Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Odessa Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odessa Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Odessa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hoffnugstahl Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hoffnugstahl Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hoffnugstahl Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (135 more) ...
- Our Savior's East Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the 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.<5>
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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olivet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Olivet is located in Hutchinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olivet <1>
- Lesterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lesterville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
- Lesterville is located in Yankton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lesterville <1>
- Menno
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Menno. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Menno is located in Hutchinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menno <1>
- Tyndall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jamesville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jamesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Jamesville is located in Yankton County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utica have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Utica is located in Yankton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Utica <1>
- Lakeport
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
- Lakeport is located in Yankton County
- Avon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Milltown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
- Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
- Mayfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Mayfield is located in Yankton County
- 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)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield is located in Bon Homme County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <1>
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]<4> of Scotland.
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 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
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Scotland. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
<4> | 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- Scotland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Scotland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1480, Longitude: -97.7198 In this case, the coordinates for Scotland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
<5> | 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. |