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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 Spink (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 Spink. 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 and doctors 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.

Spink is located in Union 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 Union County: Plymouth (IA), Sioux (IA), Woodbury (IA), Dakota (NE), Dixon (NE), Clay & Lincoln.

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

  • Union County     (The home county of Spink)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Greenfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Alsen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Burbank
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hub City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hub City is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
    • Vermillion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomingdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Westreville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Westreville is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westreville
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 208 people
    • Komstad ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lodi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lodi is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
      • Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
    • Glenwood ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Glenwood is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
      • Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
    • Meckling
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Riverside ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wakonda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Moe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hudson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Turner County
  • Yankton County
  • Lyon County (IA)
  • Plymouth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Akron
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Westfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Millnerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Adaville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Craig
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Brunsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Merrill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Merrill is located in Plymouth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 723 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Merrill <1>
    • Hinton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Struble
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • James
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Le Mars
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Sioux County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Chatsworth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hawarden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • McNally
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Ireton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ireton is located in Sioux County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ireton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ireton <1>
    • Lebanon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Maurice
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Maurice is located in Sioux County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
  • Woodbury County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Evergreen Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Woodbury County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Holiday Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Holiday Village is located in Woodbury County (IA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Sioux City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cedar County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Obert
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Wynot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Saint Helena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Bow Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hartington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dakota County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spink, with the one closest to Spink listed first.
    • Willis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Goodwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Goodwin is located in Dakota County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwin
    • Jackson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Dixon County (NE)

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

Cemeteries Near Spink ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spink.

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

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

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

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 Spink had a population of 32 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2014, Spink had a population of 237 people.

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

  • Greenfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Nora
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Nora is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
    • Estimated population in 2014: 240 people
  • Richland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Richland is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Estimated population in 2014: 215 people
  • Burbank
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Alsen
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Clay Point
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Clay Point is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Point
  • Westfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Akron
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Big Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Emmet
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Emmet is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
    • Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
  • Vermillion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Marshalltown ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Marshalltown is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Dalesburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dalesburg is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalesburg
    • Bloomingdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ionia ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Ionia is located in Dixon County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ionia

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

Newspapers Published in Spink ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spink.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spink, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spink.

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 Spink:

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 '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- Spink) 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 Spink, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.