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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 Summit (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 Summit. 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.

Summit is located in Roberts 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 Roberts County: Big Stone (MN), Traverse (MN), Richland (ND), Day, Grant & Marshall.

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

  • Roberts County     (The home county of Summit)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summit, with the one closest to Summit listed first.
    • Ortley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Spring Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Spring Grove is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 125 people
    • Wilmot
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Corona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Peever Flats
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Peever Flats is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peever Flats
    • Peever
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Goodwill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Goodwill is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
      • Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
    • Hartford Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartford Beach is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford Beach
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • South Dakota Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • South Dakota Park is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dakota Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
    • Shady Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Shady Beach is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
    • Sisseton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Long Hollow Housing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Long Hollow Housing is located in Roberts County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Hollow Housing
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 192 people
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summit, with the one closest to Summit listed first.
    • South Shore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Waverly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Rauville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Rauville is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 292 people
    • Florence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wallace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Watertown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Kranzburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Day County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summit, with the one closest to Summit listed first.
    • Waubay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Grenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Webster
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Roslyn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Holmquist
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Holmquist is located in Day County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmquist
      • Estimated population in 2014: 154 people
  • Deuel County
    • Goodwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summit, with the one closest to Summit listed first.
    • Marvin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Twin Brooks
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Stockholm
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Milbank
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Strandburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • LaBolt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Stone City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Albee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Albee is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
    • Revillo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marshall County
    • Eden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Eden is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
  • Big Stone County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Summit, with the one closest to Summit listed first.
    • Beardsley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ortonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Barry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Barry is located in Big Stone County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
  • Traverse County (MN)
    • Browns Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Browns Valley is located in Traverse County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people

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

Cemeteries Near Summit ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Summit.

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

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

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

  • Summit Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Summit Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Osceola Cemetery #1
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Cemetery #1
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Osceola Cemetery #1 is located outside and to the north of Marvin.
    • The Osceola Cemetery #1 has also been known as:
    • Marvin Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2368922 <2>
  • Eastman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Osceola Cemetery #2
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Antelope Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Blue Cloud Abbey Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilmot Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Ortley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Mazeppa Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilmot Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (94 more) ...
    • Old Ascension Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Klix Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Bergen Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)

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, Summit had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Summit had a population of 288 people.

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

  • Marvin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilmot
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Corona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Waubay
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • South Shore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Twin Brooks
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Goodwill
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Goodwill is located in Roberts County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
    • Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
  • Troy
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Troy is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
  • Waverly
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Strandburg
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Browns Valley
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Browns Valley is located in Traverse County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
  • Beardsley
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Webster
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • LaBolt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Roslyn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Summit ...

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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Summit.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Summit. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Summit and those printed in the larger area surrounding Summit.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Summit.

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 Summit:

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 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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Summit) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Summit, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.