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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 Webster (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 Webster. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Webster is located in Day County and is the County Seat.

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 Day County: Brown, Clark, Codington, Grant, Marshall, Roberts & Spink.

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

  • Day County     (The home county of Webster)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Webster, with the one closest to Webster listed first.
    • Holmquist
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Waubay
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Butler
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Butler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Butler is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Butler
      • From Webster to Butler
    • Roslyn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roslyn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roslyn
      • Roslyn is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roslyn <1>
    • Grenville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grenville
      • Grenville is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grenville <1>
    • Bristol
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Bristol is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bristol <1>
    • Lily
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pierpont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierpont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierpont
      • Pierpont is located in Day County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierpont <1>
    • Andover
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Crandall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Webster, with the one closest to Webster listed first.
    • Ferney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Verdon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verdon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
      • Verdon is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Verdon
      • From Webster to Verdon
    • Groton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
      • Groton is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,475 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Groton <1>
  • Clark County
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Webster, with the one closest to Webster listed first.
    • Wallace
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
      • Wallace is located in Codington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallace <1>
    • Florence
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Codington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <1>
  • Grant County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Webster, with the one closest to Webster listed first.
    • Eden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Eden is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
    • Langford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake City <1>
    • Spain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
      • Spain is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people
  • Roberts County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Webster, with the one closest to Webster listed first.
    • Ortley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ortley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortley
      • Ortley is located in Roberts County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ortley <1>
    • Summit
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Roberts County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit <1>
    • Spring Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Roberts County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 125 people
    • Goodwill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
      • Goodwill is located in Roberts County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
    • Long Hollow Housing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Hollow Housing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Hollow Housing
      • Long Hollow Housing is located in Roberts County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 192 people
    • Peever
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Spink County

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

Cemeteries Near Webster ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Webster.

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

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

  • St. Otto's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Otto's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Otto's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Webster Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webster Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old St. Otto's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old St. Otto's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old St. Otto's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Sweden Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Sweden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Sweden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tabor Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tabor Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tabor Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakewood Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Zion Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie Mound Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hosanger Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hosanger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hosanger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wheatland Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheatland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheatland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...
    • Roslyn Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roslyn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roslyn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bergen Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Webster had a population of 618 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Webster had a population of 1,694 people.

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

  • Butler
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Butler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Butler is located in Day County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Butler
    • From Webster to Butler
  • Waubay
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Roslyn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roslyn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roslyn
    • Roslyn is located in Day County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roslyn <1>
  • Bristol
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
    • Bristol is located in Day County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bristol <1>
  • Lily
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bradley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Pierpont
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierpont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierpont
    • Pierpont is located in Day County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierpont <1>
  • Andover
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Summit
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Summit is located in Roberts County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit <1>
  • Langford
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Julian ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Julian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
    • Julian is located in Clark County
  • Garden City
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Goodwill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodwill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwill
      • Goodwill is located in Roberts County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 876 people
    • Verdon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Verdon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdon
      • Verdon is located in Brown County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Verdon
      • From Webster to Verdon
    • Spain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
      • Spain is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Webster ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Webster.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Webster. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Webster and those printed in the larger area surrounding Webster.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Webster.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Webster:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Webster. 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>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.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Webster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Webster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3342, Longitude: -97.5202    
<5>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.
<6>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 Webster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025