Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Wheeler. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Wheeler to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Wheeler, please Contact Us.
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 Wheeler (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 Wheeler. 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 hospitals 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Wheeler is historic, it would have been located within present day Charles Mix 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 Charles Mix County: Boyd (NE), Knox (NE), Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Douglas, Gregory & Hutchinson.
Below are the counties that are near Wheeler. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wheeler:
- Charles Mix County (The home county of Wheeler)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Geddes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Andes
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Platte
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pickstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Ravinia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Academy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Academy is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
- Marty
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Platte Colony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Platte Colony is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Colony
- Estimated population in 2014: 51 people
- Wagner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greenwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Aurora County
- Aurora Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
- Brule County
- Bijou Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bijou Hills is located in Brule County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bijou Hills
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Joubert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- New Holland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Armour
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Corsica
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas City ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas City is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
- Gregory County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- East Gregory
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- East Gregory is located in Gregory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Bonesteel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairfax
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Saint Charles
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fort Randall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Randall is located in Gregory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
- Herrick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Burke
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gregory
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Boyd County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Anoka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Anoka is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Butte
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Naper
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Spencer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gross
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gross is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2 people
- Bristow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holt County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Dustin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dustin is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Paddock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Cleveland ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cleveland is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wheeler, see our County-by-County Page for Wheeler.
Cemeteries Near Wheeler ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wheeler.
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 Wheeler - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wheeler covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Ducharme Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rosebud Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Fairfax.
- The St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Anthony's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97519 <4>
- Highland Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Lawn Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethelhem Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Friesland Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (74 more) ...
- Old Settlers Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Edgerton Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Edgerton Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the south of Platte.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #96949 <4>
- Lake View Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
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.
Wheeler itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 75 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wheeler, with the one closest to Wheeler listed first.
- Platte
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Butte
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Spencer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Joubert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- New Holland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harrison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dustin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dustin is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dustin
- Bristow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Catalpa ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Catalpa is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catalpa
- Armour
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paddock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Greenwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Lynch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grandview ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Bijou Hills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bijou Hills is located in Brule County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bijou Hills
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wheeler. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wheeler.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wheeler ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wheeler.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wheeler. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wheeler and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wheeler.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Wheeler.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Wheeler:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Charles Mix County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Aurora County
- Brule County
- Douglas County
- Gregory County
- Boyd County
- Holt County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Wheeler, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wheeler) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |