South Dakota Genealogy – Free South Dakota Genealogy

This South Dakota state page of our website provides direct links to major databases and historical titles found on South Dakota genealogy and history, whether they exist on our site, or across the web.

South Dakota Cemeteries

South Dakota Census Records

South Dakota Court Records

South Dakota Genealogy Websites

United States Genealogy

United States GenWeb Project

Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Corson, Custer, Davison, Day, Deuel , Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lyman, Marshall, McCook, McPherson, Meade, Mellette, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn , Shannon, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Turner, Union, Walworth, Yankton, Ziebach

American History and Genealogy Project

  • SDGenWeb

Clark, Dewey, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, Minnehaha, Pennington

South Dakota History

  • Marshall County, North Dakota History
    About the middle of the seventeenth century French explorers passed through what is now Dakota, and again in the beginning of the present century Lewis and Clark explored this region. In 1809 one of the Astor’s parties, conducted by Mr. Hunt on their way across the continent to the mouth of the Columbia River, ascended the Missouri River to the 46 degree parallel, where they procured horses from the Indians and traveled overland.
  • Life and Adventures of Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Cannary)
    My maiden name was Marthy Cannary. I was born in Princeton, Missouri, May 1st, 1852. Father and mother were natives of Ohio. I had two brothers and three sisters, I being the oldest of the children. As a child I always had a fondness for adventure and out-door exercise and especial fondness for horses which I began to ride at an early age and continued to do so until I became an expert rider being able to ride the most vicious and stubborn of horses, in fact the greater portion of my life in early times was spent in this manner.
  • South Dakota, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1941
    Images of G.A.R post records from the Dakota and South Dakota Departments. The collection includes membership rosters, attendance registration books of various encampments (some include Women’s Relief Corps.), post descriptive books, member deaths, adjutant reports, muster rolls, lists of officers, applications to form a post, reunion rosters, etc. The descriptive books are arranged by post name and number. Most records include item number, name, post name and number. The descriptive books may list name, age, state of birth, residence in South Dakota, occupation, date-rank-company-regiment of service and final discharge, cause of discharge, when mustered into G.A.R., status, and date of death. The collection was acquired from the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre.
  • South Dakota, School Records, 1879-1970
    School records, including teacher’s term reports, school census and attendance records located at the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre. Records are generally arranged by county, year and school district number. This collection is being published as images become available.

South Dakota Land Records

  • U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908
    3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds) granted by the Federal Government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), military bounty land warrants, private land claims, railroad grants, school grants, and swamp grants. Additional items of information included in the tract books are as follows: number of acres, date of sale, purchase price, land office, entry number, final Certificate of Purchase number, and notes on relinquishments and conversions.

South Dakota Military Records

  • Military Records
  • Dakota Territory Forts
    List of colonial forts, trading posts, named camps, redoubts, reservations, general hospitals, national cemeteries, etc., established or erected in the United States from its earliest settlement to 1902.
  • South Dakota Forts
    List of colonial forts, trading posts, named camps, redoubts, reservations, general hospitals, national cemeteries, etc., established or erected in the United States from its earliest settlement to 1902.

South Dakota Native American Tribes

South Dakotas Vital Records

What’s New in South Dakota Genealogy?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1860-1960

The Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1860-1960

“Pioneer Church: The History of the South Dakota District, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1860-1960” is a meticulously crafted chronicle that delves deep into the roots of Lutheran Christianity across South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. Spanning a century, this volume unfolds the vibrant narrative of faith, community, and relentless dedication to the service of God and humanity in a region marked by its pioneering history. Free to read or download.
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Lawrence County for the Dakota Territory Centennial, 1861-1961 title page

History of Lawrence County South Dakota

In celebration of the Dakota Territory Centennial, the 186-page book “Lawrence County for the Dakota Territory Centennial, 1861-1961” serves as a comprehensive guide and a treasure trove of information for genealogists and historians alike, offering a detailed exploration of Lawrence County’s rich history, culture, and development over a century. Compiled with meticulous care by editor Mildred Fielder and published by Seaton Publishing Company in 1960, this book is free to read and download.
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Sample South Dakota Historical Newspapers image - Sisseton Posten

South Dakota Historical Newspapers

This page provides links to all available South Dakota historical newspaper images and transcriptions found online by AccessGenealogy. Organized alphabetically by town or city.
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Civil War Cannon

Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants

This article helps you access the Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrants for free. Following two simple steps, one to search, and the other to browse the actual microfilms, you can quickly find your ancestors Revolutionary War pension record, or Bounty-Land record and download the images. During 1800-1900 the United States issued more than 80,000 pensions and bounty-land-warrants to soldiers of the Revolutionary War, their spouse, or their children. Was your ancestor one of them?
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Home of Franklin and Mary Noyes Rowe 1887-1905

The Descendants of Franklin Mary Noyes Rowe of Humboldt County, Iowa

Franklin Rowe, son of Lucy Stillwell and Lucian Rowe, was born in Onondaga County, New York, possibly at Manlius as his parents were married there March 16, 1826. Franklin was the youngest and eighth child, born December 30, 1836. He was the grandson of Ebenezer and Mary Rowe, his grandfather was born in 1772 and died February 16, 1828 and is buried in Christ Church cemetery at Manlius, New York, his name is in the 1820 census but not in that of 1810 so he must have come to Onondaga County between those dates but diligent search has not been…
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record-image_3QS7-89W3-39QL-W

United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955

3,907 land management tract books containing official records of the land status and transactions involving surveyed public lands arranged by state and then by township and range. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the tract and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds) granted by the Federal Government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), military bounty land warrants, private land claims, railroad grants, school grants, and swamp grants. Additional items of…
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Winchester Star

Chronicling America Historical Newspapers

Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and…
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Winchester Star

Small Town Newspapers

Small Town Papers gives you free access to the people, places and events recorded in real time over the decades or even centuries! Browse and search the scanned newspaper archive from 1846 up to the current edition! Their archives contain millions of names of ancestors not found anywhere else. Enhance your Ancestry research with their high resolution scanned newspaper archive. Find distant relatives and discover your ethnic heritage by reading the articles about family and friends written back in the day.
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Land Cession 426-2

History of Arapaho and Cheyenne Treaties

These treaties were instrumental in establishing and defining the relationship between the United States and the Arapaho and Cheyenne Confederation. They also impacted the history of the tribe after it signed the initial treaty of 1825. Each succeeding treaty will show the historian a shrinking land mass controlled by the Arapaho and Cheyenne. Includes land cession maps detailing the land ceded by the Arapaho and Cheyenne.
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Ponca Census Image

1930 Ponca Census Extraction

An extraction of the 1930 Indian Census for the Ponca tribe of the Ponca Reservation in South Dakota. In 1930 there were 398 members that fell under the jurisdiction of the Yankton Agency. Most of them still resided within the Ponca Reservation, but some had moved elsewhere and are so indicated within the actual census images. This extraction provides their given names, surnames, sometimes the maiden name, age, and sex of each tribal member.
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