DE SMET — Kingsbury County Genealogical Society is pleased to host a free program called Those Old Stone Memories, a program on how to research cemetery and death related records for genealogy research and historical projects. It is open to the public on April 13 at 2 p.m. at the De Smet Event Center at 705 Wilder Lane in De Smet. 

This program, presented by Virginia Hanson of the South Dakota State Archives, will show basic and uncommon records connected to an ancestor’s death and the life they created. Participants will learn about coroners’ records, wills and probate records, memorial cards, clues in photos, death notices and obituaries. Participants will discuss finding the cause of death, transportation records, understanding the artwork on stones, and especially, how to find those stones. 

The Kingsbury County Genealogical Society has been very active in research and collecting materials related to genealogy and family history. One of the projects is in accepting donations of funeral folders and obituaries, with a collection of over 8,000 obituaries of local and regional families. 

In the past two years we have located two more cemeteries and numerous unmarked graves in our county. Another project the society is working on is locating homestead graves. These are burials occurring from the mid 1800s to about 1900, or later, where records were not usually kept. Many of these burials happened along highway 14 as people traveled west and died en route because of accidents or diseases like diphtheria. Also of interest are the farm burials. These are the burial places usually near the old homesteads. These may consist of a lone burial or a family plot on the hill behind the house. Community-wide interest is what prompted this workshop by Virginia Hanson. 

We welcome information from the public on the history of Kingsbury County, especially materials from early years when records were not kept or may have been lost to time. 

Members and volunteers are working on updating the sexton lists, burial plat maps and creating directories of local museums, churches, and libraries available for researching local history. We have many resources available for use in our office in Lake Preston at 111 Third St. S.E. All are welcome to join us for refreshments and this free program. 

If time allows, Hanson will give a demonstration on grave dowsing which is used to locate unknown or unmarked graves. Please contact either ptvinn@icloud.com or virginia.m.hanson@state.sd.us for questions or more information.