Connecting with Our South Dakota Family and Roots

Russ and Cousin Jane and Harri (dog)

In front of the house on Jane's ranch

Our trip to South Dakota had come about after the gentle nudging of Russ’ cousin Jane, who has a ranch near Custer.  Jane is actually Russ’ father’s first cousin and hence Russ' first cousin once removed, we just call her cousin.  In addition to enjoying the amazing sights and activities that South Dakota has to offer, we used the opportunity to quiz Jane about what she remembers about her side of the family. 

Marina, Laura, Ryan and the Graves family Bible

Four generations of cousins

Jane is a very special cousin, and we enjoyed her company and her ranch very much.  She introduced us to another cousin, Laura (Russ' second cousin) and her son Ryan.  They also were delightful, we are so happy to have met them.  Laura has the Graves family Bible (1884) and a very old family photo album.  So, armed with our ancestry.com printouts, provided by our daughter Marie, Russ and Marina (our granddaughter) supplemented what they knew with information from the Bible. 

The Graves family Bible

This treasure trove of information helped us discover, via findagrave.com, that Russ’ grandmother, Marie Graves Smith, and 2 sets of great-grandparents, Graves and Smith, were buried in Mitchell, SD where we had stopped earlier to see the Corn Palace.  So on our return trip we stopped in Mitchell again, this time to see their graves.

Great-great-grandparents Graves

Great-grandfather Graves