Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Clay County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Newspapers
- Plain Talk (Vermillion, S.D.)1893-1923
- Semi-Weekly Register (Vermillion, D.T. [S.D.])1875-1876
- The Cedar County Advocate (St. Helena, Neb.)1874-187?
- The Clay County Register (Vermillion, D.T. [S.D.])1872-1875
- The Dakota Republican (Vermillion, Dakota Territory [S.D.])1861-19??
- The Summer Session News (Vermillion, S.D.)1923-19??
- The Vermillion Standard (Vermillion, Clay County, Dakota Territory [S.D.])1876-1882
- The Wakonda Monitor (Wakonda, S.D.)1891-19??
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles cataloged by the Library of Congress with explicit county geography. Priority is given to titles beginning by 1950; up to five later titles are included where no earlier dated title is listed for that county. Dates describe publication history, not the issues available at a library. Multiple format records with the same title, place and dates are grouped. The catalog may describe paper, microfilm or online resources. Open ends and the word Current reflect the catalog description; confirm present availability and exact holdings with the libraries listed on the linked record.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Clay County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the register of deeds and the clerk of courts.
- The register of deeds
Deeds and other land records, marriage licenses, and births and deaths registered in the county.
- The clerk of courts
Probate (wills and estates), divorces and naturalizations.
- The South Dakota State Archives
In Pierre: county records, state censuses and newspapers.
- South Dakota State Archivesfree
The state archives in Pierre, with county records, state censuses, newspapers and photographs.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "South Dakota, Clay" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Land not yet in any county
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1862, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Until 1889 North and South Dakota were one territory, so early records may be filed under Dakota Territory. South Dakota took state censuses in 1895 (some counties survive), 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935 and 1945.