Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
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 Smelley (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 Smelley. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Smelley is located in Talladega County.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Talladega County: Calhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Saint Clair & Shelby.
Below are the counties that are near Smelley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smelley:
- Talladega County (The home county of Smelley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Chandler Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Waldo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Rendalia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Abihka ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Abihka is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abihka
- Winterboro
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Winterboro is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterboro
- Talladega
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ironaton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
- Sycamore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Alpine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- McElderry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Oldfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Mignon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mignon is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mignon
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Eastaboga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bynum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bynum is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Bynum has also been known as:
- Bynum's
- Blue Eye ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Blue Eye is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Eye
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Cobb Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cobb Town is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
- Eulaton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Eulaton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eulaton
- Hobson City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hobson City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Oxford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Friendship
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Boozer ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Boozer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boozer
- Oxanna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Anniston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Chambers Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chambers Springs is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambers Springs
- Erin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Erin is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin
- Millerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Ashland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Harkins Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Harkins Crossroads is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkins Crossroads
- Hollins
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hollins is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
- Lineville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Elder
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Barfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Haynes Crossroad
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Mellow Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Delta
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cragford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Abel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Hollis Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Goodwater
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mount Olive is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Stewartville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Kellyton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kellyton is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
- Weogufka
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Weogufka is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weogufka
- Hissop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Ray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ray is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Jefferson County
- Leeds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Christiana
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- Ofelia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ofelia is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ofelia
- Almond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Almond is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almond
- Malone Ferry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Malone Ferry is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone Ferry
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Cropwell
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Seddon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Vincent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Glen City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glen City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen City
- Avondale Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Avondale Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale Village
- Pell City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Cook's Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Wattsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Brompton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Harpersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Calcis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Sterrett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wilsonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Westover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Westover is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,769 people
- Vandiver
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dunnavant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Merrell Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Merrell Beach is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrell Beach
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Hackneyville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hackneyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackneyville
- Goldville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Goldville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Cowpens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cowpens is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- New Site
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Site is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Site
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Emuckfaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Emuckfaw is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emuckfaw
- Alexander City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smelley, see our County-by-County Page for Smelley.
Cemeteries Near Smelley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smelley.
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 Smelley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smelley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Germany Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germany Cemetery
- The Germany Cemetery has also been known as:
- Germany Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #22989 <2>
- Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moberley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Smelley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smelley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Smelley Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the south of Talladega.
- The Smelley Cemetery has also been known as:
- Smelley Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2495949 <2>
- Horns Memorial Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Harvell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Burgess Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Thornhill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Midway Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mardisville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (335 more) ...
- Russell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hatchett Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stockdale Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Smelley had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smelley, with the one closest to Smelley listed first.
- Rendalia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rendalia is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rendalia
- Chandler Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chandler Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler Springs
- Waldo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waldo is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Berney's
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Berney's is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berney's
- Hatchet Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hatchet Creek is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchet Creek
- Talladega
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ironaton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Nottingham ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Nottingham is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nottingham
- Former name for Nottingham:
- Jones Camp Ground
- Sycamore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sycamore is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
- Renfroe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Renfroe is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfroe
- Alpine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oldfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oldfield is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- McElderry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Millerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millerville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
- Zubers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smelley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smelley.
Newspapers Published in Smelley ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smelley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smelley, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smelley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Smelley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Talladega County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Coosa County
- Jefferson County
- Randolph County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Tallapoosa County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smelley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Smelley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |