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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 Smithfield (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 Smithfield. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Smithfield is located in Mobile 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 Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Smithfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smithfield:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Smithfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Country Club Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
    • Tillmans Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
    • Semmes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Eight Mile
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Theodore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Prichard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mobile
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Chickasaw
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Irvington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Saint Elmo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Saraland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bellefontaine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Park City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Spanish Fort
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Daphne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Fairhope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bromley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Point Clear
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Stapleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Whitehouse Forks
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitehouse Forks is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Forks
    • Clay City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Loxley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Marlow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
  • George County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Howell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Agricola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lucedale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Big Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Hurley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Helena
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Wade
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Coll Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
    • Orange Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Americus ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Americus is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
    • Escatawpa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
    • Moss Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brewton ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Brewton is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewton
      • Brewton has also been known as:
      • Brewer's Bluff
    • Eastside
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
    • Pascagoula
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smithfield, see our County-by-County Page for Smithfield.

Cemeteries Near Smithfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithfield.

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 Smithfield - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smithfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.

  • Baker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Noel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Edwards Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • University Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Spring Hill Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Little Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Crest West Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Pine Creek Cemetery West
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Dawes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (223 more) ...
    • Pierce Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mobile Memorial Gardens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mobile Memorial Gardens
      • The Mobile Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
      • Mobile Memorial Cemetery
      • Mobile Memorial Gardens Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24477 <2>
    • Morning Star Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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.<3>

While we didn't find Smithfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smithfield.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.

  • Spring Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Cox
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Theodore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Prichard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Whistler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
  • Mobile
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Plateau
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
  • Saint Elmo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
  • Kushla
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
  • Fernland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Fernland is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
  • Oak Grove
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Grand Bay
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Fowl River
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Fowl River is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
    • Mon Louis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
    • Bayou La Batre
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smithfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smithfield.

Newspapers Published in Smithfield ...

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 140 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithfield, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Smithfield:

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>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 Smithfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smithfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.