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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Smithport (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 Smithport. 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 and doctors 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.

Smithport 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 Smithport. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smithport:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Smithport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithport, with the one closest to Smithport listed first.
    • Bellefontaine
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Bellefontaine is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellefontaine
    • Mon Louis
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
    • Alabama Port
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Alabama Port is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama Port
    • Irvington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Theodore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Elmo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
    • Tillmans Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Tillmans Corner is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillmans Corner
    • Coden
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayou La Batre
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Grand Bay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dauphin Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Dauphin Island is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauphin Island
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,366 people
    • Fort Gaines ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Fort Gaines is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gaines
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithport, with the one closest to Smithport listed first.
    • Point Clear
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairhope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Morgan ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Daphne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Park City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Clay City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Clay City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Marlow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow
    • Yupon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Yupon is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yupon
    • Spanish Fort
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Magnolia Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Gasque
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • George County (MS)
    • Howell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithport, with the one closest to Smithport listed first.
    • Orange Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Orange Grove is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Grove
    • Helena
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Helena is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Big Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Eastside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Eastside is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastside
    • Moss Point
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Escatawpa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Escatawpa is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Escatawpa
    • Hurley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Coll Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Coll Town is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coll Town
    • Pascagoula
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Wade
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade

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

Cemeteries Near Smithport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithport.

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

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

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

  • Cold Springs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Boudans Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boudans Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Boudans Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
  • Mathis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mathis Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mathis Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Bellefontaine
  • English Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Lundy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Dorlon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Alabama Port Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Reeds Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Magnolia Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Oddfellows Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (168 more) ...

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 Smithport in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smithport.

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

  • Mon Louis
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Mon Louis is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mon Louis
  • Fowl River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Fowl River is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowl River
  • Theodore
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Elmo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Saint Elmo is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
  • Bayou La Batre
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Coden
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fernland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Fernland is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernland
  • Point Clear
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Cox
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Grand Bay
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Montrose
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Mobile
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Spring Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Daphne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Marlow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Marlow is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlow

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

Newspapers Published in Smithport ...

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 143 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithport.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithport, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithport.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Smithport:

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 Smithport, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smithport) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.