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 Smiths Chapel (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 Smiths Chapel. 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.
Name Variations for Smiths Chapel ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
While the name of this community is Smiths Chapel, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Smiths Chapel may originally have been Smith's Chapel.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Smiths Chapel might be written as Smith Chapel.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Smiths Chapel. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Smiths Chapel.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 doctors and 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.
Smiths Chapel is located in Etowah 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 Etowah County: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Smiths Chapel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smiths Chapel:
- Etowah County (The home county of Smiths Chapel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Whitesboro
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Whitesboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesboro
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Sardis City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sardis City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,776 people
- Yancy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Duck Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Carlisle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Carlisle is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Crudup
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Reece City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Reece City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reece City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
- Greer ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Aurora
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Highmound
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Highmound is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highmound
- Snead
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- McLarty
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McLarty is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLarty
- Wynnville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Wynnville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnville
- Bright Star
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bright Star is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright Star
- Fowler ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fowler is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Bird ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bird is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Clarence
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clarence is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Craig
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Craig is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
- Susan Moore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Susan Moore is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susan Moore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
- Fridays Crossing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Fridays Crossing is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fridays Crossing
- Brooksville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Brooksville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Southside
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Douthrittville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douthrittville
- Oak Level
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Oak Level is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Colvins Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Cochran Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Mack ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Collins ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Grayton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
- Angel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Wellington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Leesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sand Rock is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
- Anderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Ball Flat
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Centre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Moshat
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Cedar Bluff
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Taft
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taft is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
- Tucker Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Cullman County
- Joppa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rodentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Rains ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Crossville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Rogers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Rogers is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Dawson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dawson is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Geraldine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Whiton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Whiton is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiton
- Collinsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chigger Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Chigger Hill is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chigger Hill
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Langston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rock City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Dodsonville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Dodsonville is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodsonville
- Section
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Boaz
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Albertville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hustleville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hustleville
- Whitesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Minorville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Peters ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Peters is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters
- Rabbit Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rabbit Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabbit Town
- Horton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Douglas
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Gregory
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gregory is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Steele
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Ashville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ragland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smiths Chapel, see our County-by-County Page for Smiths Chapel.
Cemeteries Near Smiths Chapel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smiths Chapel.
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 Smiths Chapel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smiths Chapel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Whitesboro Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Happy Hill Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hibbs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Leath Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Scott Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Thrasher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lipscomb Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corinth Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery
- The Freedom Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Corinth Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
- Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Boaz.
- The Bethsaida Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bethsaida Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21588 <4>
- Sardis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cox Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (431 more) ...
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Duck Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Belchers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<5>
While we didn't find Smiths Chapel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smiths Chapel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smiths Chapel, with the one closest to Smiths Chapel listed first.
- Pulltight
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pulltight is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulltight
- Haworth ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Haworth is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haworth
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Fenton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Fenton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
- Mountainboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mountainboro is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainboro
- Avery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Avery is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Duck Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Duck Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Springs
- Yancy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Yancy is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yancy
- Rodentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Rains ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rains is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rains
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Boaz
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Crudup
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crudup is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crudup
- Keener
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Keener is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keener
- Marshall
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smiths Chapel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smiths Chapel.
Newspapers Published in Smiths Chapel ...
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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smiths Chapel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smiths Chapel, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smiths Chapel.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Smiths Chapel:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Etowah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Cullman County
- DeKalb County
- Jackson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Smiths Chapel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Smiths Chapel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |