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 Smyer (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 Smyer. 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.
Smyer is located in Clarke 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 Clarke County: Baldwin, Choctaw, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington & Wilcox.
Below are the counties that are near Smyer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smyer:
- Clarke County (The home county of Smyer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Campbell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Morvin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- West Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Coffeeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Glover
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Glover is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Fakit Chipunta ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fakit Chipunta is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fakit Chipunta
- Zimco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zimco is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimco
- Thomasville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Winn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Winn is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winn
- Fulton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Fulton is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
- Salitpa
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Salitpa is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salitpa
- Grove Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Choctaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Womack Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Bladon Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bladon Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladon Springs
- Toxey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Toxey is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Lavaca
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lavaca is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
- Butler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Red Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Red Springs is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
- Gilbertown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Souwilpa
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Souwilpa is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Souwilpa
- Bolinger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bolinger is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolinger
- Cullomburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cullomburg is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullomburg
- Silas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Needham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Needham is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Putnam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Nanafalia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
- Barrons ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Barrons is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons
- Sweet Water
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sweet Water is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
- Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
- Aimwell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Aimwell is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aimwell
- Dixon's Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon's Mills is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon's Mills
- Ellison ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ellison is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellison
- Moss ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moss is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss
- Half Acre
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Half Acre is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Acre
- Former names for Half Acre:
- Hell's Half Acre
- Luther's Store
- Vineland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Vineland is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland
- Myrtlewood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Myrtlewood is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtlewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Magnolia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Frankville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Frankville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
- Bigbee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bigbee is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigbee
- Saint Stephen's
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Healing Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Healing Springs is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Millry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Leroy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Leroy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Barlow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Mehaffey ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mehaffey is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehaffey
- Bassetts Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bassetts Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassetts Creek
- Carson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Carson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
- Hobson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hobson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson
- Prestwick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Prestwick is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prestwick
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Pine Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pine Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
- Kimbrough
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Kimbrough is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbrough
- Lower Peach Tree
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lower Peach Tree is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Peach Tree
- Arlington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Arlington is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Anne Manie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anne Manie is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anne Manie
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smyer, see our County-by-County Page for Smyer.
Cemeteries Near Smyer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smyer.
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 Smyer - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smyer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Trotter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bashan Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tallahatta Cemetery for Blacks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Campbell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hatchet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Webb Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Prospect Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Huggins Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Turner Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Bend Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ulcanush Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (269 more) ...
- Bell Brewer Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lucker Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.<2>
While we didn't find Smyer in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smyer.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
- Cunningham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cunningham is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- Campbell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- McEntyre
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- McEntyre is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McEntyre
- Morvin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Morvin is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morvin
- West Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Bend is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
- Putnam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Putnam is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Tallahatta Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tallahatta Springs is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallahatta Springs
- Ararat
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ararat is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- Womack Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Womack Hill is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack Hill
- Coffeeville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Nicholsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholsville is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
- Glover
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Glover is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Bashi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bashi is located in Clarke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashi
- Mount Sterling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Sterling is located in Choctaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Nanafalia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Nanafalia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanafalia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smyer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smyer.
Newspapers Published in Smyer ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smyer.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smyer, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smyer.
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 Smyer:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Clarke County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Choctaw County
- Marengo County
- Washington County
- Wilcox 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> | 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 Smyer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smyer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |