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 Smith (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 Smith. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast 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 south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties/parishes 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 south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Smith is located in Union County.
To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Union County: Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita, Claiborne (LA), Morehouse (LA) & Union (LA).
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Smith. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smith:
- Union County (The home county of Smith)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- El Dorado
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blanchard Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard Springs
- Junction City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Junction City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- Scotland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Scotland is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Lawson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lawson is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Perdue City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Perdue City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdue City
- Dumas City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dumas City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
- Urbana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Urbana is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
- Norphlet
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Norphlet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norphlet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
- Crain City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crain City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crain City
- Lisbon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Sandy Land
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sandy Land is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Land
- Calion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Calion is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calion
- Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
- Bradley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Moro Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moro Bay is located in Bradley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro Bay
- Jersey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Hampton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harrell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harrell is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Village is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village
- Calhoun
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Calhoun is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Ouachita County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Joyce City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Joyce City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce City
- Louann
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Louann is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louann
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Pace City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pace City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
- Cullendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cullendale is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullendale
- Claiborne Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Junction City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Junction City is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
- Wards Mill ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wards Mill is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wards Mill
- Summerfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Summerfield is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Weldon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Weldon is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Gordon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Lisbon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arizona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
- Haynesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Hico
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hico is located in Lincoln Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
- Dubach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Vining Mills ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Vining Mills is located in Lincoln Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining Mills
- Union Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Lillie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Spearsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pisgah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pisgah is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Oakland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Truxno
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Truxno is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truxno
- Bernice
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cane Ridge ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cane Ridge is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Ridge
- Farmerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smith, see our County-by-County Page for Smith.
Cemeteries Near Smith ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith.
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 Smith - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smith covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Stamps Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Smyrna Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cummings Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Galilee Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parkers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Old Parkers Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (275 more) ...
- Arlington Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Arlington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of El Dorado.
- The Arlington Cemetery has also been known as:
- Arlington Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #52858 <2>
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of El Dorado.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1188120 <2>
- Cobb Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
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 Smith in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smith.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
- Caledonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Caledonia is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- El Dorado
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wesson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wesson is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesson
- Cornie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cornie is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornie
- Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Blanchard Springs is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard Springs
- Hillsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hillsboro is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Wards Mill ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wards Mill is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wards Mill
- Three Creeks
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Three Creeks is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Creeks
- Lisbon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lisbon is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Spearsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Champagnolle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Champagnolle is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champagnolle
- Shuler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Shuler is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuler
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Summerfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Summerfield is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Cherry Ridge ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Ridge is located in Union Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Ridge
- New London
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New London is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smith. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smith.
Newspapers Published in Smith ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Smith:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bradley County
- Calhoun County
- Columbia County
- Ouachita County
- Claiborne Parish
- Lincoln Parish
- Union Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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 Smith, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smith) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |