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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 Smithdale (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 Smithdale. 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 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.

Smithdale is located in Livingston County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Livingston County: Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, La Salle, McLean & Woodford.

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

  • Livingston County     (The home county of Smithdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Missal
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Missal is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
    • Coalville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Coalville is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
    • Vermilion City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Vermilion City is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermilion City
    • Blackstone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Ancona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cornell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Munster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Munster is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
    • Budd
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Budd is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
    • Long Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Adams ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Adams is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
    • Sunbury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Sunbury is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
    • Cayuga
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cayuga is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
  • Bureau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Spring Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dalzell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ladd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ladd is located in Bureau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladd <1>
  • Ford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Kempton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Cabery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Grundy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Kinsman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland Town ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland Town is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
    • Verona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wauponsee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wauponsee is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauponsee
    • Mazon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gardner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • South Wilmington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
    • Nettle Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nettle Creek is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettle Creek
    • Claypool
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Claypool is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
    • Gaslight Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gaslight Village is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaslight Village
    • Morris
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Centerville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Centerville is located in Grundy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Kankakee County
    • Reddick
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • La Salle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Kernan
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kernan is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
    • Streator
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kangley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kangley is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • Ransom
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Leeds
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Leeds is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
    • Leonore
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dana
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dana is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dana <1>
    • Marseilles
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Rutland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lostant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Lostant is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lostant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
      • Lostant has also been known as:
      • Lost Ant
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lostant <1>
    • Hitt
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hitt is located in La Salle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitt
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Wenona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Evans ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Evans is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Toluca
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Varna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • La Rose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Henry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Henry is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,230 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
  • McLean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Chenoa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Meadows
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Meadows is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Gridley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Weston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Weston is located in McLean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
    • Lexington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Mount Palatine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Mount Palatine is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Palatine
    • Magnolia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • McNabb
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Standard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Granville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mark
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hennepin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Will County
    • Godley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Godley is located in Will County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
  • Woodford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithdale, with the one closest to Smithdale listed first.
    • Minonk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodford is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
    • Benson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Panola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Panola is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • El Paso
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Roanoke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Washburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kappa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kappa is located in Woodford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kappa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Secor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Smithdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithdale.

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

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

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

  • Phillips Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • New Michigan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Stephen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Barrickman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Blackstone Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Old St. Stephen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Moon's Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Defenbaugh Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Funk Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Emery Green Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (236 more) ...
    • River View Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Campbell Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Calder 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithdale had a population of 19 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Missal
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Missal is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missal
  • Manville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Manville is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manville
  • Coalville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Coalville is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
  • Reading
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Reading is located in Livingston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
  • Blackstone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kernan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kernan is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
  • Streator
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Ancona
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Otter ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Otter is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter
  • Cornell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Kangley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kangley is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
  • Richards
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Richards is located in La Salle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richards
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Budd
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Budd is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
    • Long Point
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ransom
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Smithdale ...

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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithdale, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithdale.

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 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 Smithdale:

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 Smithdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smithdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.