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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 Smithfield (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 Smithfield. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Smithfield is located in Fulton 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 Fulton County: Knox, Mason, McDonough, Peoria, Schuyler, Tazewell & Warren.

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

  • Fulton County     (The home county of Smithfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Cuba
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Cuba is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,149 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
    • Marietta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Blyton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Blyton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyton
    • Checkrow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Checkrow is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Checkrow
    • Babylon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Babylon is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babylon
    • Fiatt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Ipava
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lewistown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryant
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Ellisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Bybee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bybee is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Table Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Cass County
    • Chandlerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Saint Augustine
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Abingdon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • De Long
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • De Long is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Long
    • Maquon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Yates City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Knoxville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Buzzville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Buzzville is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buzzville
    • Havana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Goofy Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Goofy Ridge is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goofy Ridge
    • Bath
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Topeka
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Branch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Long Branch is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
    • Snicarte
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Snicarte is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snicarte
    • Poplar City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Forest City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
    • Union
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Kilbourne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Manito
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • White City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • White City is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
  • McDonough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • New Philadelphia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
    • Adair
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Bushnell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Prairie City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Prairie City is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Bardolph
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Industry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • East Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • East Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
    • Good Hope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Lamone Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Lamone Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamone Village
    • Macomb
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Macomb is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Macomb <1>
    • University Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • University Village is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Village
    • Doddsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Doddsville is located in McDonough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doddsville
    • Sciota
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Menard County
    • Oakford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Peoria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Glasford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Trivoli
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingston Mines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Mapleton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Hanna City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Schuyler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Bluff City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bluff City is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Bader
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Bader is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bader
    • Littleton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Browning
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Frederick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Rushville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wayland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wayland is located in Schuyler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Radville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Radville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radville
    • Talbott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Talbott is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talbott
    • Parkland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Parkland is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Youngstown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Youngstown is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngstown
    • Berwick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Roseville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cameron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Smithfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithfield.

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

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

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

  • Baughman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Howard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Fuller Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Buckeye Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Randol Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Engle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Henderson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sinnett Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Stites Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cuba Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Marietta Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (365 more) ...
    • Temple Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rigdon Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fiatt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithfield had a population of 300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Smithfield had a population of 217 people.

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

  • Seville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Seville is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seville
  • Bernadotte ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bernadotte is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernadotte
  • Cuba
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Cuba is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,149 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
  • Marietta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Blyton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Blyton is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blyton
  • Ipava
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Babylon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Babylon is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babylon
  • Fiatt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewistown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • New Philadelphia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • New Philadelphia is located in McDonough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Philadelphia
  • Table Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Bryant
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Civer ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Civer is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Civer
    • Bybee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bybee is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bybee
    • Ellisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Smithfield ...

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 195 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithfield, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithfield.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Smithfield:

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