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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 Smithville (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 Smithville. 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 and 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.

Smithville is located in Monroe County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Monroe County: Brown, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Morgan & Owen.

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

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Smithville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Clear Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrodsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrodsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
      • Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
    • Kirksville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Bloomington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Highland Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
      • Highland Village is located in Monroe County
    • Stanford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Dolan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Unionville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unionville <3>
    • Ellettsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellettsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellettsville
      • Ellettsville is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,706 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellettsville <3>
    • Stinesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stinesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
      • Stinesville is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Bartholomew County
  • Brown County
  • Davies's County
    • Odon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Odon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odon
      • Odon is located in Davies's County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,390 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Odon <3>
  • Greene County
  • Jackson County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Peoga
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peoga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
      • Peoga is located in Johnson County
    • Princes Lakes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princes Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
      • Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
    • Samaria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Anita ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anita. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
      • Anita is located in Johnson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Anita
      • From Smithville to Anita
    • Nineveh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Trafalgar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lawrence County
  • Martin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Mount Olive
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Crane
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
      • Crane is located in Martin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crane <3>
    • Burns City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burns City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
      • Burns City is located in Martin County
  • Morgan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Paragon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paragon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paragon
      • Paragon is located in Morgan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paragon <3>
    • Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Martinsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Morgantown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgantown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgantown
      • Morgantown is located in Morgan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morgantown <3>
    • Lewisville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Plano
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Wilbur
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilbur. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbur
      • Wilbur is located in Morgan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilbur
      • From Smithville to Wilbur
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Leipsic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Orleans
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orleans <3>
  • Owen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Spencer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spencer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
      • Spencer is located in Owen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,262 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spencer <3>
    • Freedom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gosport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gosport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosport
      • Gosport is located in Owen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gosport <3>
    • Arney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cuba
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Owen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cuba
      • From Smithville to Cuba
    • Atkinsonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Quincy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quincy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Owen County
    • Patricksburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Patricksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patricksburg
      • Patricksburg is located in Owen County
    • Coal City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Washington County
    • Saltillo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saltillo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
      • Saltillo is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people

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

Cemeteries Near Smithville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Knights of Pythias Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Lucas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lucas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lucas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Salem Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Deckard Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Chambers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chambers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chambers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clover Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clover Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clover Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hanson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hanson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hanson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burgoon Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burgoon Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burgoon Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Perry Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Covey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Covey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Covey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (346 more) ...
    • Friendship Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Friendship Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Friendship Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Anderson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anderson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anderson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithville had a population of 146 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Clear Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Victor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
    • Victor is located in Monroe County
  • Harrodsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrodsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
    • Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
  • Fairfax
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairfax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
    • Fairfax is located in Monroe County
  • Kirksville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Guthrie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bloomington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Bartlettsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartlettsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlettsville
    • Bartlettsville is located in Lawrence County
  • Buenavista
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenavista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenavista
    • Buenavista is located in Monroe County
  • Logan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
    • Logan is located in Lawrence County
  • Stanford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Popcorn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Yellowstone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yellowstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowstone
      • Yellowstone is located in Monroe County
    • Hobbieville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobbieville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbieville
      • Hobbieville is located in Greene County
    • Springville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Smithville ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithville.

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 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 Smithville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smithville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Monroe County: www.co.monroe.in.us/

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Smithville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Smithville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smithville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.0711, Longitude: -86.5070    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025