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 Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes instead of the parish in which they lived: their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the west contained birth and death records; the parish to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes, 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 West Baton Rouge Parish.
To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of West Baton Rouge Parish: East Baton Rouge, Iberville & Pointe Coupee.
Below are the parishes that are near Smithfield. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smithfield:
- West Baton Rouge Parish (The home parish of Smithfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Devalls
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Carey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Carey is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carey
- Arbroth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Lobdell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lobdell is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- Erwinville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wilbert ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wilbert is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbert
- Port Allen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brusly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brusly is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brusly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brusly <1>
- Addis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Addis is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,464 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Addis <1>
- Ascension Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Bullion
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bullion is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullion
- Hope Villa
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hope Villa is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Villa
- Oak Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Prairieville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hobart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hobart is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart
- Little Prairie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Little Prairie is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Prairie
- Southwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Southwood is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwood
- Dutch Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dutch Town is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Town
- Galvez Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Galvez Town is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez Town
- Cornerview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cornerview is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornerview
- Duplessis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Galvez
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Galvez is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez
- Geismar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Baker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Baker is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <1>
- Zion City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Zion City is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion City
- Port Hudson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
- Tristian Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Tristian Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tristian Village
- Beauregard Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Beauregard Town is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard Town
- Brownfields
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brownfields is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfields
- Zachary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zachary is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zachary <1>
- Baton Rouge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Maribel Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maribel Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maribel Village
- Merrydale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Merrydale is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrydale
- Boganvilla
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Boganvilla is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boganvilla
- Central
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Central is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29,450 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central <1>
- Essen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Essen is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essen
- East Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Lindsay
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lindsay is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsay
- Slaughter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bells Store ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bells Store is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Store
- Ethel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blairstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blairstown is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairstown
- Clinton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Iberville Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Grosse Tete
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rosedale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maringouin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Morrisonville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Morrisonville is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisonville
- Plaquemine
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Indian Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Indian Village is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Iberville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Iberville is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberville
- Sunshine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sunshine is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Saint Gabriel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bayou Goula
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Carville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- White Castle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Livingston Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Denham Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Denham Springs is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,842 people
- Former names for Denham Springs:
- Amite Springs
- Hill's Springs
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denham Springs <1>
- Watson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Walker
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Walker is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,302 people
- Oldfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Oldfield is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldfield
- Port Vincent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Port Vincent is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vincent
- Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Glynn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rougon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hermitage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hermitage is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
- Lakeland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jarreau
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oscar
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Patin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Patin is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patin
- Ventress
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dupont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Roads
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Livonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fordoche
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lottie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Helena Parish
- Grangeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grangeville is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangeville
- Saint Landry Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Krotz Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Melville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Half Moon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- West Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Saint Francisville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bains
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
- Converse ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Wakefield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rogillioville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rogillioville is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogillioville
- Weyanoke
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Tunica
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smithfield, see our Parish-by-Parish 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.
- Alford Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Greater Shiloh Missionary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Allendale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Westover Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Catherine Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Benevolent Society Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Silvery Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Nickwack Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Barnes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Glennon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cain Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Mark Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (239 more) ...
- St. Ambrose Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Southern Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Chenal Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Smithfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smithfield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Devalls
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Arbroth
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Lobdell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lobdell is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- Irene
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Irene is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
- Lakeland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Port Allen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Baker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Baker is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <1>
- Port Hudson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
- Waterloo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Waterloo is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Anchor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Anchor is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Baton Rouge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zachary
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zachary is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zachary <1>
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Brusly Landing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Brusly Landing is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brusly Landing
- Ventress
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rosedale
(12 miles [19.3 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 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 100 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 10 miles [16.1 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 begin with 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:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to West Baton Rouge Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Ascension Parish
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- East Feliciana Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Livingston Parish
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- Saint Helena Parish
- Saint Landry Parish
- West Feliciana Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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> | 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- Smithfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |