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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Smithville is located in Worcester County.
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).
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:
- Worcester County (The home county of Smithville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Heald Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Heald Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heald Village
- Oakham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,950 people
- Barre Plains
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- South Barre
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- South Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Barre
- Barre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,574 people
- Mill Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- North Rutland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Rutland
- Rutland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,024 people
- Wheelwright
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wheelwright is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- Hubbardston Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbardston Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston Station
- Hubbardston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbardston is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,811 people
- New Braintree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Braintree is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Braintree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Millington ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- New Salem
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- Cooleyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- Morse Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- Orange
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Shutesbury
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shutesbury is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shutesbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,753 people
- North Orange
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Tully
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tully is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
- Wendell Depot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- Wendell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Locks Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Locks Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
- Hampden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- West Brimfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
- Brimfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brimfield is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
- Thorndike
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Thorndike is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
- Palmer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Palmer is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,174 people
- Tenneyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
- Three Rivers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Three Rivers is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
- Holland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Holland is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
- Wales
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wales is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,862 people
- Monson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Monson is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,750 people
- Ludlow City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ludlow City is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow City
- North Wilbraham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilbraham
- Ludlow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ludlow is located in Hampden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,101 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Ware
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Pelham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
- Belchertown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
- Bondsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
- West Pelham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- West Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelham
- East Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- East Village is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Amherst Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Amherst Center is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Center
- Amherst
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,643 people
- South Amherst
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amherst
- North Amherst
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Amherst is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Amherst
- Granby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Granby is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,262 people
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Ashby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- Shaker Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- South Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Old City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Old City is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- Shirley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hudson is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
- Devens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Devens is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devens
- Townsend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,448 people
- West Townsend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
- Marlborough Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Marlborough Junction is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough Junction
- Marlborough
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Marlborough is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,290 people
- Ayer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ayer is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,211 people
- Tolland County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- State Line
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Staffordville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Stafford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windham County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Fabyan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Quinebaug
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- East Woodstock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- North Grosvenor Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,371 people
- Woodstock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,834 people
- East Thompson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Thompson
- Grosvenor Dale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Woodstock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Woodstock
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Rindge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- West Rindge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Fitzwilliam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Richmond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jaffrey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Troy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Hillsborough County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- New Ipswich
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Greenville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mason
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
- Sharon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sharon is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
- Brookline
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
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.
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 Smithville - one of the links might be able to help.
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.
- Coldbrook Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- West Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oakham Center Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Parker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Parker Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Valley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kendall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Joyce Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Southwest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (430 more) ...
- South Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the South Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southeast of Oakham.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91721 <3>
- Green Hollow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Goose Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
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 120 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Coldbrook Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Coldbrook Springs is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldbrook Springs
- Barre Plains
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Barre Plains is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Plains
- Oakham
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,950 people
- Barre
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Barre is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,574 people
- West Rutland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rutland
- North Rutland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Rutland
- Williamsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Williamsville is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
- Rutland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rutland is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,024 people
- Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace
- New Braintree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Braintree is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Braintree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,020 people
- Muschopauge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Muschopauge is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muschopauge
- Hubbardston Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbardston Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston Station
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Hubbardston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hubbardston is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbardston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,811 people
- Princeton Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Princeton Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Station
- Hardwick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hardwick is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,047 people
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 170 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 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. 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 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 Smithville:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Tolland County
- Windham County
- Cheshire County
- Hillsborough County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smithville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.
When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.
|
| <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. |