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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 Smith Island (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 Smith Island. 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.

Name Variations for Smith Island ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Smith Island: Smith Is. (in Canada, 'Isld.' is the more common abbreviation.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Smith Island is located in Somerset County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Wicomico, Worcester & Accomack (VA).

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Smith Island)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Rhodes Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Rhodes Point is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Point
    • Ewell
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Tylerton
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Crisfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Daugherty Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
    • Lawsonia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Lawsonia is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
    • Wenona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Wenona is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
    • Frenchtown - Rumbly
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Frenchtown - Rumbly is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown - Rumbly
    • Deal Island
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Fairmount
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairmount is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
    • Chance
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Dorchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Crocheron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Crocheron is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crocheron
    • Bishops Head
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Bishops Head is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishops Head
    • Wingate
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Elliott
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Elliott is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
    • Toddville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Toddville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
    • Crapo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Crapo is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crapo
    • Lakesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Lakesville is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesville
    • Fishing Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Andrews
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Andrews is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrews
    • Golden Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Golden Hill is located in Dorchester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hill
  • Saint Mary's County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Scotland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Dameron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dameron is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dameron
    • Gum Landing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Gum Landing is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Landing
    • Saint Marys City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Drayden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Piney Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Great Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lexington Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tall Timbers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley Lee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Valley Lee is located in Saint Mary's County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Lee
  • Wicomico County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Nanticoke
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Nanticoke is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nanticoke
    • Jesterville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jesterville is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesterville
    • Bivalve
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Capitola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Capitola is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitola
    • Tyaskin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Green Hill Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Hill Village is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill Village
    • Allen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Allen is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
    • Twiggs Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Twiggs Corner is located in Wicomico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twiggs Corner
  • Worcester County
    • Pocomoke City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Pocomoke City is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocomoke City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,095 people
      • Former names for Pocomoke City:
      • New Town
      • Stevens Landing
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocomoke City <1>
  • Accomack County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Tangier
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Tangier is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tangier <1>
    • Saxis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Saxis is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
    • Crockett Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Crockett Town is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Town
    • Withams
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Withams is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withams
    • Bloxom
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bloxom is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloxom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloxom <1>
    • Hopeton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hopeton is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeton
    • Onancock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Onancock is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onancock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,205 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Onancock <1>
    • Parksley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitesville is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
    • Groton Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Groton Town is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton Town
    • Hallwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Hallwood is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Greenbush
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenbush is located in Accomack County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbush
  • Lancaster County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Lankford Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lankford Corner is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lankford Corner
    • Kilmarnock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Alfonso
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Alfonso is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfonso
    • Ocran
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ocran is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran
    • Richtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Richtown is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richtown
    • Westland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Westland is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westland
    • Merry Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Merry Point is located in Lancaster County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merry Point
    • Irvington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • White Stone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Northumberland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith Island, with the one closest to Smith Island listed first.
    • Sunnybank
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunnybank is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybank
    • Ophelia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Reedville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fleeton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Fleeton is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleeton
    • Blackwells
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Blackwells is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwells
    • Remo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Remo is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remo
    • Lynhams
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynhams is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynhams
    • Bundick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Bundick is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bundick
    • Coan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Coan is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coan
    • Heathsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Lodge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Lodge is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodge
    • Lara
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lara is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lara
  • Westmoreland County (VA)
    • Kinsale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Smith Island ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith Island.

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 Smith Island - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Calvary UMC Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Asbury Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Mariners Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • New Testament Church Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Canton Ridge Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Sunny Ridge Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • TestShiva Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • A Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Quindocqua Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Fairmount Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 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.<3>

While we didn't find Smith Island in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smith Island.

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

  • Ewell
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Crisfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Tangier
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Tangier is located in Accomack County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangier
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tangier <1>
  • Hopewell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hopewell is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
  • Wenona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wenona is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
  • Fords Wharf ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fords Wharf is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Wharf
  • Fairmount
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairmount is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Deal Island
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Ophelia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Sunnybank
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunnybank is located in Northumberland County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybank
  • Upper Fairmount
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Upper Fairmount is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Fairmount
  • Chance
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tulls Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
    • Dames Quarter
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lilian
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lilian is located in Northumberland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilian

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

Newspapers Published in Smith Island ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith Island.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith Island, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith Island.

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 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 Smith Island:

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>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 Smith Island, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Smith Island) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.