Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Smith Ford. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Smith Ford to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Smith Ford, please Contact Us.
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 Ford (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 Ford. 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 Ford ...
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 Ford: Smith Frd.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Smith Ford. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Smith Ford.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Smith Ford is historic, it would have been located within present day Laclede County.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Laclede County: Camden, Dallas, Pulaski, Texas, Webster & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Smith Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smith Ford:
- Laclede County (The home county of Smith Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Eldridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sleeper
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sleeper is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleeper
- Lebanon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brush Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brush Creek is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Phillipsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Conway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Abo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Abo is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abo
- Evergreen
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
- Evergreen has also been known as:
- Evergreen village
- Twin Bridges
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Bridges is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Bridges
- Pease
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pease is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pease
- Falcon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Benton County
- Edwards
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Camden County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- White City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Decaturville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Decaturville is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decaturville
- Roach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Macks Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Camdenton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Linn Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montreal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Old Linn Creek ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Old Linn Creek is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Linn Creek
- Stoutland
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Barnumton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Barnumton is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnumton
- Damsel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Damsel is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damsel
- Climax Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunrise Beach
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Celt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Celt is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
- Leadmine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Leadmine is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadmine
- Westfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Westfield is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
- Windyville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Windyville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windyville
- Tunas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Tunas is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunas
- Long Lane
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Long Lane is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
- Louisburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Louisburg is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Urbana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Buffalo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Charity ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Charity is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Hickory County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Preston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Nemo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Nemo is located in Hickory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
- Cross Timbers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cross Timbers is located in Hickory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Timbers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Pittsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hermitage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Galmey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Galmey is located in Hickory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galmey
- Miller County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Kaiser
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brumley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Lakeland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeland is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland
- Lakeview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in Miller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Bagnell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan County
- Laurie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Goodson
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Goodson is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson
- Sentinel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Sentinel is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
- Former name for Sentinel:
- Sentinel Prairie
- Polk
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Polk is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Halfway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Halfway is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Richland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hawkeye
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Swedeborg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Swedeborg is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedeborg
- Laquey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Laquey is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laquey
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Rader
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rader is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rader
- Elkland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elkland is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkland
- Niangua
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Niangua is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niangua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smith Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Smith Ford.
Cemeteries Near Smith Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith Ford.
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 Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smith Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Turner Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Guthrie Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ballard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barclay Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Berry Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- A.B. Union Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dickerson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mills Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Keith Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Butcher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Winters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wiley Gott Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (263 more) ...
- Bennett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hufft Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.
While we didn't find Smith Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smith Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smith Ford, with the one closest to Smith Ford listed first.
- Celt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Celt is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
- Eldridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Leadmine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Leadmine is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadmine
- Decaturville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Decaturville is located in Camden County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decaturville
- Tilden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tilden is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- Roach
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Macks Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wood Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wood Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Hill
- Lebanon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sleeper
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sleeper is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleeper
- Long Lane
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Long Lane is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
- Almon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Almon is located in Hickory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almon
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Louisburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Louisburg is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Brush Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brush Creek is located in Laclede County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Montreal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smith Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smith Ford.
Newspapers Published in Smith Ford ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith Ford, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith Ford.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Smith Ford:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Laclede County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Camden County
- Dallas County
- Hickory County
- Miller County
- Morgan County
- Polk County
- Pulaski County
- Webster County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smith Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |