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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 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 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 and doctors 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.

Smithfield is located in Jasper 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 Jasper County: Cherokee (KS), Crawford (KS), Barton, Dade, Lawrence & Newton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Smithfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Klondike
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Carl Junction
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Dupont ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Thoms
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Airport Drive
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Airport Drive is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
    • Waco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Waco is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
    • Central City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Central City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Lone Elm
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Asbury
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Iron Gates
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Iron Gates is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gates
    • Joplin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakland Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakland Park is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Nashville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mindenmines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Oakton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Burgess
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Burgess is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgess
      • Estimated population in 2017: 54 people
    • Liberal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Liberal is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
    • Lamar Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lamar Heights is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
    • Lamar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kenoma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • McDonald County
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Grand Falls Plaza
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Grand Falls Plaza is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Falls Plaza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Cliff Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliff Village is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Dennis Acres
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Dennis Acres is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Shoal Creek Drive
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Drive is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Leawood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Redings Mill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Redings Mill is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redings Mill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Silver Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver Creek is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
    • Loma Linda
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Loma Linda is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
    • Saginaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Spring City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Spring City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
    • Diamond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Cherokee County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Badger
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Lawton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Empire City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
    • Crestline
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • East Galena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Galena
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • South Galena
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
    • Riverton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Quaker
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lowell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lowell is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell has also been known as:
      • Lowell Station
    • Neutral
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxter Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Baxter Junction is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter Junction
  • Crawford County (KS)
  • Labette County (KS)
  • Ottawa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
    • Hockerville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Peoria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Peoria is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Lincolnville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Picher ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Quapaw
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cardin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Commerce
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Miami
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • North Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Ottawa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Miami
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyandotte
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Dotyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dotyville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotyville

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithfield had a population of 150 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

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 83 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 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. 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 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 Smithfield:

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 Smithfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smithfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.