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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 (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. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Smith is located in Lauderdale County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lauderdale County: Choctaw (AL), Sumter (AL), Clarke, Kemper & Newton.

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

  • Lauderdale County     (The home county of Smith)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
    • Russell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lockhart
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lockhart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
      • Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lockhart
      • From Smith to Lockhart
    • Vimville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Whynot
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Marion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Marion is located in Lauderdale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <3>
    • Increase
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Meridian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Bailey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Daleville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Nellieburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nellieburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellieburg
      • Nellieburg is located in Lauderdale County
    • Hookston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hookston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hookston
      • Hookston is located in Lauderdale County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hookston
      • From Smith to Hookston
    • Lost Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lost Gap. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Gap
      • Lost Gap is located in Lauderdale County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lost Gap
      • From Smith to Lost Gap
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
    • Enterprise
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enterprise have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
      • Enterprise is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Enterprise <3>
    • Stonewall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Quitman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quitman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quitman
      • Quitman is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,041 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quitman <3>
  • Kemper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
    • Narkeeta ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Narkeeta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Narkeeta
      • Narkeeta is located in Kemper County
    • Porterville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Sucarnoochee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Electric Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • De Kalb
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rio
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rio have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
      • Rio is located in Kemper County
    • Giles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Scooba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scooba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scooba
      • Scooba is located in Kemper County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scooba <3>
  • Newton County
  • Choctaw County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
    • Cromwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cromwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Choctaw County (AL)
    • Pushmataha
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lisman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jachin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jachin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jachin
      • Jachin is located in Choctaw County (AL)
    • Pelham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Choctaw County (AL)
    • Choctaw City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw City
      • Choctaw City is located in Choctaw County (AL)
    • Butler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Butler is located in Choctaw County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,694 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Butler <3>
    • Pennington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
      • Pennington is located in Choctaw County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
    • Red Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Springs
      • Red Springs is located in Choctaw County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Springs
      • From Smith to Red Springs
    • Cedahoma ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedahoma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedahoma
      • Cedahoma is located in Choctaw County (AL)
    • Lavaca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lavaca. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
      • Lavaca is located in Choctaw County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lavaca
      • From Smith to Lavaca
    • Tompkinsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Greene County (AL)
    • Miller
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller
      • Miller is located in Greene County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Miller
      • From Smith to Miller
  • Sumter County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smith, with the one closest to Smith listed first.
    • Cuba
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • York
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kinterbish
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ward
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
      • Ward is located in Sumter County (AL)
    • Intercourse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Boyd
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Boyd. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
      • Boyd is located in Sumter County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Boyd
      • From Smith to Boyd
    • Derby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bellamy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Livingston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Livingston is located in Sumter County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,135 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Livingston <3>
    • Arrington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrington
      • Arrington is located in Sumter County (AL)
    • Sledge ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sledge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sledge
      • Sledge is located in Sumter County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sledge
      • From Smith to Sledge
    • Whitfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Whitfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield
      • Whitfield is located in Sumter County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Whitfield
      • From Smith to Whitfield

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

Cemeteries Near Smith ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Kelly Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kelly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kelly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Toomsuba Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pigford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pigford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pigford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Pigford Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Pigford Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #61911 <4>
  • Hearn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hearn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hearn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rawson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shamburger Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shamburger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shamburger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pack Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pack Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pack Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Payne Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Payne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Payne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Parker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McMurry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McMurry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McMurry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (252 more) ...
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cagus Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cagus Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cagus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Morning Star Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morning Star Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morning Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

  • Kewanee
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kewanee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kewanee
    • Kewanee is located in Lauderdale County
  • Cuba
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Russell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Dove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dove
    • Dove is located in Sumter County (AL)
  • Lockhart
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lockhart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Lockhart is located in Lauderdale County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lockhart
    • From Smith to Lockhart
  • Topton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Topton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topton
    • Topton is located in Lauderdale County
  • Vimville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Whynot
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Kinterbish
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Tamola
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamola
    • Tamola is located in Kemper County
  • Meridian
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Kemper Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kemper Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kemper Springs
    • Kemper Springs is located in Kemper County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lizelia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lizelia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizelia
      • Lizelia is located in Lauderdale County
    • Enondale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enondale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enondale
      • Enondale is located in Kemper County
    • Bailey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Smith ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith.

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 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:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smith. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lauderdale County: www.lauderdalecounty.org/

The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<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 Smith, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Smith) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smith. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.4233, Longitude: -88.4771    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025