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 Smyrna (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 Smyrna. 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 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.
Smyrna is located in Copiah County.
To see how the shape of Mississippi's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Copiah County: Claiborne, Hinds, Lawrence, Lincoln, Rankin & Simpson.
Below are the counties that are near Smyrna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smyrna:
- Copiah County (The home county of Smyrna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Glancy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Glancy is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glancy
- Hazlehurst
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Martinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Martinsville is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Bowerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bowerton is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerton
- Sardis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sardis is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
- Crystal Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beauregard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beauregard is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Allen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Allen is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Wesson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Carpenter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenter is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Myles
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Myles is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myles
- Hopewell
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hopewell is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Claiborne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Carlisle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Carlisle is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Saint Elmo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Elmo is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Rocky Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Springs is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Springs
- Willows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Willows is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
- Port Gibson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Ingleside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ingleside is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- McCall Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Eddiceton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eddiceton is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddiceton
- Hinds County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Bear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bear Creek is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Thompsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Thompsonville is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Utica
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Adams
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Adams is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Terry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Learned
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Midway
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Midway is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Palestine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Palestine is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Cayuga
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cayuga is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga
- Oakley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oakley is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
- Byram
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Newman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Newman is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newman
- Jefferson County
- Red Lick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Red Lick is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lick
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Tryus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tryus is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryus
- Nola
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nola is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nola
- Rosella
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rosella is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosella
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- New Sight
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Sight is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sight
- Montgomery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Montgomery is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Caseyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Caseyville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caseyville
- Brookhaven
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cobbs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cobbs is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbs
- Wellman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wellman is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellman
- Rankin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Alonzo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alonzo is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alonzo
- Clear Branch
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Branch is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Whites
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whites is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whites
- King
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- King is located in Rankin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Florence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smyrna, see our County-by-County Page for Smyrna.
Cemeteries Near Smyrna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smyrna.
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 Smyrna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smyrna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Smyrna Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Wade Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pleasant Ridge UMC Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the west of Hazlehurst.
- The Pleasant Ridge UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pleasant Ridge Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2277119 <3>
- Tabernacle Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Deaton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ellington - Redus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellington - Redus Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ellington - Redus Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the southwest of Hazlehurst.
- The Ellington - Redus Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ellington Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #59152 <3>
- Pine Bluff Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Antioch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hazlehurst Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (279 more) ...
- Damascus Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edwards Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Smyrna in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smyrna.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
- Gallatin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Gallatin is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallatin
- Browns Wells
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Browns Wells is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Wells
- Hazlehurst
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Barlow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Barlow is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Bowerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bowerton is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerton
- Martinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Martinsville is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Gallman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gallman is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallman
- Allen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Allen is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Beauregard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beauregard is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Crystal Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wesson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bear Creek is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Thompsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Thompsonville is located in Hinds County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Ashley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ashley is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley
- Carpenter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carpenter is located in Copiah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smyrna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smyrna.
Newspapers Published in Smyrna ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smyrna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smyrna, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smyrna.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Smyrna:
- Websites specific to Mississippi
- Pages specific to Copiah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Claiborne County
- Franklin County
- Hinds County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln County
- Rankin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Mississippi
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- Smyrna) 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> | 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 Smyrna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |