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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 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 Nuckolls County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Nuckolls County: Jewell (KS), Republic (KS), Clay, Fillmore, Thayer & Webster.

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:

  • Nuckolls County     (The home county of Smyrna)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Nelson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Nora
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Nora is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Superior
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Ruskin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Hardy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak <1>
    • Angus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
    • Lawrence
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sedan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sedan is located in Nuckolls County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedan
  • Adams County
    • Ayr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ayr is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <1>
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Deweese
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Edgar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Fairfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Ong
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clay Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Glenvil
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Verona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Verona is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
  • Fillmore County
    • Shickley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Thayer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Byron
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Deshler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Davenport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Chester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Stoddard ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Stoddard is located in Thayer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
    • Carleton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hebron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Belvidere
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Bruning
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Guide Rock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Pawnee Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Pawnee Village is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee Village
    • Rosemont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosemont is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
    • Amboy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Amboy is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amboy
    • Cowles
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Cowles is located in Webster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Blue Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Cloud
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Inavale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jewell County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Webber
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Webber is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webber <1>
    • Burr Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Burr Oak is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Formoso
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Formoso is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Formoso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Montrose
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Montrose is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose
      • Former name for Montrose:
      • Delta
    • Mankato
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Esbon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Esbon is located in Jewell County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esbon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Esbon <1>
  • Republic County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • White Rock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • White Rock is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • Republic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Republic is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Sherdahl
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sherdahl is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherdahl
    • Courtland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Scandia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Scandia is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scandia <1>
    • Kackley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Kackley is located in Republic County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kackley
    • Belleville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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.

  • Salem Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Superior.
    • The Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Evergreen Memorial Cemetery
    • Superior Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1290980 <2>
  • Ladies Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Nora Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Beulah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley View Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Valley View Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southeast of Superior.
    • The Valley View Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Wilson Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2320687 <2>
  • Oxbow Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Columbia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Olive Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Oak Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Beaver Creek Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (133 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Smyrna had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Cadams
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Cadams is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadams
  • Nelson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Nora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Nora is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
  • Superior
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Bostwick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bostwick is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bostwick
  • Mount Clare
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Clare is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Clare
  • Hardy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Ruskin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Warwick
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Warwick is located in Republic County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
  • Oak
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak <1>
  • Webber
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Webber is located in Jewell County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webber <1>
  • Angus
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Angus is located in Nuckolls County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Guide Rock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Lawrence
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Deweese
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)

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 89 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 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. 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 first visit 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 Smyrna:

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>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- Smyrna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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.