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 Valley (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 Valley. 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 Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Smith Valley: Smith Vly. (or less commonly used: Smith Vally. or Smith Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Smith Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Smith Valley.
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 northeast 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 north.
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 north 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 Valley is located in Schuyler County.
To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Schuyler County: Chemung, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins & Yates.
Below are the counties that are near Smith Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smith Valley:
- Schuyler County (The home county of Smith Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Cayutaville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cayutaville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayutaville
- Mecklenburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bennettsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bennettsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsburg
- Perry City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Odessa
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Burdett
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Logan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Logan is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Alpine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Catharine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Catharine is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Montour Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Watkins Glen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Watkins Glen is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
- Former names for Watkins Glen:
- Jefferson
- Salubria
- Watkins
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watkins Glen <1>
- Searsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Searsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
- Hector
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cayuga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Atwaters
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Atwaters is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwaters
- Black Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Black Rock is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Rock
- Ledyard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ledyard is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledyard
- Willets
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Willets is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willets
- East Genoa
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Genoa is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Genoa
- Aurora
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Poplar Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Locke
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sherwood is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Scipioville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Scipioville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipioville
- Montville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
- Moravia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summer Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Summer Hill is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Hill
- Summer Hill has also been known as:
- Plato
- Chemung County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Millport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sullivanville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Sullivanville is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivanville
- Erin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Post Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Post Creek is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Creek
- Horseheads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Village is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Van Etten
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elmira Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Big Flats
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elmira
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Elmira
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- West Elmira is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Elmira
- Owens Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Owens Mills is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens Mills
- Cortland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Harford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Harford Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Harford Mills is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harford Mills
- Munsons Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Munsons Corners is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munsons Corners
- Ontario County
- Billsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Billsboro is located in Ontario County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billsboro
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Interlaken
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Interlaken is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
- Former names for Interlaken:
- Farmer Village
- Farmer
- Farmerville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Interlaken <1>
- Lodi
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kidders
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kidders is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidders
- Ovid
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Willard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Romulus
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- East Varick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- East Varick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
- Kuneytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kuneytown is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuneytown
- Canoga
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Canoga is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Hornby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hornby is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
- Bradford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Keuka
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Keuka is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
- South Bradford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- South Bradford is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradford
- Catawba
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Catawba is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
- Sonora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Sonora is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
- Urbana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Urbana is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
- South Pulteney
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Pulteney is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pulteney
- Corning
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Campbell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Campbell is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Campbell
- Painted Post
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
- Hammondsport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Tioga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- North Spencer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Spencer is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spencer
- Spencer
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- West Candor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Candor is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Candor
- Candor
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lockwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hamar Estates
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hamar Estates is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamar Estates
- West Newark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Newark is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newark
- Waverly
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Barton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weltonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weltonville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weltonville
- Tompkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Newfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Trumansburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Taughannock Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Taughannock Falls is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taughannock Falls
- Willow Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Creek is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Ithaca
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- South Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- South Hill is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
- West Danby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- West Danby is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Danby
- Cayuga Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cayuga Heights is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
- Danby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Danby is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danby
- East Ithaca
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- East Ithaca is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ithaca
- Myers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Myers is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
- Forest Home
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Forest Home is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- Yates County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Glenora
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glenora is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
- Dundee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Himrod
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barrington
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Barrington is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Dresden
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca Mills is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca Mills
- Keuka Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Yan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Angus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Angus is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
- Benton Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Benton Center is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Center
- Yatesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yatesville is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Bellona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford County (PA)
- Fassett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fassett is located in Bradford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fassett
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smith Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Smith Valley.
Cemeteries Near Smith Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smith Valley.
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 Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smith Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- County Line Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- McIntyre Settlement Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mecklenburg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bennetsburg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Connecticut Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Reynoldsville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carman Road Quaker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rumsey Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (394 more) ...
- Christian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Burdett Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Coe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Smith Valley had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smith Valley, with the one closest to Smith Valley listed first.
- Cayutaville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cayutaville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayutaville
- Reynoldsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Mecklenburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bennettsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bennettsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsburg
- Odessa
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Trumbull Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Trumbull Corners is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trumbull Corners
- Perry City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Burdett
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alpine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Logan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Logan is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Watkins Glen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Watkins Glen is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
- Former names for Watkins Glen:
- Jefferson
- Salubria
- Watkins
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watkins Glen <1>
- Catharine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Catharine is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Waterburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Waterburg is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterburg
- East Steamburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- East Steamburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Steamburg
- Wedgewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wedgewood is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wedgewood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smith Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smith Valley.
Newspapers Published in Smith Valley ...
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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smith Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smith Valley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smith Valley.
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 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 Valley:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Schuyler County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cayuga County
- Chemung County
- Cortland County
- Ontario County
- Seneca County
- Steuben County
- Tioga County
- Tompkins County
- Yates County
- Bradford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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> | 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 Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Smith Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |