Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Smiley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Smiley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Smiley, please Contact Us.
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 Smiley (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 Smiley. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Smiley is historic, it would have been located within present day Paulding County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Paulding County: Allen (IN), Defiance, Putnam & Van Wert.
Below are the counties that are near Smiley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smiley:
- Paulding County (The home county of Smiley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Payne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McGill ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- McGill is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGill
- Batson ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Batson is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- Worstville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Antwerp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Folmer ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Folmer is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folmer
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Dague ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dague is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dague
- Haviland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Haviland is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
- Latty
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Latty is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
- Link ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Link is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Delphos
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Landeck
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Landeck is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landeck
- Defiance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Hicksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sherwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Brunersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Defiance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Williamstown is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Ayersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Mercer County
- Rockford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Hartsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Cloverdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Dupont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ottoville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Muntanna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Muntanna is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
- Continental
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fort Jennings
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kieferville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Van Wert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Dixon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Convoy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Scott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hoaglin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Van Wert
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wren
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Glenmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Glenmore is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Abanaka
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Abanaka is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanaka
- Schumm
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Schumm is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schumm
- Willshire
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Middle Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ohio City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Williams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Edgerton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Melbern
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Melbern is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Denmark is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Bryan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adams County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Decatur
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Preble
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Magley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Magley is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Coppess Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Coppess Corner is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppess Corner
- Monroe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Honduras
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Honduras is located in Adams County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honduras
- Berne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Allen County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Edgerton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Woodburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zulu
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zulu is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Dixon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dixon is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Monroeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harlan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Haven
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Grabill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hacienda Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- Hoagland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leo-Cedarville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Leo-Cedarville is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leo-Cedarville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,882 people
- Leo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Spencerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Concord
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- New Era
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Moore
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Butler
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Garrett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Altona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Waterloo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Corunna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Corunna is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Noble County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Laotto
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ege
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ege is located in Noble County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Avilla
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wells County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Ossian
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Tocsin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Craigville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Craigville is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Zanesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- North Oaks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Uniondale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vera Cruz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vera Cruz is located in Wells County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vera Cruz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
- Bluffton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitley County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Dunfee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Churubusco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smiley, see our County-by-County Page for Smiley.
Cemeteries Near Smiley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smiley.
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 Smiley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smiley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Lehman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wiltsie Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sugar Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Snellenbarger Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dealey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Diehl Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- McNeal Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Banks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (306 more) ...
- Maumee Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hoffman Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blue Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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.
Smiley itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 108 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smiley, with the one closest to Smiley listed first.
- Edgerton
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Payne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Batson ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Batson is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batson
- Woodburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Zulu
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zulu is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zulu
- Worstville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Worstville is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worstville
- Tipton ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Antwerp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Monroeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dixon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dixon is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
- Maples
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maples is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maples
- Folmer ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Folmer is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folmer
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Harlan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Link ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Link is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smiley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smiley.
Newspapers Published in Smiley ...
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 127 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smiley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smiley, 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 Smiley.
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 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 Smiley:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Paulding County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Defiance County
- Mercer County
- Putnam County
- Van Wert County
- Williams County
- Adams County
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- Noble County
- Wells County
- Whitley County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Smiley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smiley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |