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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 East Smithfield (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 East Smithfield. 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 East Smithfield ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for East Smithfield: E. Smithfield

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

East Smithfield is located in Bradford County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bradford County: Chemung (NY), Tioga (NY), Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga & Wyoming.

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

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

Cemeteries Near East Smithfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Smithfield.

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 East Smithfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Thomas Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thomas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thomas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Turnpike Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turnpike Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turnpike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wetona Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wetona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wetona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Luthers Mills Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Luthers Mills Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Luthers Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Milan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harkness Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harkness Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harkness Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westbrook Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westbrook Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westbrook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leona Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leona Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leona Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ballard Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ballard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ballard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (241 more) ...
    • Gustin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gustin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gustin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sheshequin Valley Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheshequin Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheshequin Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Grover Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grover Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grover Hill 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that East Smithfield had a population of 516 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Hoblet
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoblet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoblet
    • Hoblet is located in Bradford County
  • Riggs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riggs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggs
    • Riggs is located in Bradford County
  • Wetona
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wetona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetona
    • Wetona is located in Bradford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wetona
    • From East Smithfield to Wetona
  • Big Pond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Burlington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Saco
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saco. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
    • Saco is located in Bradford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Saco
    • From East Smithfield to Saco
  • Leona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leona
    • Leona is located in Bradford County
  • Luthers Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ulster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Sheshequin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheshequin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheshequin
    • Sheshequin is located in Bradford County
  • Milan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
    • Milan is located in Bradford County
  • Greenes Landing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenes Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenes Landing
    • Greenes Landing is located in Bradford County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Springfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Springfield is located in Bradford County
    • West Burlington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Burlington
      • West Burlington is located in Bradford County
    • Mountain Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in East Smithfield ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Smithfield.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of East Smithfield, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for East Smithfield.

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 helpful 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 East Smithfield:

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

The official website for Bradford County: www.bradfordcountypa.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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 East Smithfield, 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- East Smithfield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in East Smithfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8644, Longitude: -76.6255    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025