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 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 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.
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 and doctors 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.
Smithfield is located in Fayette County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Smithfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smithfield:
- Fayette County (The home county of Smithfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Haydentown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Haydentown is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Shoaf
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Shoaf is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoaf
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woodside is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Morris Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morris Crossroads is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Highhouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Highhouse is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Hoover
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Atlantic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Atlantic is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Fayette
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fayette is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- New Geneva
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- New Geneva is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Masontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- McClellandtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Point Marion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Allegheny County
- Sunny Side
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Greensboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dilliner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Nemacolin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Dunkard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Ceylon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Cumberland Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Stringtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Fordyce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Mount Morris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Draketown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ursina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Listonburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Blainsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Brownsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- California
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Daisytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Deemston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Coal Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coal Center is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
- Former name for Coal Center:
- Coal Centre
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coal Center <1>
- Centerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- Allenport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Elco
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Speers
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Gibsonton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Scottdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Monessen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Iron Bridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Webster
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Alverton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Mount Joy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Pleasant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Friendsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Hoodsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Pleasant View
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Mount Harmony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Rivesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Canton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Neel ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Neel was located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Barrackville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barrackville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrackville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,270 people
- Fairview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Samaria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Samaria is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Fairmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Baker Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Maidsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Bowlby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Brookhaven
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Morgantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Star City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Granville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Osage
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Westover
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Little Sandy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Masontown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hazelton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Reedsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lenox
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Arthurdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Albright
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smithfield, see our County-by-County Page for Smithfield.
Cemeteries Near Smithfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of 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.
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 Smithfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smithfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Fairchance)
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairchance Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fairchance Veterans Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Little White Rock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Green Dale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ache Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cagey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Agnes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (399 more) ...
- Fletcher Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mountain View Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithfield had a population of 764 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Smithfield had a population of 807 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smithfield, with the one closest to Smithfield listed first.
- Haydentown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Haydentown is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Old Frame
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Old Frame is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Frame
- Morris Crossroads
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morris Crossroads is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woodside is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Highhouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Highhouse is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Oliphant Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Oliphant Furnace is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliphant Furnace
- Fayette
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fayette is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- New Geneva
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- New Geneva is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Winstead
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Winstead is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Dilliner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Point Marion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- McClellandtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Brownfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brownfield is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfield
- Balsinger
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Balsinger is also located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsinger
- Masontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smithfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smithfield.
Newspapers Published in 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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithfield, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithfield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Smithfield:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Marion County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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> | 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 Smithfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Smithfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |