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 Smithville (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 Smithville. 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 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.
Smithville is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Cecil (MD), Harford (MD), Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon & York.
Below are the counties that are near Smithville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smithville:
- Lancaster County (The home county of Smithville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Herrville
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Herrville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrville
- Refton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Refton is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refton
- Union
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Union is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- New Providence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Truce
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Truce is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truce
- Willow Street
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Buck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Buck is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Lampeter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Nebo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Nebo is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Nebo
- Conestoga
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Danville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Danville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Danville
- Colemanville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Colemanville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colemanville
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Adamstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Adamstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Adamstown has also been known as:
- Adamschteddel
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adamstown <1>
- Morgantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghenyville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghenyville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghenyville
- New Morgan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Morgan is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Morgan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 76 people
- Joanna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Joanna is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joanna
- Kenneys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kenneys is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneys
- Plowville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Plowville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plowville
- Angelica
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Angelica is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelica
- Beckersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beckersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckersville
- Mohnton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tallowyck
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Tallowyck is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallowyck
- Freemanville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Freemanville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freemanville
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Atglen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mount Vernon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Tweedale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tweedale is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tweedale
- Glen Roy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Roy is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Roy
- Lenover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lenover is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenover
- Hopewell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Parkesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Compass
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Barnsley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Barnsley is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnsley
- Oxford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Chrome
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chrome is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrome
- Dauphin County
- Bachmanville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Johnstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Miners Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Mount Gretna Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Burd Coleman Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Schaefferstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Colebrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Lawn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Gretna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Cornwall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Quentin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Fontana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Goram
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Goram is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goram
- Airville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kyleville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kyleville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyleville
- Slab
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Slab is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
- Castle Fin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Castle Fin is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Fin
- New Bridgeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- New Bridgeville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridgeville
- Slate Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Slate Hill is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Hill
- Bruce
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bruce is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Bryansville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bryansville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryansville
- Susquehanna Trails
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Susquehanna Trails is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susquehanna Trails
- Craley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Craley is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craley
- Delta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- New Castle County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Southwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Southwood is located in New Castle County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwood
- York Towne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- York Towne is located in New Castle County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Towne
- Hockessin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- North Star
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- North Star is located in New Castle County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Star
- Vintage Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Vintage Village is located in New Castle County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Village
- Baltimore County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Gorsuch Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gorsuch Mills is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorsuch Mills
- Maryland Line
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Maryland Line is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland Line
- Shane
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shane is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shane
- Trump
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Trump is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trump
- Freeland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Stablersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stablersville is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stablersville
- Walker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Walker is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Parkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- White Hall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eklo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Eklo is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eklo
- Monkton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cecil County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Bald Friar ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Bald Friar is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Friar
- Rock Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rock Springs is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Oakwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Conowingo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mason Dixon Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Dixon Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Dixon Village
- Rising Sun
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sylmar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sylmar is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylmar
- Liberty Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Liberty Grove is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Rowlandsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rowlandsville is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowlandsville
- Colora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert
- Winchester Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winchester Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Village
- Harford County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Cambria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cambria is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Whiteford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pylesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Conowingo Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Conowingo Village is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conowingo Village
- Dublin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Dublin is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Poole
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Poole is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poole
- Scarboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Scarboro is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarboro
- Street
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Darlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Glenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glenville is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenville
- Stafford ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Stafford is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
- Chestnut Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Hill is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Montgomery County (MD)
- High Point Estates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- High Point Estates is located in Montgomery County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point Estates
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smithville, see our County-by-County Page for Smithville.
Cemeteries Near Smithville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithville.
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 Smithville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smithville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Marticville UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- New Providence Church of God Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Conestoga UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conestoga UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Conestoga UMC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Conestoga.
- The Conestoga UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Conestoga Methodist Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2264305 <2>
- Christ Covenant Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Catherines Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Conestoga Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conestoga Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Conestoga Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Lancaster.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44619 <2>
- Riverview Burial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Burial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Riverview Burial Park is a very large cemetery that is located in Lancaster.
- The Riverview Burial Park has also been known as:
- Riverview Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1542536 <2>
- Drumore Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cedar Lawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (319 more) ...
- Greenwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Woodward Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Degel Israel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smithville had a population of 163 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
- Herrville
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Herrville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrville
- Refton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Refton is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Refton
- Truce
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Truce is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truce
- New Providence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Baumgardner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baumgardner is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baumgardner
- Lime Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lime Valley is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Valley
- Rawlinsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rawlinsville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rawlinsville
- Buck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Buck is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Willow Street
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Willow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Willow is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Willow
- Mount Nebo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Nebo is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Nebo
- Camargo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Camargo is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lampeter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Conestoga
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Colemanville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Colemanville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colemanville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smithville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smithville.
Newspapers Published in Smithville ...
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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithville, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithville.
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 Smithville:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lancaster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Chester County
- Dauphin County
- Lebanon County
- York County
- New Castle County
- Baltimore County
- Cecil County
- Harford County
- Montgomery 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Smithville) 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 Smithville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |