Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Smiths Fork. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Smiths Fork to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Smiths Fork, 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 Smiths Fork (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 Smiths Fork. 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 Smiths Fork ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Smiths Fork: Smiths Frk.
- While the name of this community is Smiths Fork, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<2>. So Smiths Fork may originally have been Smith's Fork.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Smiths Fork might be written as Smith Fork.
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.
Although our information shows that the community of Smiths Fork is historic, it would have been located within present day Hardin County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hardin County: Lauderdale (AL), Tishomingo (MS), Chester, Decatur, Henderson, McNairy & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Smiths Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smiths Fork:
- Hardin County (The home county of Smiths Fork)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Centerview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Centerview is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerview
- Estimated population in 2014: 244 people
- Paulks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Paulks is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulks
- Swift
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swift is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,874 people
- Johnson Ford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Johnson Ford is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 65,813 people
- Belle Meade
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Belle Meade is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Meade
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,017 people
- New Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- New Town is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Savannah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lowryville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lowryville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowryville
- Saltillo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saltillo is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Sibley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sibley is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
- Bruton Branch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bruton Branch is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruton Branch
- Crump
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Milledgeville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Milledgeville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
- Enville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Enville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
- Sweet Lips
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sweet Lips is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Lips
- Jacks Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Decatur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Dunbar
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dunbar is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbar
- Pleasant Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 566 people
- Scotts Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Decaturville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Lebanon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Lebanon is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,387 people
- Parsons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Sardis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Reagan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Darden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Darden is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darden
- Population from the 2010 Census: 399 people
- Rhodes Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rhodes Town is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Town
- Chesterfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chesterfield is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Population from the 2010 Census: 469 people
- Middle Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Middle Fork is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Fork
- McNairy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Adamsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leapwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Leapwood is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leapwood
- Stantonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Stantonville is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stantonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Tulu
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tulu is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulu
- Estimated population in 2014: 18,899 people
- Michie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Purdy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Purdy is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Caffey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Caffey is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caffey
- Eastview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Eastview is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
- Bethel Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Falcon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Falcon is located in McNairy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon
- Selmer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Flatwoods
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Linden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mousetail ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mousetail is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mousetail
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Clifton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lutts
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sorby ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sorby is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
- Waynesboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Collinwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Slickrock Ford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slickrock Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 179 people
- Cypress Inn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Ashland Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland Ford is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Ford
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,674 people
- Corning ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Corning is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Colbert County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Crows Camp ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Crows Camp is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crows Camp
- Chickasaw ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chickasaw is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chickasaw
- Riverton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Riverton is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Caryton ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Caryton is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caryton
- Doubleheads Village ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Doubleheads Village is located in Colbert County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleheads Village
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Haddock ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Haddock is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddock
- Waterloo
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Threet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Threet is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Threet
- Cloverdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Zip City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Zip City is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zip City
- Tishomingo County (MS)
- Short
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Short is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smiths Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Smiths Fork.
Cemeteries Near Smiths Fork ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smiths Fork.
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 Smiths Fork - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smiths Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Union Chapel North Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hames Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bailey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Vanbidder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Franks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jerrolds Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jowers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dickey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jerrold Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Piney Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lacefield Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (783 more) ...
- Lacefield Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Patterson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Olive Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
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.
Smiths Fork itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smiths Fork, with the one closest to Smiths Fork listed first.
- Olivehill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Olivehill is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivehill
- Cerro Gordo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cerro Gordo is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
- Paulks ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Paulks is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paulks
- Economy ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Economy is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Martins Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Martins Mills is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Mills
- Swift
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Swift is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,874 people
- Gillises Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Gillises Mills is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillises Mills
- Houston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Houston is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Savannah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Clifton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Maddox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maddox is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddox
- Lowryville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lowryville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowryville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lutts
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sorby ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sorby is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorby
- Point Pleasant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Point Pleasant is located in Decatur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Pleasant
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smiths Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smiths Fork.
Newspapers Published in Smiths Fork ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smiths Fork.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smiths Fork, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smiths Fork.
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 Smiths Fork:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Hardin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chester County
- Decatur County
- Henderson County
- McNairy County
- Perry County
- Wayne County
- Colbert County
- Lauderdale County
- Tishomingo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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 Smiths Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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- Smiths Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |