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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 Smyrna (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 Smyrna. 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 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.

Smyrna is located in Rutherford 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 Rutherford County: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson, Marshall, Williamson & Wilson.

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

  • Rutherford County     (The home county of Smyrna)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Jefferson Pike
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jefferson Pike is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Pike
      • Estimated population in 2014: 8,370 people
    • La Vergne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Morrow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Morrow is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrow
      • Estimated population in 2014: 29,304 people
    • Colonial Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Murphree
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Murphree is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphree
      • Estimated population in 2014: 120,954 people
    • Jamestown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jamestown is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,940 people
    • Leanna
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Walter Hill Estates
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Walter Hill Estates is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walter Hill Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 401 people
    • Walterhill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Snell ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Snell is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
    • Fairfield Estates
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairfield Estates is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 131 people
    • Compton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Murfreesboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Longview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Unionville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Vannatta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Vannatta is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannatta
      • Estimated population in 2014: 398 people
    • Bell Buckle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Anchor Mill ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Cannon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Auburntown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Auburntown is located in Cannon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburntown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Bradyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Burt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Burgen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gassaway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hollow Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollow Springs is located in Cannon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 706 people
  • Cheatham County
    • Doziers ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Doziers is located in Cheatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doziers
      • Estimated population in 2014: 543 people
  • Coffee County
  • Davidson County
  • DeKalb County
  • Marshall County
  • Maury County
    • New Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • New Town is located in Maury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Brush Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Shaver Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaver Town is located in Smith County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaver Town
  • Sumner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyrna, with the one closest to Smyrna listed first.
    • Driftwood Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Driftwood Park is located in Sumner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driftwood Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,908 people
    • Hendersonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Goodlettsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shackle Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Shackle Island is located in Sumner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shackle Island
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 2,844 people
    • Gallatin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Ocana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Ocana is located in Sumner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocana
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,086 people
    • Station Camp ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Station Camp is located in Sumner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Station Camp
    • Trousdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Trousdale is located in Sumner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trousdale
    • Millersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Williamson County
  • Wilson County

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

Cemeteries Near Smyrna ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smyrna.

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 Smyrna - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smyrna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Smyrna had a population of 201 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Smyrna had a population of 53,185 people.

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

  • La Vergne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rocky Fork
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rocky Fork is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
  • Kimbro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kimbro is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbro
  • Mount View
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount View is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount View
  • Brooklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Brooklin is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
  • Nolensville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Couchville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Couchville is located in Davidson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couchville
  • Almaville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Almaville is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almaville
  • Walterhill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Vesta
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Vesta is located in Wilson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
  • Snell ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Snell is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
    • Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
  • Rural Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Smyrna ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smyrna.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Smyrna. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Smyrna and those printed in the larger area surrounding Smyrna.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> of Smyrna.

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 Smyrna:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smyrna) 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 Smyrna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.