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 Smiths Bend (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 Bend. 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 Bend ...
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 Bend: Smiths Bnd.
- While the name of this community is Smiths Bend, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Smiths Bend may originally have been Smith's Bend.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Smiths Bend might be written as Smith Bend.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Smiths Bend is located in Bosque County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bosque County: Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Johnson, McLennan & Somervell.
Below are the counties that are near Smiths Bend. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smiths Bend:
- Bosque County (The home county of Smiths Bend)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Laguna Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Greenock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenock is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Cayote
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cayote is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
- Womack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Womack is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
- Valley Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lakeside Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeside Village is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
- Kopperl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kimball
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Kimball is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
- Meridian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Morgan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Norse
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Norse is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Coryell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Coryell is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryell
- McGregor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Turnersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Turnersville is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Oglesby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis County
- Milford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Tyson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tyson is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
- Aquilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Whitney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Peoria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peoria is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Abbott
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Huron ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Huron is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Chatt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chatt is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
- Hillsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bynum
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lovelace
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lovelace is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelace
- Blum
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Carl's Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Parker
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Parker is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Rio Vista
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Limestone County
- Watt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Watt is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
- McLennan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Patrick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Gholson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gholson is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
- Rock Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- West
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- China Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Ross
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tours
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Tours is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tours
- Bosqueville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
- Elm Mott
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leroy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Northcrest
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Northcrest is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northcrest
- Lacy - Lakeview
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smiths Bend, see our County-by-County Page for Smiths Bend.
Cemeteries Near Smiths Bend ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smiths Bend.
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 Bend - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smiths Bend covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Lebanon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Smiths Bend - Coon Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Prairie Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prairie Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney - Towash Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Wortham Bend Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Scotts Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Vaughan Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Yates Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bethlehem Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Gholson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (144 more) ...
- Patrick Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Patrick Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northwest of Waco.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5907 <4>
- Bold Springs Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- National Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
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>
While we didn't find Smiths Bend in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smiths Bend.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smiths Bend, with the one closest to Smiths Bend listed first.
- Tyson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tyson is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
- Greenock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Greenock is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Aquilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Whitney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cayote
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cayote is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
- Vaughan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Vaughan is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughan
- Patrick
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- Gholson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gholson is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
- Peoria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peoria is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Womack
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Womack is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
- China Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- West
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Ross
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Abbott
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Valley Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smiths Bend. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smiths Bend.
Newspapers Published in Smiths Bend ...
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 142 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smiths Bend.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smiths Bend, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smiths Bend.
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 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 Smiths Bend:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Bosque County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Coryell County
- Ellis County
- Hill County
- Johnson County
- Limestone County
- McLennan County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Smiths Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Smiths Bend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |