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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 Smithwick (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 Smithwick. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Smithwick is located in Burnet 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 Burnet County: Bell, Blanco, Lampasas, Llano, San Saba, Travis & Williamson.

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

  • Burnet County     (The home county of Smithwick)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Spicewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
      • Mormon Mill has also been known as:
      • Mormon Colony
    • Marble Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Meadowlakes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Meadowlakes is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,733 people
    • Oatmeal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Shovel Mountain
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
    • Cottonwood Shores
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bertram
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Burnet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Granite Shoals
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Highland Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Highland Haven is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Haven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
    • Silver Creek Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Silver Creek Village is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek Village
    • Briggs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Blanco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Cypress Mill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Round Mountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnson City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Blowout
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Blowout is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blowout
  • Hays County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Fitzhugh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
    • Dripping Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Henly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Henly is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
    • Mount Gainor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Mount Gainor is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gainor
    • Bear Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Creek is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
      • Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
    • Driftwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Llano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Horseshoe Bay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sunrise Beach Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Kingsland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Buchanan Dam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Click ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Click is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Click
    • Buchanan Lake Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bluffton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Tow
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lone Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lone Grove is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Grove
  • Travis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Lago Vista
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Briarcliff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Nameless ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Nameless is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
      • Nameless has also been known as:
      • Cross Creek
      • Fairview
    • Jonestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Point Venture
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Point Venture is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Venture
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,053 people
      • Point Venture has also been known as:
      • Point Venture village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Venture <1>
    • Buffalo Gap
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hudson Bend
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hudson Bend is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Bend
    • Volente
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • The Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • The Hills is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,456 people
    • Lakeway
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bee Cave
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Barton Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Barton Creek is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Creek
    • Lost Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lost Creek is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithwick, with the one closest to Smithwick listed first.
    • Liberty Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Leander
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Leander is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leander <1>
    • Cedar Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Anderson Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
    • Jollyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jollyville is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville
    • Andice
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Brushy Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Brushy Creek is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
    • Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
    • Round Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sun City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sun City is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun City
    • Georgetown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Serenada
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Serenada is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
    • Florence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Smithwick ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithwick.

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

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

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

  • Smithwick Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Richland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Holloway Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Pangle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Burnam Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockvale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Richter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fowler Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hensel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Haynie Flat Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (115 more) ...
    • Post Oak Bend Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mormon Mill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Konvicka Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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 Smithwick had a population of 79 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Marble Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Shovel Mountain
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
  • Sudduth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sudduth is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudduth
  • Fairland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairland is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
  • Cypress Mill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bertram
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Round Mountain
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Burnet
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Liberty Hill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Volente
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Leander
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Leander is located in Williamson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,519 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leander <1>
  • Cedar Park
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mahomet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mahomet is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahomet
    • Sandy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnson City
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Smithwick. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smithwick.

Newspapers Published in Smithwick ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithwick.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithwick, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithwick.

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 Smithwick:

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 Smithwick, 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- Smithwick) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.