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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 Smyer (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 Smyer. 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 and doctors 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.

Smyer is located in Hockley County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hockley County: Bailey, Cochran, Hale, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Terry & Yoakum.

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

  • Hockley County     (The home county of Smyer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • Opdyke West
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Opdyke West have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opdyke West
      • Opdyke West is located in Hockley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Levelland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Levelland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levelland
      • Levelland is located in Hockley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,497 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Levelland <2>
    • Roundup
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roundup
      • Roundup is located in Hockley County
    • Ropesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Whitharral
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitharral have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitharral
      • Whitharral is located in Hockley County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitharral <2>
    • Anton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anton
      • Anton is located in Hockley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anton <2>
    • Lockettville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockettville
      • Lockettville is located in Hockley County
    • Sundown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sundown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundown
      • Sundown is located in Hockley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,414 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sundown <2>
    • Pep
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pep have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pep
      • Pep is located in Hockley County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pep <2>
  • Cochran County
    • Whiteface
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whiteface have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
      • Whiteface is located in Cochran County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whiteface <2>
  • Hale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • Abernathy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cotton Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Center
      • Cotton Center is located in Hale County
  • Lamb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • Spade
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spade
      • Spade is located in Lamb County
    • Littlefield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littlefield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlefield
      • Littlefield is located in Lamb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,755 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Littlefield <2>
    • Hart Camp ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart Camp
      • Hart Camp is located in Lamb County
  • Lubbock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • Reese Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reese Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese Village
      • Reese Village is located in Lubbock County
    • Wolfforth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Shallowater
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lubbock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Slide
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slide
      • Slide is located in Lubbock County
    • New Deal
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Deal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Deal
      • New Deal is located in Lubbock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 841 people
    • Canyon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
      • Canyon is located in Lubbock County
    • Kitalou
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitalou
      • Kitalou is located in Lubbock County
    • Buffalo Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
      • Buffalo Springs is located in Lubbock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 441 people
    • Posey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Posey
      • Posey is located in Lubbock County
    • Ransom Canyon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ransom Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom Canyon
      • Ransom Canyon is located in Lubbock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ransom Canyon <2>
    • Idalou
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Heckville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heckville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckville
      • Heckville is located in Lubbock County
  • Lynn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • New Home
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Home have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Home
      • New Home is located in Lynn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Home <2>
    • Wayside ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
      • Wayside is located in Lynn County
  • Terry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smyer, with the one closest to Smyer listed first.
    • Meadow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Brownfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Smyer ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smyer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smyer, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smyer.

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 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 Smyer:

Cemeteries Near Smyer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smyer.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Ropesville Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ropesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ropesville Cemetery
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resthaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resthaven Cemetery
  • Resthaven Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Levelland Municipal Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Whitharral Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitharral Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitharral Cemetery
  • Anton Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Meadow Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meadow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadow Cemetery
  • City of Lubbock Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Littlefield Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Littlefield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Littlefield Cemetery
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
  • County Memorial Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the County Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the County Memorial Cemetery
  • St. Phillips Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Phillips Cemetery
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • New Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Old Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Old County Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old County Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old County Cemetery

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 Smyer in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smyer.

  • Lubbock
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smyer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smyer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smyer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.5873, Longitude: -102.1634       In this case, the coordinates for Smyer have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Smyer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024