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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 Smedley (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 Smedley. 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 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.

Smedley is located in Rappahannock County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rappahannock County: Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Page & Warren.

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

  • Rappahannock County     (The home county of Smedley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Rediviva
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
    • Sperryville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Washington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Woodville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Scrabble
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Scrabble is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Chester Gap
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Chester Gap is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Gap
    • Reager
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Reager is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reager
    • Slate Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Slate Mills is located in Rappahannock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Mills
    • Amissville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • White Post
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Berrys
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Berrys is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrys
    • Millwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Waterloo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Waterloo is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
    • Boyce
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Frogtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Frogtown is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
  • Culpeper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Eggbornsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Eggbornsville is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eggbornsville
    • Homeland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Homeland is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
    • Griffinsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Griffinsburg is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffinsburg
    • Salem
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Salem is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Norman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Norman is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
    • Rixeyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rixeyville is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixeyville
    • Jeffersonton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jeffersonton is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffersonton
    • Culpeper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Waylands Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Waylands Mill is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waylands Mill
    • Elkwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Kellys Ford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Kellys Ford is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Ford
    • Lignum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lignum is located in Culpeper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lignum
  • Fauquier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Orlean
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Waterloo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Waterloo is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
    • Petersburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Petersburg is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
    • Ada
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Ada is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
    • Markham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Turnbull
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Turnbull is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
    • Delaplane
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Warrenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Marshall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Opal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Opal is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal
    • Frytown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Frytown is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frytown
    • Belvoir ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Belvoir is located in Fauquier County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvoir
  • Frederick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Middletown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Tulip
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Tulip is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
    • Armel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Armel is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armel
    • Stephens City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Echo Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Echo Village is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Village
    • Day - Mar Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Day - Mar Village is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day - Mar Village
    • Fawcett Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fawcett Gap is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawcett Gap
    • Mountain Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Mountain Falls is located in Frederick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Falls
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Kinderhook
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Kinderhook is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinderhook
    • Dawsonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Dawsonville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawsonville
    • Stanardsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Loudoun County
    • Welbourne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Welbourne is located in Loudoun County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welbourne
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Peola Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
    • Syria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Tryme
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Tryme is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryme
    • Ruth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Ruth is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
    • Madison
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wolftown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Aroda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Aroda is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aroda
    • Hood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Radiant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Radiant is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radiant
    • Burnt Tree
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
    • Madison Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Madison Mills is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Mills
  • Orange County
    • True Blue
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • True Blue is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True Blue
  • Page County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Rileyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kimball
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Kimball is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Luray
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Marksville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Marksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
    • Stanley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Leaksville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Leaksville is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaksville
    • Shenandoah
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Verbena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Verbena is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
  • Rockingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Plains Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Plains Mill is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plains Mill
    • Elkton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Elkton is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,914 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkton <1>
    • Swift Run
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Swift Run is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Run
    • Mayland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mayland is located in Rockingham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayland
    • Timberville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Shenandoah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Seven Fountains
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Seven Fountains is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fountains
    • Dilbeck
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dilbeck is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilbeck
    • Willow Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Willow Grove is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
    • Edinburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Maurertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Toms Brook
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodstock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Strasburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Calvary
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
    • Strasburg Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Strasburg Junction is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strasburg Junction
    • Mount Olive
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Olive is located in Shenandoah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Mount Jackson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smedley, with the one closest to Smedley listed first.
    • Bentonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Overall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Overall is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overall
    • Limeton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Limeton is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limeton
    • Applewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Applewood is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood
    • Front Royal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Happy Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Happy Creek is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Creek
    • Viscose City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Viscose City is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viscose City
    • Royal Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Royal Village is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Village
    • Riverton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Riverton is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Waterlick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Waterlick is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterlick
    • Cedarville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Cedarville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Milldale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Milldale is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milldale

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

Cemeteries Near Smedley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smedley.

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

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

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

  • Cannon Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Russell Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Rileyville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beahm's Chapel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Beahm's Chapel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the east of Luray.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #49373 <3>
  • Williams Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Etlan Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • The Ramey Graveyard
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Old County Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (223 more) ...

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>

While we didn't find Smedley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smedley.

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

  • Rediviva
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Rediviva is located in Rappahannock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rediviva
  • Sperryville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Washington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Woodville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Woodville is located in Rappahannock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • Hawlin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hawlin is located in Rappahannock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawlin
  • Laurel Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Laurel Mills is located in Rappahannock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mills
  • Flint Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Browntown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Browntown is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
  • Castleton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Nethers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Nethers is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nethers
  • Peola Mills
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Peola Mills is located in Madison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola Mills
  • Viewtown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bentonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Compton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Compton is located in Page County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
    • Rileyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Smedley ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smedley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smedley, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smedley.

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 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 Smedley:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Smedley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Smedley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.