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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 Smithville (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 Smithville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Smithville is located in Accomack 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 Accomack County: Somerset (MD), Lancaster, Middlesex, Northampton & Northumberland.

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

  • Accomack County     (The home county of Smithville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Crockett Town
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Crockett Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Town
    • Melfa
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Keller
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Onancock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Painter
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Onley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Belle Haven
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Tasley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Savage Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Savage Town is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Town
    • Cats Bridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Cats Bridge is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cats Bridge
    • Locust Mount
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Mount is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
    • Locustville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Wachapreague
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Westland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Westland is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westland
    • Ocran
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ocran is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocran
    • Kilmarnock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • White Stone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Mathews County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Diggs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mathews
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Onemo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Onemo is located in Mathews County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onemo
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Stingray Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Stingray Point is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stingray Point
    • Sandy Bottom ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Sandy Bottom is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Bottom
    • Amburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Amburg is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amburg
  • Northampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Exmore
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Exmore is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,362 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exmore <1>
    • Wardtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Wardtown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardtown
    • Pleasant Cove Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Cove Village is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Cove Village
    • Jamesville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jamesville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
    • Nassawadox
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Marionville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Marionville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Birdsnest
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bridgetown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Bridgetown is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
    • Sheps End
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Sheps End is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheps End
    • Machipongo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Eastville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Cheriton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cherrystone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Cherrystone is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrystone
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Fleeton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Fleeton is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleeton
    • Reedville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunnybank
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunnybank is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybank
    • Lynhams
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Lynhams is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynhams
    • Ophelia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Remo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Remo is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remo
    • Blackwells
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Blackwells is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwells
  • Somerset County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville listed first.
    • Crisfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lawsonia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lawsonia is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonia
    • Daugherty Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Daugherty Town is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daugherty Town
    • Tylerton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rhodes Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Rhodes Point is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes Point
    • Smith Island
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Smith Island is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Island
    • Tulls Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Tulls Corner is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulls Corner
    • Ewell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Annemessix Towne ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Annemessix Towne is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annemessix Towne
    • Rehobeth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Frenchtown - Rumbly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Frenchtown - Rumbly is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown - Rumbly
    • Kingston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Kingston is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
    • Fairmount
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Somerset County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount

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

Cemeteries Near Smithville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithville.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smithville, with the one closest to Smithville 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.<3>

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

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

  • Nandua
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Nandua is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nandua
  • Pungoteague
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cashville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cashville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashville
  • Savageville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Savageville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savageville
  • Keller
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Melfa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Craddockville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Craddockville is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craddockville
  • Painter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Trower
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Trower is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trower
  • Onancock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Belle Haven
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Mappsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mappsburg is located in Accomack County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mappsburg
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Onley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Chesconessex
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Chesconessex is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesconessex
    • Davis Wharf
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Davis Wharf is located in Accomack County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Wharf

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

Newspapers Published in Smithville ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithville.

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 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 Smithville:

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 Smithville, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smithville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.