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 Smothers (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 Smothers. 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.
Smothers is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Smothers. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Smothers:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Smothers)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Whittles
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Sonans
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
- Gretna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sheva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
- Chalk Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
- Chatham
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Transco Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Pittsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Weal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Markham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Markham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
- Tightsqueeze
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Brutus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Huddleston
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Radford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Davis Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Moneta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Joppa Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Goodview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lowry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Chamblissburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Leesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Altavista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Melrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Melrose is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Gladys
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brookneal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Branch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Bedford Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Lawyers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Mount Zion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Timberlake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Hat Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
- Danville City
- Danville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Penhook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Union Hall
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Redwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Villa ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Sydnorsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Burnt Chimney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Rocky Mount
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Sign Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Cody
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cody is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
- Leda
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Leda is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
- Rodden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- Elmo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sutherlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Loftis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Loftis is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
- Jones
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Nathalie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rabat
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rabat is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabat
- Delila
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Crystal Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Crystal Hill is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Hill
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Leatherwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Axton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Irisburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Chatmoss
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Sandy Level
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Gatewood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Whitetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Blanch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Milton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pelham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Providence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Estelle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Semora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Smothers, see our County-by-County Page for Smothers.
Cemeteries Near Smothers ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smothers.
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 Smothers - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Smothers covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Thomas Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Whitethorn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pines Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pines Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Gretna.
- Chatham Burial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Burch Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Weal Presbyterian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Midway Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pullens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- New Bethel Church Church of the Brethren
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jones Family Farm Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (498 more) ...
- Atkinson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Neal Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Harris Homestead Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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 Smothers in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Smothers.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Smothers, with the one closest to Smothers listed first.
- Whittles
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Galveston
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Galveston is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galveston
- Sonans
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
- Ray
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ray is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Chatham
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Chalk Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
- Weal
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Pittsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Pullens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Pullens is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pullens
- Toshes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Toshes is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toshes
- Brights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Brights is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brights
- Spring Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Shockoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shockoe is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockoe
- Brutus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
- Dry Fork
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Dry Fork is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Smothers. See our List of 1890's Communities around Smothers.
Newspapers Published in Smothers ...
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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smothers.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smothers, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smothers.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Smothers:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Campbell County
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Caswell County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Smothers) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Smothers, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |