Researching Walter Smiles
Dig into the past of Walter Smiles using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 621 people with the Smiles surname? In that year Smiles was ranked number 2958 for popularity in the UK. |
The name Walter means "powerful warrior" and is of German origin.
Records of Walter Smiles on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Walter Smiles in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Walter Smiles. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Walter Smiles. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Walter Smiles. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Walter Smiles. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Walter Smiles. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Smiles ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Smiles Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Walter Smiles and the Smiles Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Smiles Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Smiles family tree.
Check out Parish Records for Walter Smiles at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Walter Smiles using the FreeBMD database.
Search Genealogy Bank for Walter Smiles records.
Look at MyHeritage for Walter Smiles information.
Check out the LDS Database for records about Walter Smiles.
Research the Smiles surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Smiles Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 859 people with the Smiles surname in the UK? Smiles is now ranked number 3233 for popularity in the UK. |
Smiles Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Study the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Walter Smiles.
Study MyTrees for information on the Smiles family and people looking to contact living Smiles relations.
Check out One Great Family for Smiles records submitted by people who are already researching the Smiles Family Tree.
Find Walter Smiles from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Smiles Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Smiles surname using Genealogy.com forums .
Miscellaneous Smiles Databases
Explore the Ellis Island Database for information on Walter Smiles. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Walter Smiles
Walter Smiles
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Walter Dorling Smiles CIE DSO DL (8 November 1883 – 31 January 1953) was a Northern Irish politician.
Sir Walter was the son of William Holmes Smiles, director of Belfast Ropeworks, and grandson of Samuel Smiles. Sir Walter served during the First World War and, in the 1920s, managed a tea estate in Assam, there he became involved in local government and was a member of the Assam Legislative Council.
During the First World War; he obtained a pilots certificate but due to the lack of aircraft he transferred to Royal Naval Armoured Car Division. In 1915 he was seconded to the Imperial Russian Army to fight against Turkish forces in the Caucasus Campaign. In 1918 he had reached the rank of lieutenant commander and was highly decorated; he received the DSO in 1916, with bar in 1917 and a MID, along with Russian and Romanian decorations; such as the St George of the 4th class. He was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn from 1931 to 1945. Smiles was re-elected in 1935 but stood for Down in Northern Ireland at the 1945 Westminster election, as a Unionist. The two-seat constituency was split in 1950 into North Down and South Down. Smiles won North Down that year and remained its MP until his death in 1953; he lost his life in the sinking of off Larne Lough, in the Great Storm. He was succeeded by his daughter, Patricia Ford. He is the great-grandfather of explorer Bear Grylls.
Source: Walter Smiles, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Smiles
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Sambals Sambelles Sambells Sambels Sambles Sambleson Samuels Samuelson Samuelsson Schimmels Schmalz Schmalzl Schmeelck Schmeelk Schmeelke Schmelcher Schmelzer Schnelcker Schnelke Schnelker Schoenhals Sehehenlist Semales Semelis Semlock Senelestune Senellestone Shinholser Shinholster Shumilak Smailes Smails Smalcombe Smalecombe Smales Smallacombe Smallcomb Smallcombe Smalledge Smalles Smallidge Smalls Smallshaw Smallsman Smelcer Smelko Smelser Smelstor Smelzer Smiljanic Smilowicz Smolik Snelgar Snelgrove Snelker Snelleksz Snellgrove Snelson Snelston Szmulowicz Szynalik
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