The Smalls surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,435 people carried this name — #2,888 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,700 people counted. That is up 14% from 10,897 in 2000.

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In print

Smalls in American newspapers,
1878–1892.

Newspaper page from Grant County Herald carrying the name Smalls
Grant County Herald 1892-01-14
Newspaper page from Fayetteville Observer carrying the name Smalls
Fayetteville Observer 1878-04-25
Newspaper page from Herald And News carrying the name Smalls
Herald And News 1892-03-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 44,437 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Smalls in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

604 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Smalls. The most, 76, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 192
Victoria 159
New South Wales 154
South Australia 36
Tasmania 27
Western Australia 27
ACT (Canberra) 7
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Smalls.

Who carried it

People named Smalls,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Robert Smalls
    Robert Smalls 1839–1915 · politician
  • Sherman Smalls 1843– · politician
  • Cliff Smalls 1918–2008 · pianist
  • Bertie Smalls 1935–2008
  • Benjamin Smalls 1947–2020 · inmate

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Smalls,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States619 records

619 records of the Smalls name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 215
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 191
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 172
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Richard C. Smalls

    Born 1915 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; checker from Westchester County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Benjamin Alonza Smalls

    Born 1944; from Charleston, South Carolina. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1969 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Caroline Smalls

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Sheridan from Liverpool, aged 22; laborer. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 619 records for Smalls in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Smalls name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Smalls

    Left Hobart in 1833 aboard the Enchantress, bound for Singapore, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Clara Smalls

    Held a land order in Queensland in 1865.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Andrew James Smalls

    Married 1915 in Geeveston, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Smalls in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Smalls name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Johanna Clara Smalls

    In the population register of Deventer; born 1821 in Deventer.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel, locatie Deventer (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Smalls in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Smalls name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ann Smalls

    Married 1811 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Smalls name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record I. Smalls

    Norfolk Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Smalls.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Smalls is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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