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 Willard (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 Willard. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Willard is located in Alexander County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Alexander County: Pulaski, Union, Ballard (KY), Cape Girardeau (MO), Mississippi (MO) & Scott (MO).
Below are the counties that are near Willard. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willard:
- Alexander County (The home county of Willard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Miller City
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cache
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Olive Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hodges Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Future City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Future City is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Diswood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Thebes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Tamms
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Cypress
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Belknap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Massac County
- Joppa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Mounds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Mound City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Villa Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Olmsted
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ullin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Chain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Perks
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Karnak
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Mill Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Reynoldsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Dongola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dutch Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Jonesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Anna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wolf Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Ballard County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Wickliffe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- La Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bandana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Blandville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Kevil
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ceredo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Gage
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gage is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Lovelaceville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Carlisle County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Bardwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arlington is located in Carlisle County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Cunningham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hickman County (KY)
- Columbus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- McCracken County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Ragland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Woodville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- West Future City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Future City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Cape Girardeau
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchtown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchtown is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
- Estimated population in 2018: 94 people
- Delta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Delta is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delta <1>
- Gordonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Randles
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Randles is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randles
- Allenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Allenville is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Cliff ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cliff is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff
- Jackson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <1>
- Whitewater
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Whitewater is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
- Green Cox
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Green Cox is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cox
- Crump
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crump is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump
- Leemon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leemon is located in Cape Girardeau County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemon
- Mississippi County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Charleston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Greenfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenfield is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Wilson City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wilson City is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Wyatt
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Wyatt is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- Bertrand
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bertrand is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertrand
- Population from the 2020 Census: 747 people
- Anniston
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Anniston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anniston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Whiting
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Whiting is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
- East Prairie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Thirtyfour Corner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Thirtyfour Corner is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirtyfour Corner
- Pinhook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pinhook is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinhook
- Estimated population in 2012: 30 people
- Wolf Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wolf Island is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Island
- New Madrid County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Sikeston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Morehouse
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Morehouse is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
- Matthews
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
- Canalou
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Canalou is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canalou
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- La Forge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- La Forge is located in New Madrid County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Forge
- Scott County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Commerce
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Diehlstadt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Blodgett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Benton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lambert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lambert is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Population from the 2010 Census: 34 people
- Kelso
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Scott City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- New Hamburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- New Hamburg is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Haywood City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Haywood City is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Morley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Morley is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Miner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Miner is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 939 people
- Oran
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oran is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oran
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oran <1>
- Stoddard County (MO)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Painton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Painton is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Painton
- Bell City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bell City is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Guam ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Guam is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guam
- Tillman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Tillman is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillman
- Circle City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Circle City is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circle City
- Grayridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grayridge is located in Stoddard County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayridge
- Advance
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willard, see our County-by-County Page for Willard.
Cemeteries Near Willard ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willard.
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 Willard - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willard covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Bumgard Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Schendler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Olive Branch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Prince Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Twente Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hodges Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Uninty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Santa Fe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ross Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cason Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (307 more) ...
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Texas Bend Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Willard had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Olive Branch
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Unity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hodges Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Commerce
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mounds
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Diehlstadt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Diehlstadt is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diehlstadt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Sandusky
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sandusky is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Mound City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Villa Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Thebes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Blodgett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Blodgett is located in Scott County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Charleston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Charleston is located in Mississippi County (MO)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,015 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pulaski
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Benton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willard. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willard.
Newspapers Published in Willard ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willard.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willard, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willard.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Willard:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Alexander County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pulaski County
- Union County
- Ballard County
- Carlisle County
- Hickman County
- McCracken County
- Cape Girardeau County
- Mississippi County
- New Madrid County
- Scott County
- Stoddard County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
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> | 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 Willard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |