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 Willow (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 Willow. 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.
Willow is located in Jo Daviess 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 Jo Daviess County: Dubuque (IA), Jackson (IA), Carroll, Stephenson, Grant (WI) & Lafayette (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Willow. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow:
- Jo Daviess County (The home county of Willow)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Stockton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Nora
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Elizabeth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Warren
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hanover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Apple River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Scales Mound
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Aiken
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Aiken is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Bremen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bremen is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremen
- Galena Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Galena Junction is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Junction
- Galena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Polsgrove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Polsgrove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polsgrove
- Zier Cors
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zier Cors is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zier Cors
- Georgetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Georgetown is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Mount Carroll
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lanark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shannon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Center Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Center Hill is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Arnold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Blackhawk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Blackhawk is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Marcus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marcus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Daggett ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Daggett is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daggett
- Hickory Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hickory Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Ogle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Harper
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Harper is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Baileyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brookville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookville is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- Forreston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haldane
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Haldane is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haldane
- Adeline
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Adeline is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
- Maryland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maryland is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland
- Buffalo Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Grove is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Grove
- Polo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Egan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Egan is located in Ogle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
- Leaf River
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mount Morris
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stephenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Kent
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Loran
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Yellow Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Pearl City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <1>
- Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Eleroy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bolton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bolton is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Florence
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- McConnell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Red Oak
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Red Oak is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
- Whiteside County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Coleta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- White Pigeon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- White Pigeon is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pigeon
- Malvern
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Malvern is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
- Fulton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Union Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Union Grove is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove
- Penrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Penrose is located in Whiteside County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penrose
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Pecatonica
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Seward
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Clinton County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Elk River Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Elk River Junction is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk River Junction
- Teeds Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Teeds Grove is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teeds Grove
- Andover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Andover is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Bryant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bryant is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Goose Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Goose Lake is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Tenmile
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tenmile is located in Clinton County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Jackson County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Sabula
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Green Island
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Green Island is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
- Miles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bellevue
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Bellevue is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bellevue
- Smiths
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Smiths is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Van Buren
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Van Buren is located in Jackson County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Preston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spragueville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Springbrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Donatus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Grant County (WI)
- Hazel Green
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hazel Green is located in Grant County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Green County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Cadiz
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cadiz is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadiz
- Browntown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Browntown is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
- Monroe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,426 people
- Twin Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Grove is located in Green County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Grove
- Lafayette County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- South Wayne
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- South Wayne is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wayne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Gratiot
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratiot
- Population from the 2020 Census: 225 people
- Fort Gratiot ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Gratiot is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gratiot
- Former name for Fort Gratiot:
- Gratiot Grove
- White Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
- Wiota
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wiota is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
- Shullsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shullsburg is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shullsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- Woodford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Woodford is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- New Diggings
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Diggings is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Diggings
- Etna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Etna is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Argyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Argyle is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Darlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Darlington is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,317 people
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Benton is located in Lafayette County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow, see our County-by-County Page for Willow.
Cemeteries Near Willow ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow.
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 Willow - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Clay Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Blair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Loran Methodist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran Methodist Cemetery
- The Loran Methodist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Evangelical Loran Cemetery
- Loran Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
- Kelloggs Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggs Grove Cemetery
- The Kelloggs Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Black Hawk Monument Cemetery
- Blackhawk Monument Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2180780 <2>
- St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kent Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Lutheran Cemetery
- The Kent Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kent Cemetery
- Kent United Baptist Cemetery
- Old Liberal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #106432 <2>
- Plum River Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Creek Brethren Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Renner Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (304 more) ...
- Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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 Willow in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willow.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow, with the one closest to Willow listed first.
- Loran
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Loran is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loran
- Kent
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Yellow Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Yellow Creek is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Stockton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Massbach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Massbach is located in Jo Daviess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massbach
- Lena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lena is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lena <1>
- Eleroy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Waddams Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Waddams Grove is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddams Grove
- Bolton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bolton is located in Stephenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Mount Carroll
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Nora
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lanark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kittredge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kittredge is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittredge
- Shannon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow.
Newspapers Published in Willow ...
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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow.
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 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 Willow:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Jo Daviess County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Ogle County
- Stephenson County
- Whiteside County
- Winnebago County
- Clinton County
- Jackson County
- Grant County
- Green County
- Lafayette 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> | 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 Willow, 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- Willow) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |