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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 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 Bay County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bay County: Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Saginaw & Tuscola.

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:

  • Bay County     (The home county of Willard)
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
    • Saganing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Whites Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Standish
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <1>
    • Pine River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine River
      • Pine River is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pine River
      • From Willard to Pine River
    • Sterling
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
      • Sterling is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling <1>
    • Arenac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
      • Arenac is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arenac
      • From Willard to Arenac
    • Omer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Omer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omer
      • Omer is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
  • Gladwin County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
    • North Wheeler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Wheeler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Breckenridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <1>
    • Edgewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Gratiot County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Edgewood
      • From Willard to Edgewood
    • Saint Louis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Isabella County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
    • Alembic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Coe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coe
      • Coe is located in Isabella County
    • Loomis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Jordan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jordan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
      • Jordan is located in Isabella County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jordan
      • From Willard to Jordan
    • Shepherd
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
    • Midland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Averill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Willard to Averill
    • Hope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>
    • Sanford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Edenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Ryan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • North Bradley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Porter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alamando
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alamando. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alamando
      • Alamando is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alamando
      • From Willard to Alamando
    • Redstone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Coleman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Oil City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oil City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Midland County
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
    • Freeland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <1>
    • Dice
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Frost
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Willard to Frost
    • Kochville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Melbourne ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
      • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melbourne
      • From Willard to Melbourne
    • Carrollton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Zilwaukee city
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
      • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
      • From Willard to Zilwaukee city
    • Iva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Shields
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shields. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
      • Shields is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shields
      • From Willard to Shields
    • Crow Island ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
      • Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
    • Hemlock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Paines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paines. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paines
      • Paines is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paines
      • From Willard to Paines
  • Tuscola County

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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.

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.<5>

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.

  • Fisherville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Auburn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Midland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Kawkawlin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Linwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Freeland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
    • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <1>
  • Frankenlust
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Brooks ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
    • Brooks is located in Bay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Brooks
    • From Willard to Brooks
  • Salzburg ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
    • Salzburg is located in Bay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Salzburg
    • From Willard to Salzburg
  • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Averill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
    • Averill is located in Midland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Averill
    • From Willard to Averill
  • Bay City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Banks ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Bay County
      • Banks has also been known as:
      • Bangor
      • Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Banks
      • From Willard to Banks
    • Essexville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essexville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essexville
      • Essexville is located in Bay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,244 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Essexville <1>
    • Hope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <1>

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 67 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 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. 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 professional and volunteer 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:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Willard. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Willard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6683, Longitude: -84.1080    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025