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 Springs (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 Springs. 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.
Name Variations for Willow Springs ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Willow Springs: Willow Spgs. (or less commonly used: Willow Spngs. or Willow Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Willow Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willow Springs.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northeast 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 north.
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 north 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 Springs is located in Howell County.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Howell County: Fulton (AR), Douglas, Oregon, Ozark, Shannon & Texas.
Below are the counties that are near Willow Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow Springs:
- Howell County (The home county of Willow Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sterling is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Burnham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Burnham is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Pomona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Pomona is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Mountain View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Siloam Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Siloam Springs is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam Springs
- Peace Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peace Valley is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Valley
- West Plains
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pottersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pottersville is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersville
- Chapin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Chapin is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Cottbus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cottbus is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottbus
- South Fork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- South Fork is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
- Caulfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Richville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Richville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
- Vanzant
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Vanzant is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanzant
- Buckhart
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Buckhart is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhart
- Drury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Drury is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drury
- Gentryville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gentryville is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentryville
- Olathia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Olathia is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olathia
- Oregon County
- Thomasville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Thomasville is located in Oregon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Ozark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Dora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Trail
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Trail is located in Ozark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trail
- Elijah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elijah is located in Ozark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elijah
- Rockbridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brixey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brixey is located in Ozark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brixey
- Zanoni ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zanoni is located in Ozark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zanoni
- Shannon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Montier
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Montier is located in Shannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montier
- Birch Tree
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Alley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Alley is located in Shannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alley
- Texas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Sargent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sargent is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
- Hattie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hattie is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattie
- Cabool
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Elk Creek is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Creek
- Simmons
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Simmons is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmons
- Solo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Solo is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo
- Dunn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dunn is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Former name for Dunn:
- Impo
- Yukon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Yukon is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yukon
- Eunice
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Summersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Houston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bucyrus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Mountain Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Norwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Graff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Graff is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graff
- Macomb
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Macomb is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macomb
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Willow Springs.
Cemeteries Near Willow Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Springs.
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 Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Willow Springs City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Moffett Graveyard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Brook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Brook Cemetery
- The Spring Brook Cemetery has also been known as:
- Forest Flower Cemetery
- Quaker Cemetery
- Spring Valley Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #31742 <2>
- Burnham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hutton Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Epps Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lost Camp Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sargent Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Carroll Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (149 more) ...
- Grace Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Horton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newsalem Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newsalem Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Newsalem Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the northwest of Mountain View.
- The Newsalem Cemetery has also been known as:
- New Salem Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #30500 <2>
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Willow Springs had a population of 1,535 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Willow Springs had a population of 2,098 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
- Burnham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Burnham is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Hutton Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hutton Valley is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton Valley
- Sterling ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sterling is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling
- Sargent
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sargent is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargent
- Varvol
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Varvol is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varvol
- Clear Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Olden
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Olden is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olden
- Hattie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hattie is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattie
- Cabool
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- White Church
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- White Church is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Church
- Elk Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Elk Creek is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Creek
- Siloam Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Siloam Springs is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam Springs
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Mountain View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Peace Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peace Valley is located in Howell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Valley
- Tyrone
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Tyrone is located in Texas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow Springs.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Willow Springs ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Springs.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Willow Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Willow Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Willow Springs.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Willow Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Springs:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Howell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Douglas County
- Oregon County
- Ozark County
- Shannon County
- Texas County
- Wright County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willow Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |