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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Willard is located in Pender County.
To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pender County: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow & Sampson.
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:
- Pender County (The home county of Willard)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Watha
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Watha is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watha
- Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
- Murray Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Murray Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray Town
- Burgaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Saint Helena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Saint Helena is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
- Ashton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Atkinson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maple Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Maple Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Currie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Topsail
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Topsail is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsail
- Brown Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brown Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
- Hampstead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Landing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Landing is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Landing
- Bladen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Long View
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Long View is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
- Kelly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kelly is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- East Arcadia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
- White Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Brunswick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Northwest
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Northwest is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Phoenix
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
- Navassa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Navassa is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
- Sandy Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Malmo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Malmo is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Riegelwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Acme
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Acme is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Armour
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armour is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
- Sandyfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Delco
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Duplin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Tin City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tin City is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin City
- Wallace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Teachey
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Teachey is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Safe
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Safe is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Safe
- Cartersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cartersville is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartersville
- Hancheys Store
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hancheys Store is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancheys Store
- Pasley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pasley is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasley
- Duff Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Duff Creek is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duff Creek
- Murphey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Murphey is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphey
- Charity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Charity is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Greenevers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Greenevers is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenevers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 649 people
- Rose Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sloan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sloan is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Jones County
- Hargetts Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hargetts Crossroads is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hargetts Crossroads
- Lenoir County
- Pink Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Castle Hayne
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Skippers Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Skippers Corner is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skippers Corner
- Wrightsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
- Murraysville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Murraysville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraysville
- Bayshore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bayshore is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
- Hightsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
- Kirkland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kirkland is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
- Kings Grant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
- Ogden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Smith Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
- Onslow County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Catherine Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Catherine Lake is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catherine Lake
- Richlands
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Folkstone
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Folkstone is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folkstone
- Huffmantown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Huffmantown is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffmantown
- Half Moon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Half Moon is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- Mill Pond Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mill Pond Village is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Pond Village
- Shamrock Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shamrock Village is located in Onslow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock Village
- Surf City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sampson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Delway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Delway is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delway
- Ivanhoe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
- Kerr
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kerr is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
- Tomahawk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
- Ingold
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ingold is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingold
- Elliott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elliott is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
- Turkey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Garland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Moltonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moltonville is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moltonville
- Beulah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Beulah is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Clinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- McDaniels
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- McDaniels is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDaniels
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.
- Riverview Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Powers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- The Powers Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Powers Cemetery is located
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48488 <2>
- Rockfish Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- White Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Duplin Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wells Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alderman Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gurganus Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clay Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Newkirk Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Iron Mine Burial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Fryar Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (167 more) ...
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Rose Hill.
- Marshburn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Worrell Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
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 Willard in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willard.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willard, with the one closest to Willard listed first.
- Wallace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Teachey
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Teachey is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teachey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Safe
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Safe is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Safe
- Rose Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Burgaw
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sloan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sloan is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
- Chinquapin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Chinquapin is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin
- Magnolia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 951 people
- Ivanhoe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
- Atkinson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Waycross
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Waycross is located in Sampson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Maple Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Maple Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Hallsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hallsville is located in Duplin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Currie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
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 30 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 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. 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 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 Willard:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Pender County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bladen County
- Brunswick County
- Columbus County
- Duplin County
- Jones County
- Lenoir County
- New Hanover County
- Onslow County
- Sampson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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 Willard, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things 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'. |