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 Williamstown (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 Williamstown. 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 Williamstown ...
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.
Another variation: Williams Town.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Williamstown. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Williamstown.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Williamstown is located in Defiance County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Defiance County: Allen (IN), DeKalb (IN), Henry, Paulding, Putnam & Williams.
Below are the counties that are near Williamstown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williamstown:
- Defiance County (The home county of Williamstown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Defiance
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brunersburg
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Jewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jewell is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Ayersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Sherwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Allen County
- Delphos
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Archbold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Pettisville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Pettisville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettisville
- Burlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Burlington is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Eckley ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Eckley is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckley
- Eckley has also been known as:
- Eckley Station
- Wauseon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Plattston ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Plattston is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattston
- Thelma ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Thelma is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Fayette
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Inlet ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Inlet is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
- Delta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Delta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Delta is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Delta
- Powers ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Powers is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Powers has also been known as:
- Powers Station
- Advance
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Advance is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Hancock County
- Hancock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hancock is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Florida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Florida is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Okolona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Okolona is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Ridgeville Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- New Bavaria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Bavaria is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bavaria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Pleasant Bend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- Holgate
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Napoleon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Elery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- Hamler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Malinta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Grelton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grelton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
- Liberty Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- McClure
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Paulding County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Renollet ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Renollet is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
- Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Junction is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Emmett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Emmett is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett has also been known as:
- Emerald Station
- Emerald
- Charloe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Charloe is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
- Fort Brown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
- Oakwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
- Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Cecil
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Melrose
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Melrose is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Hedges
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hedges is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedges
- Paulding
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Broughton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Broughton is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Hartsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Continental
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Kieferville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Dupont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Miller City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Cloverdale is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Muntanna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Muntanna is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muntanna
- Kalida
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Leipsic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Leipsic is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leipsic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
- Belmore
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Belmore is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Glandorf
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Leipsic Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Leipsic Junction is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic Junction
- Leipsic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Van Wert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Scott
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hoaglin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hoaglin is located in Van Wert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoaglin
- Middle Point
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Williams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Stryker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bryan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Melbern
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Melbern is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- West Unity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Edgerton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Denmark is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Holiday City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Holiday City is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Montpelier
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Kunkle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kunkle is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kunkle
- Blakeslee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alvordton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Edon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Custar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Grand Rapids
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Milton Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Milton Center is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Weston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hoytville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hoytville is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
- Allen County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Edgerton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edgerton is located in Allen County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Woodburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harlan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Butler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Spencerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Waldron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Waldron is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
- Lenawee County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Munson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Munson is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munson
- Morenci
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williamstown, see our County-by-County Page for Williamstown.
Cemeteries Near Williamstown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williamstown.
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 Williamstown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williamstown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Presbyterian Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kahol Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Frazee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Brunersburg Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Foster Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hire Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Independence Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Noble & Tiffin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shoemaker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Taylor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (350 more) ...
- Ayersville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville Cemetery
- The Ayersville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pleasant Bend & Ayersville Cemetery
- Pleasant Bend Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1687547 <2>
- Hohenberger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Defiance County Children Home Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
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 Williamstown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williamstown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williamstown, with the one closest to Williamstown listed first.
- Defiance
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brunersburg
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Jewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jewell is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Ashwood ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Ashwood is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashwood
- Ayersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Midway ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Midway is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Arthur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Arthur is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Junction is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Florida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Florida is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Okolona
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Okolona is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Adams Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Adams Ridge is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Ridge
- Moats
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Moats is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moats
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- The Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- The Bend is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Bend
- Evansport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sherwood
(9 miles [14.5 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 Williamstown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williamstown.
Newspapers Published in Williamstown ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williamstown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williamstown, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williamstown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Williamstown:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Defiance County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Fulton County
- Hancock County
- Henry County
- Paulding County
- Putnam County
- Van Wert County
- Williams County
- Wood County
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- Hillsdale County
- Lenawee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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 Williamstown, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Williamstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |