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 Williston (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 Williston. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Williston is located in Ottawa 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 Ottawa County: Erie, Lucas, Sandusky & Wood.
Below are the counties that are near Williston. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Williston:
- Ottawa County (The home county of Williston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Curtice
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clay Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clay Center is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Martin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Genoa
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rocky Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Elmore
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Locust Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Locust Point is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point
- Oak Harbor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lacarne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lacarne is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacarne
- Port Clinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Catawba Island
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Catawba Island is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba Island
- Gypsum
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Danbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Danbury is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Bay View
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Castalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Swanton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Assumption
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Assumption is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
- Ai
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ai is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Metamora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lucas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Yondota
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yondota is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yondota
- Bono
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bono is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Immergrun
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Immergrun is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immergrun
- Oregon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Harbor View
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Harbor View is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Ironville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ironville is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- East Toledo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- East Toledo is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Toledo
- Willow Beach
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willow Beach is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Beach
- Toledo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- West Toledo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- West Toledo is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Toledo
- Air Line Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Air Line Junction is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Air Line Junction
- Auburndale ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Auburndale is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburndale
- Maumee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sandusky County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Woodville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lindsey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gibsonburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kingsway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kingsway is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsway
- Helena
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shorewood Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Shorewood Village is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorewood Village
- Stony Prairie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Prairie is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Prairie
- Gabels Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gabels Corner is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gabels Corner
- Fremont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ballville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ballville is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballville
- Burgoon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Burgoon is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burgoon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Erlin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Erlin is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erlin
- Green Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Green Creek is located in Sandusky County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Creek
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Bettsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Linden ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Linden is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
- Maple Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Fort Seneca
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fort Seneca is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Seneca
- Green Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cromers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cromers is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromers
- Fostoria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Millbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Walbridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Northwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lemoyne
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lemoyne is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemoyne
- Arbor Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Arbor Hills is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hills
- Rossford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Luckey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bates is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates
- Lime City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lime City is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Pemberville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Perrysburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dowling
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dowling is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Bradner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lenawee County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Riga
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Riga is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riga
- Deerfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Havre
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Havre is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
- Vienna Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna Junction is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna Junction
- Luna Pier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Vienna
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vienna is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
- Erie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Corners is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Corners
- Temperance
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lambertville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Orchard
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hillcrest Orchard is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest Orchard
- Samaria
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Samaria is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Yargerville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Yargerville is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yargerville
- La Salle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- South Monroe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- South Monroe is located in Monroe County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Monroe
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Williston, see our County-by-County Page for Williston.
Cemeteries Near Williston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williston.
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 Williston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Williston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Williston Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oak Wood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Allen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elliston Cemetery (New)
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Elliston Cemetery (Old)
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Elliston Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Ignatius Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Clay Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lake Twp. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Limestone Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beth Shalom Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Oregon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- Veterans Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rice Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- First St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Williston had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Williston, with the one closest to Williston listed first.
- Curtice
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clay Center
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Clay Center is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Martin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Trowbridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trowbridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trowbridge
- Elliston
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elliston is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Millbury
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Genoa
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Graytown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Graytown is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graytown
- Webb ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Webb is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
- Limestone
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Limestone is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Walbridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cummings ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cummings is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Rocky Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 407 people
- Ironville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ironville is located in Lucas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- Moline
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Moline is located in Wood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Williston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Williston.
Newspapers Published in Williston ...
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 201 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williston, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williston.
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 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 Williston:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Ottawa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Erie County
- Fulton County
- Lucas County
- Sandusky County
- Seneca County
- Wood County
- Lenawee County
- Monroe 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 Williston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Williston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |