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 Wilna (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 Wilna. 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 doctors 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.
Wilna is located in Williams 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 Williams County: DeKalb (IN), Steuben (IN), Hillsdale (MI), Defiance, Fulton & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Wilna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilna:
- Williams County (The home county of Wilna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Stryker
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pulaski
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Bryan
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- West Unity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Melbern
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Melbern is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Holiday City
(11 miles [17.7 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
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kunkle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Kunkle is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kunkle
- Alvordton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Denmark ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Denmark is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Jim Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jim Town is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jim Town
- Blakeslee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Edgerton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Defiance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Ney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brunersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Defiance
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jewell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jewell is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Williamstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Williamstown is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
- Sherwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ayersville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ayersville is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayersville
- Hicksville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Archbold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Burlington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Burlington is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Eckley ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Eckley is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckley
- Eckley has also been known as:
- Eckley Station
- Pettisville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pettisville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettisville
- Fayette
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wauseon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Thelma ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Thelma is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thelma
- Powers ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Powers is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powers
- Powers has also been known as:
- Powers Station
- Inlet ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Inlet is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet
- Ritters ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ritters is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Advance
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Advance is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Oakshade
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oakshade is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakshade
- Plattston ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Plattston is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattston
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Ridgeville Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- Okolona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Okolona is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okolona
- Okolona has also been known as:
- Okalona
- Florida
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Florida is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
- Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
- Napoleon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Holgate
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Elery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elery is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elery
- New Bavaria
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Liberty Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Malinta
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Bend
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Bend is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Bend
- Grelton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Grelton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grelton
- Colton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Colton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
- Hamler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Paulding County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Renollet ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Renollet is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renollet
- Emmett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Emmett is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
- Emmett has also been known as:
- Emerald Station
- Emerald
- New Rochester ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Rochester is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Rochester
- Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Junction is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Cecil
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cecil is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Knoxdale ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Knoxdale is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxdale
- Charloe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Charloe is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charloe
- Paulding
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fort Brown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fort Brown is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Brown
- Link ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Link is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Link
- Saint Andrews ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Andrews is located in Paulding County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Antwerp
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Broughton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- 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 Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Hartsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hartsburg is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Continental
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kieferville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kieferville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieferville
- Dupont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Miller City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wood County
- Grand Rapids
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Allen County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Harlan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Woodburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- DeKalb County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Butler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Moore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Moore is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore
- Spencerville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Concord
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in DeKalb County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Waterloo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Steuben County (IN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Alvarado
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Alvarado is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- York
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- York is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
- Hamilton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Hamilton is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,595 people
- Russels Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Russels Point is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russels Point
- Clear Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
- Ray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ray is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
- Pleasant Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County (IN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Branch County (MI)
- Ray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsdale County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Buckeye ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Buckeye is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Waldron
(18 miles [29 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
- Prattville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Prattville is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville
- Ransom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ransom is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransom
- Frontier
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Frontier is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
- Lickly Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lickly Corners is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickly Corners
- Shadyside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Shadyside is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside
- Camden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pittsford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Montgomery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Montgomery is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
- Locust Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Corners is located in Hillsdale County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Corners
- Osseo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Reading
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lenawee County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Munson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Munson is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munson
- Morenci
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Morenci
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- North Morenci is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Morenci
- Canandaigua
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Canandaigua is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canandaigua
- Seneca
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Seneca is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Hudson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Weston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weston is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Clayton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Clayton is located in Lenawee County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wilna, see our County-by-County Page for Wilna.
Cemeteries Near Wilna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilna.
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 Wilna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wilna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Boynton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Buck Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- The Oakwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
- Stryker Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #641243 <2>
- French Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Evansport Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Old Evansport Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Old Pulaski Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fountain Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Trinity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Doll Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (380 more) ...
- New St. Johns Methodist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Old St. Johns Methodist Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Shiffler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiffler Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiffler Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Pulaski.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1112009 <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>
While we didn't find Wilna in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wilna.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wilna, with the one closest to Wilna listed first.
- Evansport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stryker
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pulaski
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Bryan
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Williams Center is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Center
- Archbold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Moats
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Moats is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moats
- West Unity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Farmer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Farmer is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmer
- Brunersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brunersburg is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunersburg
- Adams Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Adams Ridge is located in Defiance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Ridge
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Ridgeville Corners
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ridgeville Corners is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville Corners
- Melbern
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Melbern is located in Williams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbern
- Elmira
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elmira is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wilna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wilna.
Newspapers Published in Wilna ...
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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilna, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilna.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Wilna:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Williams County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Defiance County
- Fulton County
- Henry County
- Paulding County
- Putnam County
- Wood County
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- Steuben County
- Branch 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wilna) 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 Wilna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |