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 Willis (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 Willis. 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 and hospitals 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.
Willis is located in Hancock County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hancock County: Claiborne, Grainger, Hawkins, Lee (VA) & Scott (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Willis. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willis:
- Hancock County (The home county of Willis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Kyles Ford
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Trent Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Trent Valley is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent Valley
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,157 people
- Sneedville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Duck Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Duck Creek is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck Creek
- Yount Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yount Town is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount Town
- Xenophon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Xenophon is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenophon
- Alanthus Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
- Claiborne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Caney Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Caney Valley is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney Valley
- Evans Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Evans Ferry is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Ferry
- Population from the 2010 Census: 293 people
- Raven Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Raven Hill is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Hill
- Springdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Springdale is located in Claiborne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Grainger County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Bean Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wyatt Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wyatt Village is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt Village
- Beans
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beans is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,084 people
- Marshalls Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marshalls Ferry is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalls Ferry
- Thorn Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Thorn Hill is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Bowen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowen is located in Grainger County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Romeo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Romeo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeo
- Baileyton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Morelock ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Morelock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morelock
- Marvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Marvin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
- Ottway
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ottway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottway
- Jearoldstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jearoldstown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jearoldstown
- Albany
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Albany is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
- Mosheim
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Midway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Centersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Centersville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Fairview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Milburnton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Milburnton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnton
- Bolton Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bolton Estates is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,152 people
- Hamblen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Whitesburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bright ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bright is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bright
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,942 people
- Silver City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Silver City is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
- East Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- East Village is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Village
- Casablanca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Casablanca is located in Hamblen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casablanca
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,223 people
- Morristown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Eidson
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Eidson is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eidson
- Amis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Amis is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis
- Rogersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Surgoinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Greenland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenland is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Kepler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kepler is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepler
- New Canton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- New Canton is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Strahl
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Strahl is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strahl
- Church Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Persia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Persia is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Blossom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blossom is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
- Galbraith Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Galbraith Springs is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galbraith Springs
- Chimneytop ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Chimneytop is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimneytop
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Blair Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blair Gap is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair Gap
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,870 people
- Beartown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Beartown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Morrison City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Morrison City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison City
- Cherokee Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cherokee Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Village
- Borden Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Borden Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Village
- Horace ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Horace is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horace
- Kingsport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beechwood Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Beechwood Village is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village
- Bloomingdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bloomingdale is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Population from the 2010 Census: 9,888 people
- Colonial Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fordtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Fordtown is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordtown
- Kendrick Creek ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Kendrick Creek is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick Creek
- Orebank
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Orebank is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orebank
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Fall Branch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ducktown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ducktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ducktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 457 people
- Harmony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harmony is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Locust Mount
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Mount is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Mount
- Wheelocktown ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wheelocktown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelocktown
- Big Sandy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Big Sandy is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sandy
- Estimated population in 2014: 542 people
- Mill Brook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mill Brook is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Brook
- Oakland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Harlan County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Cranks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cranks is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranks
- Cawood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cawood is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cawood
- Dizney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Dizney is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dizney
- Holmes Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Holmes Mill is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes Mill
- Bobs Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bobs Creek is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bobs Creek
- Kenvir
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kenvir is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenvir
- Redbud
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Redbud is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbud
- Short Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Short Town is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Town
- Darkmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Darkmont is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darkmont
- Draper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Draper is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Evarts
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Verda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Verda is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verda
- Ages
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ages is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ages
- Letcher County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Gordon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Gordon is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Partridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Partridge is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Partridge
- Linefork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Linefork is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linefork
- Perry County (KY)
- Delphia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Delphia is located in Perry County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphia
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willis, see our County-by-County Page for Willis.
Cemeteries Near Willis ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willis.
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 Willis - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willis covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Baker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Johnson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Willis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wallen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bloomer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sizemore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pridemore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Livesay Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Livesay Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- McMillian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Gonce Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sizemore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (605 more) ...
- Lawson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- McKinney Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Testerman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Willis in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willis.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Kyles Ford
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Eidson
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Eidson is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eidson
- Fisher Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fisher Creek is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Creek
- Alumwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Alumwell is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alumwell
- Gillenwater ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gillenwater is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillenwater
- Vogel ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Vogel is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vogel
- Starnes ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Starnes is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starnes
- Sneedville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lee Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Valley is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Valley
- Rogersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Amis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Amis is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amis
- Surgoinsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Stony Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stony Point is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
- Opossum ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Opossum is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opossum
- Choptack
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Choptack is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choptack
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willis. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willis.
Newspapers Published in Willis ...
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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willis.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willis, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willis.
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 Willis:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Hancock County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Claiborne County
- Grainger County
- Greene County
- Hamblen County
- Hawkins County
- Sullivan County
- Washington County
- Harlan County
- Letcher County
- Perry County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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> | 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 Willis, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Willis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |