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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Willis is located in Haywood 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 Haywood County: Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale, Madison & Tipton.
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:
- Haywood County (The home county of Willis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Ko Ko
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ko Ko is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ko Ko
- Dancyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dancyville is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dancyville
- Eurekaton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eurekaton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eurekaton
- Hillville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hillville is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillville
- Stanton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Brownsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Willow Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Grove is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Fredonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fredonia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
- Woodland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Woodland is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Allens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Allens is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens
- Bradford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bradford is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,017 people
- Wellwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wellwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellwood
- Nutbush
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nutbush is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutbush
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Deanburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Deanburg is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,395 people
- Silerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Silerton is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
- Crockett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Bells
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Johnsons Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Johnsons Grove is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Grove
- Alamo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Maury City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Maury City is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
- Fruitvale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Fruitvale is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Chestnut Bluff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Chestnut Bluff is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Bluff
- Gadsden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gadsden is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gadsden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
- Crockett Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Crockett Mills is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crockett Mills
- Maury Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Maury Junction is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury Junction
- Estimated population in 2014: 679 people
- Friendship
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Friendship is located in Crockett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Dyer County
- Bruceville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bruceville is located in Dyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,453 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Fayette Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette Corners is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette Corners
- Somerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Braden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Feathers Chapel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Feathers Chapel is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feathers Chapel
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,102 people
- Gallaway
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,669 people
- Williston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Williston is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Hickory Withe
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Withe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Withe
- Macon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Macon is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Canadaville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Canadaville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadaville
- Forty Five
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Forty Five is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forty Five
- La Grange
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- La Grange is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Moscow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hancock County
- Keeling
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Keeling is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Hardeman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Vildo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vildo is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vildo
- Whiteville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Newcastle
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Newcastle is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newcastle
- Teague
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Teague is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,181 people
- Toone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Toone is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
- Shandy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shandy is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shandy
- Bolivar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hickory Valley is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
- Hornsby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hornsby is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornsby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Durhamville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Durhamville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durhamville
- Henning
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ripley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Flippin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Flippin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flippin
- Gates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gates is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates
- Population from the 2020 Census: 598 people
- Glimp
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Glimp is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glimp
- Arp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Arp is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arp
- Halls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Luckett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Luckett is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luckett
- Edith
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edith is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edith
- Fort Pillow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Pillow is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Pillow
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Mercer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mercer is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Denmark
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Providence
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Huntersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Huntersville is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Medon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Malesus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Malesus is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malesus
- Parkburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Parkburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,156 people
- Jackson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Windy City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Windy City is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- Lawrence
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
- Estimated population in 2014: 10,498 people
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Arlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rosemark
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rosemark is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemark
- Lakeland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tipton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Gailor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Gailor is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gailor
- Estimated population in 2014: 468 people
- Charleston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Charleston is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charleston
- Estimated population in 2014: 671 people
- Mason
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Gift
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gift is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gift
- Estimated population in 2014: 378 people
- Gainesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Gainesville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
- Estimated population in 2014: 958 people
- Mount Carmel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Carmel is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,453 people
- Covington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Clopton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Clopton is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clopton
- Estimated population in 2014: 9,889 people
- Idaville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Idaville is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Brighton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bride
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bride is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bride
- Garland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Garland is located in Tipton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Atoka
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
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.
- Prospect Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Spring Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Scratchunder Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. John Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Harmony Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dancyville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Dancyville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jones Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Chote Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Prospect Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (463 more) ...
- Beech Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cole Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sammons Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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.
- Ko Ko
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ko Ko is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ko Ko
- Dancyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dancyville is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dancyville
- Eurekaton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eurekaton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eurekaton
- Hillville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hillville is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillville
- Stanton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cedar Chapel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Chapel is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Chapel
- Brownsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Yum Yum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Yum Yum is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yum Yum
- Vildo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Vildo is located in Hardeman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vildo
- Keeling
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Keeling is located in Hancock County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Hatchie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hatchie is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchie
- Ina ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ina is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ina
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Whiteville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mercer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Mercer is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Wellwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wellwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellwood
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 54 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 23 miles [37 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 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 Willis:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Haywood County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chester County
- Crockett County
- Dyer County
- Fayette County
- Hancock County
- Hardeman County
- Lauderdale County
- Madison County
- Shelby County
- Tipton 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Willis) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |