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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 Willow Creek (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 Willow Creek. 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 Willow Creek ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Willow Creek: Willow Crk. (or less commonly used: Willow Ck. or Willow Cr.)

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Willow Creek is located in Robertson County.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Robertson County: Brazos, Burleson, Falls, Leon, Limestone, Madison & Milam.

Below are the counties that are near Willow Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow Creek:

  • Robertson County     (The home county of Willow Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Seale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
      • Seale is located in Robertson County
    • Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
      • Ridge is located in Robertson County
    • Owensville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensville
      • Owensville is located in Robertson County
    • New Baden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Bremond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Robertson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,643 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
    • Elliot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot
      • Elliot is located in Robertson County
    • Calvert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wheelock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Hearne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hearne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearne
      • Hearne is located in Robertson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hearne <2>
  • Brazos County
    • Edge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edge
      • Edge is located in Brazos County
  • Falls County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Stranger
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stranger
      • Stranger is located in Falls County
    • Reagan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reagan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reagan
      • Reagan is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reagan <2>
    • Otto
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
      • Otto is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Otto <2>
    • Highbank
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highbank
      • Highbank is located in Falls County
    • Marlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Wilderville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilderville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilderville
      • Wilderville is located in Falls County
    • Perry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
      • Perry is located in Falls County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perry <2>
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Donie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Freestone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freestone
      • Freestone is located in Freestone County
    • Teague
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Teague have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
      • Teague is located in Freestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Teague <2>
    • Cotton Gin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Dew
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dew
      • Dew is located in Freestone County
  • Leon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Marquez
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Newby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newby
      • Newby is located in Leon County
    • Concord
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jewett
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hilltop Lakes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Flynn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flynn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
      • Flynn is located in Leon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flynn <2>
    • Wealthy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthy
      • Wealthy is located in Leon County
    • Buffalo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Normangee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Normangee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normangee
      • Normangee is located in Leon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Normangee <2>
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Leona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leona
      • Leona is located in Leon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leona <2>
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Thornton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kosse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
      • Kosse is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <2>
    • Farrar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
      • Farrar is located in Limestone County
    • Lost Prairie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Prairie
      • Lost Prairie is located in Limestone County
    • Personville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
    • Groesbeck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Fallon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallon
      • Fallon is located in Limestone County
    • Mexia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexia
      • Mexia is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexia <2>
    • Frosa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frosa
      • Frosa is located in Limestone County
  • Madison County
    • George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
      • George is located in Madison County
  • McLennan County
    • Mart
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mart
      • Mart is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,983 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mart <2>
  • Milam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.
    • Baileyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileyville
      • Baileyville is located in Milam County
    • Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
      • Crossroads is located in Milam County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Willow Creek.

Newspapers Published in Willow Creek ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Creek, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow Creek.

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 Willow Creek:

Cemeteries Near Willow Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Creek.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.

  • Pace Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pace Cemetery
  • Head Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Head Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Head Cemetery
  • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wesley Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wesley Chapel Cemetery
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
  • King - Williams Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Whartley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whartley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whartley Cemetery
  • Seale - Round Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seale - Round Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seale - Round Prairie Cemetery
  • Bumpus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Bumpus Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bumpus Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2647 <4>
  • Sansom Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sansom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sansom Cemetery
  • Ferguson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ferguson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ferguson Cemetery
  • Buttrill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buttrill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buttrill Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2686 <4>
  • Continue List   (192 more) ...
    • Potter Shop Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potter Shop Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potter Shop Cemetery
    • McKenzie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKenzie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKenzie Cemetery
    • Norris Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norris Cemetery

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.<6>

While we didn't find Willow Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willow Creek.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow Creek, with the one closest to Willow Creek listed first.

  • Headsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Headsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
    • Headsville is located in Robertson County
  • Bald Prairie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Prairie
    • Bald Prairie is located in Robertson County
  • Seale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seale
    • Seale is located in Robertson County
  • Oletha
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oletha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oletha
    • Oletha is located in Limestone County
  • Petteway
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petteway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petteway
    • Petteway is located in Robertson County
  • Marquez
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Thornton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kosse
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kosse
    • Kosse is located in Limestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kosse <2>
  • Farrar
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrar
    • Farrar is located in Limestone County
  • Bremond
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Nesbitt
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nesbitt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
    • Nesbitt is located in Robertson County
  • New Baden
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Personville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Personville
      • Personville is located in Limestone County
    • Groesbeck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow Creek.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Willow Creek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Willow Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willow Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.2863, Longitude: -96.4364       In this case, the coordinates for Willow Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>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 Willow Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024