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 Grove (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 Grove. 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 Grove ...
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 occur.
Another variation: Willowgrove.
- A typical abbreviation for Willow Grove: Willow Grv.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Willow Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willow Grove.
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 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.
Willow Grove is located in McLennan County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of McLennan County: Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hill & Limestone.
Below are the counties that are near Willow Grove. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow Grove:
- McLennan County (The home county of Willow Grove)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Speegleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Speegleville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speegleville
- Woodway
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- China Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bosqueville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
- Beverly Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Beverly Hills is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,980 people
- Waco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Waco is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141,377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
- Rock Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Hewitt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Crawford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patrick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- East Waco
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- East Waco is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waco
- Gholson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gholson is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
- Bellmead
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Pendleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Troy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Moffat
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Moffat is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffat
- Morgan's Point Resort
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oenaville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oenaville is located in Bell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oenaville
- Bosque County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Valley Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Greenock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Greenock is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenock
- Cayote
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cayote is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayote
- Laguna Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Clifton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Womack
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Womack is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womack
- Norse
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Norse is located in Bosque County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norse
- Coryell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- McGregor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oglesby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lime City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lime City is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime City
- Coryell
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Coryell is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryell
- Leon Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- The Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- The Grove is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Grove
- South Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Mountain is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Mound
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Flat
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Gates
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Gates is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Gates
- Turnersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Turnersville is located in Coryell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Gatesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Falls County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Bruceville - Eddy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bruceville - Eddy is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville - Eddy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
- Golinda
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Golinda is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golinda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Mooreville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mooreville is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooreville
- North Prairie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Prairie is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
- Satin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Chilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blevins
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Blevins is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blevins
- Perry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Durango
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Durango is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durango
- Lott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Otto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- McClanahan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- McClanahan is located in Falls County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClanahan
- Hill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Tyson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Tyson is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyson
- Aquilla
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Abbott
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whitney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Calm
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Peoria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Peoria is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
- Chatt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chatt is located in Hill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatt
- Penelope
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Watt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Watt is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watt
- Prairie Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow Grove, see our County-by-County Page for Willow Grove.
Cemeteries Near Willow Grove ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Grove.
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 Willow Grove - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Evergreen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McLennan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Riggs Cemetery
- The Riggs Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riggs Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2593778 <2>
- Bosqueville Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kimmonsville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- China Spring Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Crump Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hog Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Crawford Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Chapel Hill Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (177 more) ...
- Waco Memorial Park
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Patrick Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Patrick Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northwest of Waco.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5907 <2>
- Bible Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
While we didn't find Willow Grove in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willow Grove.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow Grove, with the one closest to Willow Grove listed first.
- Speegleville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Speegleville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speegleville
- South Bosque
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- South Bosque is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bosque
- Ritchie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ritchie is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchie
- Bosqueville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bosqueville is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosqueville
- China Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hewitt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Waco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Waco is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141,377 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
- Crawford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Patrick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Patrick is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick
- McGregor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Waco
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- East Waco is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waco
- Gholson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gholson is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Robinson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Rosenthal
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rosenthal is located in McLennan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosenthal
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow Grove. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow Grove.
Newspapers Published in Willow Grove ...
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 166 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Grove.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Grove, 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 Grove.
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 helpful 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 Grove:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to McLennan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bell County
- Bosque County
- Coryell County
- Falls County
- Hill County
- Limestone County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Willow Grove) 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 Willow Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |