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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 Springs (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 Springs. 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 Springs ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Willow Springs: Willow Spgs. (or less commonly used: Willow Spngs. or Willow Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Willow Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willow Springs.

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 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 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 Springs is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Gonzales, Lavaca, Lee & Washington.

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

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Willow Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Haw Creek ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Haw Creek is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Creek
    • Fayetteville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Roznov
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Roznov is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roznov
    • Round Top
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Warrenton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellinger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Walhalla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Walhalla is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walhalla
    • Halsted
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Halsted is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halsted
    • Joiner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Joiner is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joiner
    • Rutersville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Rutersville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutersville
    • Carmine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Nechanitz
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Nechanitz is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nechanitz
    • La Grange
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Austin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Shelby
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Shelby is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Industry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • New Ulm
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bleiblerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • New Wehdem
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • New Wehdem is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Wehdem
    • Kenney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Cat Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sempronius ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Sempronius is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sempronius
    • Millheim
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Millheim is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
    • Buckhorn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Buckhorn is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Rexville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rexville is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexville
    • Sealy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Burleson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Somerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Scofield ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Scofield is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scofield
    • Birch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Birch is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birch
    • Frenstat
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Frenstat is located in Burleson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenstat
    • Lyons
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Colorado County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Pisek ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Pisek is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisek
    • Frelsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Frelsburg is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frelsburg
    • Hillcrest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Hillcrest is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
    • Columbus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Glidden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Alleyton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Borden
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Borden is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden
    • Weimar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ramsey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ramsey is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
    • New Bielau ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • New Bielau is located in Colorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bielau
    • Altair
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Eagle Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Giddings
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Serbin ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Serbin is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serbin
    • Loebau
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Loebau is located in Lee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loebau
    • Dime Box
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Waller County
    • Saint Paul
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Saint Paul is located in Waller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Wesley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wesley is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
    • Greenvine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Greenvine is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvine
    • La Bahia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • La Bahia is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Bahia
    • Burton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Brenham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Brenham is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brenham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brenham <1>
    • Rehburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Rehburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehburg
    • Gay Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Gay Hill is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gay Hill
    • Chappell Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Quarry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Quarry is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry
    • Independence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitman is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitman

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

Cemeteries Near Willow Springs ...

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

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 Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Albert Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pagel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Floyd Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Schmidt Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • McElroy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Knolle Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Industry Brethen Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Halamicek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Halimecek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kraus Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Burkhardt Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Eilers Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (236 more) ...
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity Cemetery
      • The Trinity Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Frnka 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.<4>

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

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

  • Shelby
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Shelby is located in Austin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
  • Haw Creek ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Haw Creek is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haw Creek
  • Industry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fayetteville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Frelsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Frelsburg is located in Colorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frelsburg
  • Welcome
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Welcome is located in Austin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
  • New Ulm
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Latium
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Latium is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latium
  • Round Top
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Warrenton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Wesley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wesley is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
  • Ellinger
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Greenvine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Greenvine is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvine
    • Walhalla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Walhalla is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walhalla
    • Nelsonville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Nelsonville is located in Austin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville

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

Newspapers Published in Willow Springs ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Springs, 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 Springs.

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 Springs:

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' (or 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- Willow Springs) 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 Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.