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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Russell County.
To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Russell County: Buchanan, Dickenson, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington & Wise.
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:
- Russell County (The home county of Willis)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Spring City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Jessees Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Cleveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Artrip
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Carterton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Creswell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Creswell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Dickensonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dickensonville is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickensonville
- Elk Garden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Barnett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Bickley Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bickley Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bickley Mill
- Bristol City
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Virginia Heights
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Virginia Heights is located in Bristol City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Heights
- Bristol
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Council
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Rowe
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Leemaster
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Mavisdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Janey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Vansant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Royal City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Grundy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Dickenson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Carrie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Bucu
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Aily
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Herald
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Nora
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Omaha
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Clinchco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Haysi
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tarpon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Darwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Clintwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Norton City
- Norton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Grigbys Store
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Grigbys Store is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grigbys Store
- Nickelsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dungannon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dungannon is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungannon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Maces Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Maces Spring is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maces Spring
- Hiltons
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Snowflake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Snowflake is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
- Fort Blackmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lano
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lano is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lano
- Gate City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Weber City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Weber City is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Allison Gap
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Saltville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Broadford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Chilhowie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Seven Mile Ford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Adwolf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Ellendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Paintlick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Raven
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Red Ash
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Richlands
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Steeleburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Cedar Bluff
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Claypool Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Pounding Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Harman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Harman is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harman
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Holston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Brumley Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Craigs Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
- Greendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Greendale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Lowland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Glenford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lindell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Rust Hollow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rust Hollow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust Hollow
- Abingdon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Abingdon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,856 people
- Leonard
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leonard is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Burson Place
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Burson Place is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burson Place
- Benhams
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Benhams is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benhams
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Saint Paul
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Virginia City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Dwina
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Coeburn
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wise
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hamilton town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hamilton town is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton town
- Esserville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Esserville is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esserville
- Carter County (TN)
- Buladeen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Winchester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Shingletown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Fuller
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Sullivan County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willis, with the one closest to Willis listed first.
- Bristol
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Forest Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Hunter Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Collingwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Holston Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Walnut Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Akard Addition
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Cross
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cross is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,330 people
- Beechnut City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Beechnut City is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut City
- Mill Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Point is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Point
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,080 people
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.
- Duty Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Davis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jessee Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Tignor Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Westhill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gray Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Carter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Martin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (1298 more) ...
- Campbell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Breeding Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Fuller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
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.
- Lebanon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hansonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hansonville is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansonville
- Jessees Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Hawkins Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hawkins Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkins Mill
- Cleveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Dickensonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Dickensonville is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickensonville
- Creswell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Creswell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Bolton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bolton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolton
- Holston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Brumley Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Artrip
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Carterton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Elk Garden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Barnett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Counts
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Counts is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Counts
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 32 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 14 miles [22.5 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 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 Willis:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Russell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bristol City
- Buchanan County
- Dickenson County
- Norton City
- Scott County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wise County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Sullivan County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 'straight-line' (or 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'. |