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 Wills Corner (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 Wills Corner. 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 Wills Corner ...
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.
- A typical abbreviation for Wills Corner: Wills Cor. (or less commonly used: Wills Crn.)
- While the name of this community is Wills Corner, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wills Corner may originally have been Will's Corner.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wills Corner might be written as Will Corner.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Wills Corner is primarily located in Isle of Wight County. A portion of Wills Corner extends into Suffolk City.
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 Isle of Wight County: Franklin, Southampton, Suffolk City & Surry.
Below are the counties that are near Wills Corner. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wills Corner:
- Isle of Wight County (The home county of Wills Corner)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Smithfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rescue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rescue is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
- Magnet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnet is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Windsor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Raynor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Raynor is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynor
- Rushmere
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Rushmere is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmere
- Zuni
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Zuni is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zuni
- Walters
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walters is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Carrsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Carrsville is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
- Chesapeake City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Charlton Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Charlton Village is located in Chesapeake City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Village
- Chesapeake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin City
- Franklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gloucester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Crab
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Crab is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab
- Gloucester Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Achilles
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Achilles is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Achilles
- Country Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Country Village is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Rowes Haven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rowes Haven is located in Gloucester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Haven
- Ordinary
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hampton City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Greenwood Farms
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood Farms is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Farms
- Aberdeen Gardens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aberdeen Gardens is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen Gardens
- Chapel Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Village
- Pine Chapel Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Chapel Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Chapel Village
- Hampton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newgate Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newgate Village is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newgate Village
- Phoebus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Phoebus is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoebus
- Buckroe Beach
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Buckroe Beach is located in Hampton City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckroe Beach
- James City County
- Jamestown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Newport News City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Hilton Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hilton Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Newport News
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bernard Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bernard Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernard Village
- Red Hill Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Red Hill Village is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill Village
- Lee Hall
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lee Hall is located in Newport News City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Hall
- Norfolk City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Alantic City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Alantic City is located in Norfolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alantic City
- Glenwood Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Park is located in Norfolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Park
- Norfolk
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sussex
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sussex is located in Norfolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sussex
- Monticello Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Monticello Village is located in Norfolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello Village
- New Town ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Norfolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Poquoson City
- Poquoson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Portsmouth City
- Portsmouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Southampton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Doles Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Doles Crossroads is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doles Crossroads
- Ivor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Burdette
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Burdette is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdette
- Black Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Black Creek is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Berlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Edgehill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Edgehill is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgehill
- Sedley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sedley is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedley
- Hunterdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hunterdale is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunterdale
- Isaac
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Isaac is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaac
- Kingsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kingsdale is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsdale
- Cypress Manor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cypress Manor is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Manor
- Watkins Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Watkins Corner is located in Southampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins Corner
- Courtland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Suffolk City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Chuckatuck
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Chuckatuck is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckatuck
- Bennett Harbor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bennett Harbor is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett Harbor
- Ames Cove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ames Cove is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames Cove
- Driver
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Driver is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Shoulders Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shoulders Hill is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoulders Hill
- Wilroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wilroy is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilroy
- Kilby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kilby is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilby
- Suffolk
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Manning
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Manning is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
- Russell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Russell is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Holland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Holland is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Whaley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Whaley is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Oak Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Itata
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Itata is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itata
- Beachland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Beachland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachland
- Homewood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Homewood is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Dendron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Surry
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Scotland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Scotland is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Carsley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Carsley is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsley
- Spring Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Grove is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
- Sussex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Wakefield
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Waverly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Virginia Beach City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Westview Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Westview Village is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview Village
- Burtons
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Burtons is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burtons
- Kempsville Gardens
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kempsville Gardens is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kempsville Gardens
- Aragona Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Aragona Village is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aragona Village
- Pocahontas Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pocahontas Village is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas Village
- Thalia Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Thalia Village is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thalia Village
- Mapleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mapleton is located in Virginia Beach City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
- Williamsburg City
- Williamsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Yorkville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Yorkville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Dare
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dare is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dare
- Rochambeau Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rochambeau Village is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochambeau Village
- Lackey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Lackey is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey
- Yorktown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Charles Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Charles Corner is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charles Corner
- Camden County (NC)
- Horseshoe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Horseshoe is located in Camden County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
- Gates County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Corapeake
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Holly Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Holly Grove is located in Gates County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Reynoldson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldson is located in Gates County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldson
- Savage
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Savage is located in Gates County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
- Willeyton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Willeyton is located in Gates County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willeyton
- Gates
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Acorn Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Acorn Hill is located in Gates County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn Hill
- Sunbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wills Corner, see our County-by-County Page for Wills Corner.
Cemeteries Near Wills Corner ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wills Corner.
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 Wills Corner - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wills Corner covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Christian Home Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Little Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ames Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wright Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Battery Park Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Oliver Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Holly Lawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (174 more) ...
- Canaan Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Triangle Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Tyler Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Wills Corner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wills Corner.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wills Corner, with the one closest to Wills Corner listed first.
- Chuckatuck
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Chuckatuck is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckatuck
- Longview
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Longview is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Everets
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Everets is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everets
- Carrollton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Driver
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Driver is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
- Smithfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shoulders Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shoulders Hill is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoulders Hill
- Deanes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Deanes is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanes
- Rescue
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rescue is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rescue
- Myrtle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Myrtle is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Magnolia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Magnet
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Magnet is located in Isle of Wight County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Windsor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Kilby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kilby is located in Suffolk City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilby
- Suffolk
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wills Corner. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wills Corner.
Newspapers Published in Wills Corner ...
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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wills Corner.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wills Corner, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wills Corner.
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 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 Wills Corner:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Isle of Wight County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chesapeake City
- Franklin City
- Gloucester County
- Hampton City
- James City County
- Newport News City
- Norfolk City
- Poquoson City
- Portsmouth City
- Southampton County
- Suffolk City
- Surry County
- Sussex County
- Virginia Beach City
- Williamsburg City
- York County
- Camden County
- Gates County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 Wills Corner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Wills Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |