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New KHCPL database is comprehensive land records source for Howard County, Indiana

William Rodman, Ambrose Sherer and John Vaughn may not be as familiar to you as David Foster, Capt. T.J. Harrison or Šaapontohsia of the Miami Indians in terms of local history, but these three men were actually among the buyers of the first lots for sale in Kokomo, Indiana, back in October 1844.

In fact, so far as is known, the names of all the original 43 lot owners of Kokomo have never been published. But the list is now available in the new Howard County Land Records collection on the Howard County Memory Project (www.howardcountymemory.net). This website is managed and maintained by the Genealogy & Local History Department at the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library (KHCPL).

Conceived and compiled by local history writer Gil Porter, the Land Records collection comprises tract books, public land surveys, and a host of original documents. According to Porter, the Land Records collection brings together dozens of documents and data files relating to Kokomo and Howard County that were previously either difficult to find or else only searchable online or on microfilm. "It's really a treasure trove of material now available in one place for the first time in a convenient, easy-to-use interface," Porter said.

All told, the site contains more than 400 separate records, images and spreadsheets ranging from the U.S. government's Royce Indian Land Cessions map to the Allen Hamilton-to-David Foster deed transfer in January 1844 (the Fosters later deeded 40 acres to start Kokomo) to every single sheet of the seven public domain Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps books for Kokomo from 1885 to 1916. Porter added that KHCPL's Howard County Memory Project was the perfect home for the collection. "I rely on the Genealogy and Local History department for research relating to our local history," Porter said. "This was the ideal way to make this information globally accessible."

Amy Russell, head of the department, agreed. "We often have patrons asking about the early land records or when their ancestors may have first started their farms," Russell said. "Now, we have the ability to go back even further in our Howard County history and are pleased to offer this service to anyone researching their ancestors' patterns."

As it turns out, the Land Records collection may be an important new resource for Howard County's Recorder's Office as well. The staff there also occasionally helps patrons looking for historic details about county land. "The site is a great attribute for the citizens of Howard County," said Torie Kelley, Howard County recorder. Kelley noted the site has value for a range of research, whether it be for genealogy purposes, title companies or anyone who is just curious about our history. "As the county recorder, I am very excited to have this resource available," she said.

Porter highlighted a few of the features found on the new Land Records site:

  • 1819-20: Survey of the Great Miami Reserve
    • "The surveyors named the water source they found along the west side of the Miami reservation 'St. Johns' and 'River Pouextipecheaux.' They didn't know it was the Wildcat Creek."
  • 1842: Canal Land Sales. Miami Reserve Tract Book #1
    • "This is probably the single most important historical document for Howard County. It has the records of the original westside landowners dating back to 1842."
  • 1846-47: Indiana General Land Office Index, GLO Plat Maps Database
    • "We created an interactive database that visually maps 81 squatter farms, fields and improvements dating to winter of 1846-47, before the federal land sale in the summer of 1847."

Porter noted that the tract books and survey maps available on the Land Records collection provide definitive details about dates, names, and locations for all the original landowners in Kokomo and Howard County, Indiana. "The collection is comprehensive and definitely presents a more accurate picture of our history," Porter said. "We now have better context for family and history researchers by using these primary sources." More information about the new collection is available in the article "Finding history in the land records" in the May 2023 issue of Footprints, the quarterly publication of the Howard County Historical Society. howardcountymuseum.org/explore/publications-archive

(Library Trivia Note: John Vaughn mentioned at the start of the story was the first librarian in Howard County. [Commissioners' Record 1, 1844-1850])

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