Sources checked October 24, 2026. Additional local collection descriptions and dates checked November 4, 2026. Earlier valid guide content retained. Dates describe selected holdings, not complete coverage.
Start with one connection.
Bring a person, a place, approximate years, and one question. A township, congregation, school, or employer may reveal records a surname search misses. The custodian can be outside the county.
STOP 01 / Kokomo · Howard CountyKokomo-Howard County Public Library: Genealogy and Local History
Start with the local research collection and its digital projects.
The department provides genealogy databases, cemetery resources, yearbooks, vital-record research links, and the Howard County Memory Project.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Visit the lower level of KHCPL Main at 220 N. Union Street or start from its genealogy page. Ask staff to identify the relevant local collection and whether copies can be supplied remotely.
A question you can ask
Which local index, yearbook, or digital collection can place this household in Kokomo at the date I need?
Keep in mind
Most department material does not circulate. The landing page is a starting point, not a complete inventory or guarantee of every year.
STOP 02 / Kokomo · original vital registersHoward County Health Department: genealogy services
Do not mistake an incomplete register for proof that an event never happened.
The department reports birth and death records beginning in 1875, with uneven coverage through 1920. Records are arranged by event date; genealogy requests concern records at least 75 years old.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Provide the closest possible event date and follow the department's current application instructions. It offers genealogy documents transcribed from the register as well as certified copies.
A question you can ask
Can you locate this event by date, and will the supplied document be a transcription or certified copy?
Keep in mind
The department explicitly warns that a search without the correct date may fail. A transcription is not an image of the original entry.
STOP 03 / Indianapolis · county-specific holdingsIndiana State Library: Howard County research guide
Identify a record series before requesting an original.
The guide lists Naturalization Records, 1872–1958; an index to Land Deeds Book A, 1844–1847; and supplemental marriage records for 1882–1899.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Use the county guide to copy the title and call number, then search the State Library catalog or use its Ask-a-Librarian service to confirm access.
A question you can ask
Could an early deed or supplemental marriage entry distinguish two residents with the same name?
Keep in mind
These are selected library holdings, often indexes or abstracts. The guide does not promise every original record or online images.
STOP 04 / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, Genealogy and Local HistoryEarly landowners and mapped farms before the federal sale
Howard County Memory includes the 1842 Miami Reserve canal-land tract book and an interactive index of 81 farms, fields and improvements surveyed in winter 1846–1847. It also includes the 1844 Kokomo original-lot owners.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Open Howard County Memory and select Land Records. If the interface fails, ask the lower-level department at Main for the tract book or mapped farm index.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
Surveyed improvements are not equivalent to legal ownership; compare the survey with the land sale or deed. These are selected dated series, not continuous coverage.
STOP 05 / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, Genealogy and Local HistorySeven dated Kokomo Sanborn map editions
The historical society identifies Kokomo editions for 1885, 1889, 1892, 1896, 1902, 1909 and 1916; the library reports that its land collection includes their sheets.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Use Howard County Memory Land Records or the Library of Congress map link in the house-research guide. Locate the street and sheet before comparing buildings.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
Map footprints change between editions. A map describes buildings and uses, not a complete resident list.
STOP 06 / Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, Genealogy and Local HistoryBlack community documents and Douglass School connections
The African-American Notables project digitized local documents with the historical society, community members and Embracing Hope, which works with the historic Douglass School.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Search Howard County Memory for the person, school or organization; ask the library for the African-American Notables collection if needed.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
No complete date span or school enrollment run is verified. Project dates 2021–2022 are digitization dates, not historical coverage.
STOP 07 / Howard County Historical SocietyStreet photographs and uncataloged neighborhood files
The society offers an online photograph catalog and staff-checked vertical files, useful for streets and buildings around a family address.
Research details & a question to ask
How to begin
Start with a street name in the linked photo catalog. Arrange an archive appointment; image reproduction is charged and takes at least two weeks, without a guaranteed completion date.
A question you can ask
Which item covers my person, place and year, and how can I consult the underlying record?
Keep in mind
No inclusive collection dates are supplied. A street image does not establish who lived in a particular building.
Leave a trail another researcher can follow.
Save the repository, collection title, dates, volume, page or item identifier, link, and the date you consulted it. Follow an index to the original record when possible. Keep uncertain names and inferred relationships visibly separate from what the source states.
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