🦉 Sunday Owls

Greetings!  We at KHCPL in the Genealogy and Local History Department are hoping to recharge this blog.  Be on the lookout for new posts at this site in the coming weeks.  We hope to have everything from quick tips on doing research, information on events and sources, as well as articles on Howard County history and the people who lived here.  

Do you have the after-the-holidays January blahs?  KHCPL comes to the rescue with Genealogy for Sunday Owls on January 21st from 2 pm - 5:30 pm in the department.  You will need to register on the library's Events page to participate.  Spaces are filling quickly, so don't delay!  There is no charge.  All experience levels are welcome.  You will have access to our knowledgeable staff as well as all of our databases and physical materials.  

Come see our display Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine.  This exhibit comes from the US National Library of Medicine and will be on display until February 9th. 

June Display Case

Red Skelton from Vincennes, Indiana

You still have time to view the June Display Case just outside the Genealogy and Local History Department door.  The display of "Indiana Laughmakers" was put together by Janice Blanchard.  These well known Hoosiers have entertained us for years.  They include George Ade, Kin Hubbard, Bill Holman, Red Skelton, Marjorie Main, Herb Shriner, David Letterman, Jim Davis and many more.  They no doubt have been influenced by other American humorists but they have added their own style, which makes their humor uniquely Hoosier.

February Display Case

Ron Tetrick has put together a display case to go along with the program that he will present to the Howard County Genealogical Society on Monday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.  The title is:

“Newbury Preparative Meeting: Union Township, Howard County, Indiana, 1842-1857”

Friends (Quakers) began settling around the Forks of the Wildcat Creek as early as 1842, when the land was still part of the Big Miami Indian Reserve.  Most came from Deer Creek Antislavery Monthly Meeting in Mill Township, Grant County, Indiana, but others came from Friends meetings in Henry, Randolph and Wayne counties.  Early family names were Bailey, Anderson, Mendenhall, Felton, Jones, Baldwin, Lancaster, Fry, Horine, Dean, Mason, Moorman, Wright, Ellis, and Macy.  Many moved farther west in the late 1850s and 1860s to Kansas, Iowa and Missouri.  Those who died here were buried at the Forks of Wildcat Creek Cemetery, Simpson Cemetery, Jerome Cemetery and New Salem Cemetery.  Only descendants of the Ellis, Horine and Mendenhall families remain in the county today.  The display shows how Union Township was created out of what had been Green Township; a photo of the cemetery; photos of some of the people who lived here from 1842 to 1860; and several tombstones of those who were buried here or farther west.  This is a part of our county history which never before had been documented.  This information will become part of our Vertical Files Collection after the HCGS presentation on February 12.

Kokomo Stars

Come in and view the January Display Case just outside the Genealogy and Local History Department door.  Janice Blanchard has put together a display of "Kokomo Stars".  These are famous people from the Kokomo area including Sylvia, Leon Ames, Strother Martin, Ryan White, and Norman Bridwell to name a few.  Is there a name you are not familiar with?  Come view the display and find out more about that "Kokomo Star."

December Display Case

"A Genealogist's Christmas Wish List" 
Do you have a Christmas Wish List?  Most people do.  If you could ask all the delightful Santas in the Display Case for what you want for Christmas, what would it be?  (I would ask for a reconstruction of the 1890 US Census)  Come in and see the Santas in the Genealogy & Local History Display Case and view the list of additional Genealogy wishes.  The display was designed by Amy Russell with Santas from her collection and Janice Blanchard's collection.
Merry Christmas to all from the Genealogy & Local History Department.

November Display Case

Be sure to stop by the Genealogy & Local History Department to see the impressive display case created by Ron Tetrick.  The topic:  World War I: The War to End All Wars - Centennial 1917-2017.