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Miami County History and Information
County History | Court Records | Vital Records | CENSUS Records | TAX Records | Military Records | Church & Cemetery |
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Miami County Facts

Miami County was created on March 1, 1834 and was formed from Cass County and Unorganized Land. The County was named for the Miami, a Native American people.

The County Seat is Peru. Peru wasn't always the County Seat. The first County Seat was at Miamisport. This town was laid out in 1828 and was on the same section of land that is now occupied by Peru, a section originally set aside as a reservation for Miami Indian Chief John B. Richardville who sold the east half to William N. Hood and the western half to Joseph Holman. The two men laid out the town of Miamisport, however, they failed to agree and Hood outbid Holman and secured the location east of Miamisport where Peru now stands. The growth of Peru, laid out in 1825 by Judge Hood, was such that Miamisport wasn't taken within its limits and it was ordered vacated June 1841, Peru formally becoming the County Seat by an act of the Legislature on December 26, 1843. By 1849 it contained six churches, one each for the Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Catholics, Old School and New School Presbyterians, over 200 houses and about 1,500 inhabitants. The first Courthouse was burned down March 16, 1843, destroying all the county records but those of the County Commissioner. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Miami County are Fulton County (north), Wabash County (east), Grant County (southeast), Howard County (south), Cass County (west).

Miami County is divided into 14 Civil Townships as follows: Allen, Butler, Clay, Deer Creek, Erie, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Peru, Pipe Creek, Richland, Union and Washington. Cities, Towns and Communities include Amboy, Bennetts, Bunker Hill, Chili, Converse, Denver, Loree, Macy, McGrawsville, Mexico, Miami, North Grove, Peru, Ridge View and Santa Fe.

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Records at the Miami County Courthouse

See Also Indiana Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. Courthouse destroyed by Fire in Mar. 1843, All records destroyed--deeds from 1828 survived

NOTE: The date listed for each category of record is the earliest record known to exist in that county. It does not indicate that there are numerous records for that year and certainly does not indicate that all such events that year were actually registered. See also the Miami County Courthouse History

   Miami County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1843 , Probate Records from 1843 and Court Records from 1843 and is located at Courthouse, 25 N. Broadway Room 208, Peru, IN 46970; Phone: 765-472-3901x256, Fax: 765-472-1778
   The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a ministerial officer who is the custodian of the Clerk's record and seal, issues process, accepts filings of commencement of actions in litigation, enters judgments and orders of the court, receives money in his official capacity, makes certified copies of record, issues many miscellaneous licenses, and keeps a record of all wills and matters of trust in probate proceedings.

   Miami County Recorder has Land Records from 1836 and is located at Courthouse, 25 N. Broadway Room 205, Peru, IN 46970; Phone: 765-472-3901x223, Fax: 765-472-8585.
   The county recorder's function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involving real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference. The recorder maintains and preserves all legal documents affecting title to real property.

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

   Miami County Health Department has Birth / Death Records from 1882 and is located at Courthouse, Room 110, Peru, IN 46970; (765) 472-3901 Ext 15, 20, 28

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Court Records by clicking the link below:

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • Indianapolis Newspaper Index, 1848-1991: Select articles from 1848-1888 Indianapolis daily newspapers; heavily focused on deaths and marriages. Select articles from 1898-1991 about people, places, events, and topics in Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. Extremely limited for deaths; no coverage of marriages.  Card file also available in the Microforms Area, second floor.
  • Reference & Government Services CD Collection: Database to allow searching of the hundreds of CDs from the federal government and other sources, part of the collections of the Reference & Government Services Division.
  • Miami County, Indiana Court Books at Amazon.com
  • Indiana Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

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Miami County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
  • Birth Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth records that occur in Indiana since Oct 1907 to the present. Prior to October 1907, records of birth are filed only with the local health department in the county where the birth actually occurred.
    • Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
    • In Person: The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $10.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait time is less than an hour.
    • Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
  • Death Certificates: The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains death records that occur in Indiana since 1900 to the present. Prior to 1900, records of death are filed only with the local health department in the county where the death actually occurred. For deaths occurring from 1900 to 1917, the city and/or county of death is required in order to locate the record.
    • Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Make your check or money order payable to "Indiana State Department of Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
    • In Person: The ISDH Vital Records office is located at 6 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. The office is open for walk-in requests from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., E.S.T., Monday through Friday (excluding official State Holidays). The cost for the first certificate is $8.00 and $4.00 for each additional copy. Average wait Time is less than an hour.
    • Processing Time: 5 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
  • Marriage Certificates: Certified copies of marriage certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the Clerks of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was granted. Fees vary.
  • Divorce Certificates: Certified copies of divorce certificates are not available from the State Health Department. They are available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
  • Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
    Birth Certificates
         		Death Certificates
         		Marriage Certificates
         		Divorce Records

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

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Miami County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.

  Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Miami County, Indiana are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Miami County, Indiana are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms.

  See Also Statewide Records that exist for Indiana

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Census Records by clicking the link below:

  • Indiana Census, 1790-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 (Northwest Territory) Federal Census Index; 1807 State Census Index; 1810 Wayne County Census Index; 1812 Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule.
  • Miami County, Indiana Census Books at Amazon.com

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Miami County Maps & Atlases

   Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.

  You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
   You can view rotating animated maps for Indiana showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at County Maps

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Maps. Email us with websites containing Miami County Maps by clicking the link below:

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Miami County Military Records

See Also Military Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

   The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Miami County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

   Records of county taxes were kept as early at 1842, although most were discarded. Remaining ones would be at the county courthouse. National Archives-Great Lakes Region has records of the Internal Revenue Service for Indiana for 1867 to 1873. These are tax assessment records, arranged by district and then chronologically.

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Miami County, Indiana Tax Books at Amazon.com

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Miami County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Indiana Genealogical Addresses

   The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Miami County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

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Miami County Church & Cemeteries

See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Indiana

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

   There are many churches and cemeteries in Miami County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Miami County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Baptist records are found at Franklin College (in Franklin); Methodist at DePauw University (in Greencastle); Mennonite at Goshen College (in Goshen); Presbyterian at Hanover College (in Hanover); Disciples of Christ at their historical society in Nashville, Tennessee; and French Catholic at Vincennes University in the Byron R. Lewis Collection. There are also Catholic church histories and records at the Catholic Archives, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Quaker records are at Earlham College (at Richmond).

   The commissioner's office of each Indiana county may have burial records for soldiers, sailors, and marines. If available, the records should include name, age, date of enlistment, discharge date, and death date. Records begin about 1862.

The Indiana State Library holds records of inscriptions from some Indiana cemeteries. The "Indiana Cemetery Locator File," compiled by the Genealogy Division, is an alphabetical listing of cemeteries, indicating the location in the state and the designation in the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library where inscriptions may be found.

Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Miami County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Search Online Click Here to Search Indiana Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

   When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Miami County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Miami County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain

Miami County, named for the tribe of Indians who once possessed this and adjoining parts of the State, was organized in 1835. It is bounded north by Fulton and Kosciusko, east by Wabash and Grant, south by Howard and west by Cass and Fulton. It contains 284 square miles. The civil townships are, Peru, Erie, Jefferson, Richland, Union, Perry, Butler, Washington, Pipe Creek, Deer Creek, Clay, Harrison and Jackson. The population in 1840 was 3,048; at this time [1849] it is about 10,000. About one-fourth of the county is estimated to be bottoms, one-sixth barrens and prairies, and the balance heavily timbered uplands. The timber is generally of the best quality, the soil rich and well adapted to the production of all the articles common to the climate. In the vicinity of the Wabash, Mississinewa and Eel rivers, there is a good deal of hilly land, not, however, so broken as to prevent cultivation; the rest of the county may be called level. The surplus products, consisting of wheat, corn, oats, pork, beef, horses, etc., are estimated at over $150,000 annually. Since the purchase and settlement of the Miami Reserve, the growth and improvement of the county is becoming more rapid, and it will soon be among the foremost in the State. There are now five flouring mills, fifteen sawmills, one fulling mill, two carding machines, twenty-two stores and groceries, three warehouses, six lawyers, fourteen physicians, twelve preachers, and the usual proportion of mechanics.

In this county was the residence of the celebrated Frances Slocum, who was taken from her parents in the Wyoming, when she was six years of age, and afterwards sold to and intermarried with one of the Miami Indians, and finally, after sixty years search, was discovered and identified by her friends, but having lost her native language, she refused to leave her adopted home and with the red men of the forest.

There are 133,300 acres of taxable land in the county, and about 100,000 acres yet belonging to the United States or have been so recently purchased as not to be subject to taxation.

1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature

Miami County, located in north central Indiana, has a soil adaptable to the growing of any crop that can be produced in the state. The southern section is of rich black loam, while in the central part are the fertile valleys of the Wabash, Mississinewa, and Eel Rivers. Some of the finest stock farms in the state are located in Miami County.

Miami County has an area of 381 square miles and is divided into fourteen townships. The incorporated city is Peru, with a population of 12,370; towns: Converse, 931; Bunker Hill, 528; Ridgeview, 483; Amboy, 431; Macy, 279; North Grove, 119, and Denver, 472. The county population in 1890 was 25,823; 1900, 28,344; 1910, 29,350; 1920, 28,688; 1930, 29,042.

Peru is located on the Wabash River sixteen miles east of Logansport and is served by three railroads. It is a division point for two of the lines and the railroad and the railroad shops are part of the city's industrial activity. It is a manufacturing city of importance, producing steam tractors, chairs, phonographs, radios, refrigerators, plumber's supplies, baskets, heating appliances, underwear, wood cabinets, stationary, and sewing machines.

Peru is sometimes known as the "Circus City," being a winter home of the nationally known Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus.

According to figures of the federal census of 1935, Peru had twenty manufacturing establishments employing 723 wage earners on payrolls totaling $515,358. The value of the products was $2,255,349.

Near Peru is the birthplace of Cole Porter, one of America's outstanding contemporary composers. The Mrs. Kate Cole Porter Residence four miles southeast of the city is the location of the "Old Fashioned Garden," made famous in one of the Hoosier's songs.

The public buildings of Peru are distinctive. The Post Office, Courthouse, and library are all of Greek Classic style. Several of the city's churches are of outstanding beauty. The showplaces in Peru include many fine old residences built in the first part of last century. Among these is the home of James Tyner, who was Postmaster General under President Grant. There is also the Holman Residence, belonging to one of the first families to settle in the county.

Memorials of interest include a marker in West City Park in memory of Eli Macy, who lost his life trying to cross the Wabash at this point, and a monument at the grave of Chief Francis Godfrey, famous Miami Indian War Chief. This is found three and a half miles north of the city, in the cemetery named in Godfrey's honor. Of cultural note in Peru is the Historical Museum and one of the older art organizations, the Peru Art Club.

North of Peru, at the town of Mexico, is the River House Inn, which was built in 1834 on an Indian Trail at the West Bank of Eel River. The trail was the first road in the county, and later became known as the Michigan Road. The Inn was the only stopping place between Michigan City and Indianapolis. One of Indiana's poets, Dulciana Minerva Mason, was the daughter of the proprietor.

Miami County had thirty manufacturing establishments according to the 1935 federal census figures. A total of 1,082 wage earners were employed on payrolls totaling $856,535. The value of the products was $3,472,131.

The county had 2,225 farms averaging 101.8 acres each. Their total value was $13,223,584. A total of 81,981 head of livestock was reported. The total county tax valuation as of 1936 was $33,952,840.

Courthouse History

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