Ottawa County, Oklahoma Genealogical Records Information

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Ottawa County History and Information

Ottawa County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Ottawa County was created on July 16, 1907 from Cherokee nation. The County was named for the tribal name, corruption of "Adawe," meaning to trade or traffic. The County Seat is Miami. See also County History for more historical details.

Counties adjacent to Ottawa County are Cherokee County, Kansas (north), Newton County, Missouri (east), McDonald County, Missouri (southeast), Delaware County (south), Craig County (west)

Ottawa County Cities & Towns Include Afton, Cardin, Commerce, Dotyville, Fairland, Miami, Narcissa, North Miami, Peoria, Picher, Quapaw, Wyandotte

Records at the Ottawa County Courthouse

See Also Oklahoma 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.

All Departments below can be contacted at the Ottawa County Courthouse at 102 E Central Ave, Miami, OK 74354-7072; Phone: (918)542-9408. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Ottawa County Clerk's Office has Birth Records from 1908, Death Records from 1908 and , Land Records from 1895.
The County Clerk's office is responsible for preserving all the legal instruments filed by private citizens and public officials with the County Clerk's office. The office maintains files of all real estate records, plats, judgments, liens, patents, military discharges, school records, county personnel, insurance and retirement records for employees, meeting notices, commissioners' proceedings and other documents. Although county clerks record births and deaths and provide information on request, certificates are available only from the Vital Records Section, State Department of Health

Ottawa County Court Clerk's Office has Probate Records from 1907, Marriage Records from 1907, and Court Records from 1907.
The Court Clerk has the primary responsibility to record, file, and maintain permanent records of the proceedings of the District Court. We collect fines, fees, and forfeitures, and distribute the collected monies as provided by law to the appropriate agencies. There are numerous types of cases filed with the Court Clerk's Office some of which include: Civil, Small Claims, Probate, Guardianship, Adoption, Felony, Misdemeanor, Search Warrants, Licenses and more...

Click Here to Search Oklahoma 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.

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

Ottawa County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Heavy spring rains with severe flooding in 1902 awakened Oklahoma's citizens to the need for better roads. Territorial laws placed responsibility with townships, and a road overseer was to be elected for each district. General property tax and some funds from liquor licenses collected by counties and townships were used to finance the building of public roads along section lines. A road tax was required, along with the requirement that all males between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five donate four eight-hour days a year to work on highways. Those who did not work or provide a substitute were fined $5 for each absence.

The county treasurer or assessor may have tax or assessment records. Some tax records are stored in museums, historical, and/or genealogical societies' repositories. Published tax records for Oklahoma are almost nonexistent. Some duplicated copies of county tax records are stored in the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, State Archives Division for security purposes, but are not available for research. Koplowitz, Guide to the Historical Records of Oklahoma, indicates location of county records, including those of tax and assessments.

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

Ottawa County Tax Assesors Office, 102 E Central Ave, Miami, OK 74354-7072; Phone: (918)542-9408
The county assessor has the responsibility to appraise and assess the real and personal property within the county for the purpose of ad-valorem taxation. Also, the county assessor is required to compute the ad-valorem taxes due on all the taxable property. By law, the county assessor appraises all the taxable real property according to its fair cash value for which the property is actually being used.
Ottawa County, Oklahoma Tax Books at Amazon.com

Ottawa County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Oklahoma 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 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 Ottawa County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Ottawa County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Ottawa County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1383, Miami 74354
Local Oklahoma Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies, P.O. Box 2531, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74602
Oklahoma Historical Society, 2100 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 12986, Oklahoma City 73157-2986
Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Division of State Archives and Records, 200 N.E. 18th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 75105
National Archives; Southwest Region, 501 West Felix Street, Building 1, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405; E-mail: ftworth.archives@nara.gov. Mailing Address: P.O. 6216, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-0216
Oklahoma Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Oklahoma Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Ottawa County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Oklahoma 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 Ottawa County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Ottawa County Tombstone Transcription Project.

There are no centralized repositories dealing with church records in Oklahoma. Scattered records can be found in genealogical publications, the DAR compilations, and on microfilm. The Spanish missions have played a central role in Oklahoma's religious history.

Printed secondary sources of transcribed cemeteries exist for most Oklahoma counties. The Oklahoma State Society of the DAR has collected hundreds of such records. Transcripts are housed both at the national DAR and with some local chapters and libraries.

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

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Oklahoma 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 Ottawa County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Ottawa County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Oklahoma Pioneer Project - The Oklahoma Pioneer List (CPL) is a list of settlers to Oklahoma who migrated to or were born in Oklahoma prior to 1880 (included in the 1880 Oklahoma Census) and obtained from those sent (e-mailed) directly from individuals doing genealogical research.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Ottawa County USGenweb Archives
Ottawa County, Oklahoma Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Ottawa County, located in the northeastern corner of the State of Oklahoma, is one of the most important counties of the state, both from an agricultural and mineral standpoint, and its history is unique and interesting. It has been the home of members of a greater number of Indian tribes than any other county in the United States, and strange to say, it has borne the reputation of having been one of the most peaceful, law-abiding communities, inhabited anywhere by the Indian race.

Many years ago, the United States Government, by treaties with the Cherokee Nation, obtained permission to locate the remnants of various small Indian tribes in this corner of former Indian Territory, now the State of Oklahoma, granting to each a small reservation of land. The Cherokees seem to have been more generous toward the weaker tribes than most any other Indians and the United States authorities availed themselves of this generosity by locating various small bands of Indians who seemed to be unable to find peaceful homes elsewhere.

Miami, the county seat and principal business center of Ottawa County, is located in the southern part of the county, near the Neosho River. It is a clean, pretty city of about seven thousand population, having all the modern conveniences, including paved , streets, cement sidewalks electric lights natural gas, an abundant, supply of good water, first class hotels, handsome brick business blocks and a live Chamber of Commerce composed of 400 active business men.

Miami was one of the first towns in Indian Territory in which complete titles to lots could be secured. On the third day of March, 1891, a company of men, headed by W. E. Lykius, then mayor of the Town of Columbus, Kans., and designated as the Miami Townsite Co., purchased 557.75 acres of land in the northwest corner of the Ottawa Indian reservation, for $10 an acre, and proceeded to plat it into town lots, streets and alleys. It is claimed that Thomas Richardsville, an influential Indian who was, at that time, Chief of the Miami tribe, was, instrumental in securing the passage of the special act of Congress which was necessary in' order to enable the town site company to secure complete title to the land. The sale of town lots began on May 27, 1891, and Dr. W. L. McWilliams made the first purchase, it being claimed that his deed conveyed the first perfect title granted to a white man anywhere in Indian Territory.

When this town site was purchased the liquor dealers took the position that by the transfer of this tract of land to. white men, the town had ceased to be a part of an Indian reservation, and therefore, the Federal statute prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors on an Indian reservation could not be enforced in Miami. As a result, the saloon business flourished amazingly, the village assuming the appearance and character of a typical wild west town. Within a few short years, however, a Federal Court was located in Miami and the saloons were put out of business. To the credit of the founders of the town it should be noted that they favored the abolition of the liquor traffic.

John S. Cheyne of Melrose, Kans., established the first general store in Miami under the title of the Bigham Mercantile Co. It was located where the Baptist Hospital was afterward built, but was soon moved to the east side of Main Street.

Dr. W. L. McWilliams, who is now a prominent Miami banker, was the first practicing physician and established, the first drug store in the town.

Miami was incorporated in 1895 and Col. Hardy H. Butler was elected mayor at the first election, held on November 4, 1895, at which election 126 votes were cast. Prior to this election there had been no form of town government and no law authorizing the levy of taxes for any purpose.

From this time forward, however, the town began to assume the appearance of a well organized municipality and permanent homes and public improvements became the order of the day. Colonel Butler, the first mayor, became interested in establishing a good school system and served the town as a member of the board of education for many years. Under his direction the town was incorporated as a school district, but as there was no provision of law authorizing the issue of bonds for building schoolhouses, the board of education issued school warrants of the denomination of $100 each and sold them to the residents, using the proceeds to build their first schoolhouse. While these preparations for a public school system were being perfected, Mrs. J. L. Talbott was conducting a little school at her home.

The first post office was established in Miami in 1.893 and as there was no railroad in sight at that time, .the mail was carried across the country to and from Baxter Springs, Kan.

Miami is, surrounded by a good agricultural, country and for a number of years it grew rather slowly, but kept apace with the development of the surrounding towns. Like all other young Indian Territory towns, its development was somewhat retarded, by its inability to raise sufficient funds by taxation to supply all of the needed public improvements.

For nearly twenty years the inhabitants seemed contented with trying to make Miami the center of the agricultural trade of the northeastern part of Indian Territory, apparently unaware of the fact that they were just on the border of one of the greatest and richest deposits of lead and zinc in the United States. To be sure, samples of ore had been found in wells and creek bottoms, and for many years the Indians had molded leaden bullets from such samples, but the wildest imagination could not foresee the wonderful developments that were to become a reality in the near future.

The Miami Of Today

As already indicated, Miami was poorly prepared for the sudden influx of population which immediately followed the announcement of the, discovery of vast deposits of lead and zinc, but with characteristic Western enterprise its citizens got busy and they now boast of having an up-to-date city with all the modern conveniences. They now have, three railroads including an interurban line which connects Miami with the towns and mining camps which have sprung up in the district.
Miami has built twenty miles of paving; a seven story modern hotel at a cost of $200,000, with a number of smaller hotels ; solid brick business blocks from two to five stories in height ; a city water and sewer system costing about four hundred thousand dollars ; a first class public school system including a good high school and three or four ward schools; a State School of Mines valued at $300,000, for which the citizens donated a valuable site; a Carnegie Library; two daily and weekly newspapers'; a good commercial college; eight churches, well maintained; a modern fire department ; a successful County Fair Association ; a Country Club and Club House; the leading secret and fraternal orders and last but not least, a distinctive, intelligent American citizenship.

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