Hundreds of existing local families have ancestors among the 2,000 or so individuals from Howard County who served in the U.S. Civil War (1861-65).  Now we can add a grandson of the City of Kokomo's namesake to the total.

A family history of the village or band leader named Kokomo, created by the Myaamina Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, provides valuable clues about a person with a similar-sounding name in the area in the mid-19th century.  Specifically, the Center reports that while Kokomo's name and much of his life remain a mystery to us today, the family lived on for a time, and there are records of a direct descendant - Pimweeyotamwa (Eli Goodboy) - who served in the Civil War.  (Sadly, no direct descendants are still living.)

In "kokomo neehi eeweemaacihi," a paper published in 2017, authors John Bickers and George Ironstrack write that the young Pimweeyotamwa served in the 101st Infantry Regiment and likely participated in key Civil War events like the Atlanta Campaign and Sherman's March to the Sea.  Pimweeyotamwa was "unique among his fellow soldiers," as the Center's research shows him to be "the grandson of the man often called Kokomo."

If your ancestor was a Civil War veteran, be sure to check out the new online "Howard County Civil War" database, a joint project between the Genealogy & Local History Dept of the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library and the Howard County Historical Society.