The Dunham House, located just south of

Kempton, Indiana Kempton is a town in Jefferson Township, Tipton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 335 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Kempton was founded in 1875, upon the comp ...

, USA, was built circa 1880s. The house was built by

William Riley Dunham William Riley Dunham (February 1, 1856 – February 4, 1921), "the man known by name by more men, women and children than any other one man in Tipton County," according to a 1912 issue of the ''Kempton Courier'', was a member of the Indiana Ge ...

who served the U.S. Democratic Party for several years and represented Hamilton County and Tipton County in the Indiana General House of Assembly from 1913-1915.Indiana State Legislator Manual 1913, Indiana General Assembly Biography The home has made and is continuing to make history in this very small Indiana town, most recently with a visit from President Barack Obama and First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

History

The land on which the Dunham House is built was originally a part of the Miami Indian Reserve in Indiana ( Treaty of St. Mary's).Tipton County Heritage Center, The Great Miami Reserve Publication, Tipton, Indiana In 1849, Jacob Dunham bought of land in what is now Jefferson Township from the State of Indiana.Deed Land Grant; U.S. Department of the Interior; General Land Office, Record Number 108; Page 110 Dunham is buried in the Kempton Cemetery north of the town of Kempton. The land was passed on to his son, Jacob Mackey Dunham in 1856. Jacob Mackey eventually moved his family to Oklahoma, and the Dunham Family land was passed to Mackey's sister-in-law, Eliza (Reese) Dunham, in 1891.Deed Transfer; Tipton County, Indiana Deed Record Book 40; Page 578, Tipton County Recorders Office She was the wife of Mackey's brother, Samuel Dunham. She passed the land on to her son,

, in 1900.Deed Transfer; Tipton County, Indiana Deed Record Book 41; Page 477, Tipton County Recorders Office The farm house that he built on the land is known today as The Dunham House. Local legends have been told that William Riley was an acquaintance of President Grover Cleveland and that the President had spent a night in the home. In fact, Riley's son was named Grover Cleveland Dunham and eventually inherited the home from his father.Life Estate Affidavit ; Tipton County, Indiana Deed Record Book 30; Page: 233, Tipton County Recorders Office On the death of Dr. Grover Cleveland's wife, Hazel Dunham, the house was sold to buyers outside the Dunham family.Deed Transfer; Tipton County, Indiana Deed Record Book 113; Page: 10, Tipton County Recorders Office The home fell into many years of neglect and abuse after it left the Dunham family. The home was purchased and is now owned by Shawn Christopher ClementsTipton County, Indiana Deed Record Book 157; Page: 809, Tipton County Recorders Office and is in the process of being restored. The Dunham family played a significant role in the local community. They were farmers, doctors and teachers working within the town limits of Kempton and throughout Tipton and Clinton Counties. Many of their descendants still live in the area today.

From the Dunham House to the White House

In researching the Dunham family that built his home, Clements found a direct connection to President Barack Obama.Obama Family Tree
''Chicago Sun Times'' Jacob Dunham came to Tipton County in the 1840s. He is Obama's fourth great-grandfather. He purchased the land from the United States Government in 1849 when President Zachary Taylor was in office. This land was originally obtained by the government through treaties with the Miami Indians. Jacob Dunham's son, Jacob Mackey Dunham, is Obama's third great-grandfather. He married Lousie Eliza Stroup in Tipton County, Indiana on July 21, 1853, and inherited the land in 1856.Jacob Mackey Dunham
''Chicago Sun Times'', September 9, 2007 Their son, Jacob William Dunham, born on February 7, 1863, in Kempton, was Obama's second great-grandfather. He later left Indiana for Kansas with his wife Mary Ann Kearney, and died on August 13, 1930. Thus President Obama's family continued in Kansas to his mother as the land stayed in the Dunham family for over 120 years. On May 3, 2008, then Senator Obama and his family made a stop at the Dunham House during their Presidential nomination campaign against Hillary Clinton.Obama pays visit to ancestral property
''Kokomo Tribune'', May 4, 2008 Obama wanted to learn more about his ancestors who lived in Kempton because he was influenced mostly by his mother,

Ann Dunham Stanley Ann Dunham (November 29, 1942 – November 7, 1995) was an American anthropologist who specialized in the economic anthropology and rural development of Indonesia. She is the mother of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the Uni ...

, and his grandparents,

Stanley Armour Dunham Stanley Armour Dunham (March 23, 1918February 8, 1992) was the maternal grandfather of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. He and his wife Madelyn Payne Dunham raised Obama from the age of 10 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Early life ...

and

Madelyn Payne Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham ( ; October 26, 1922 – November 2, 2008) was the American maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. She and her husband Stanley Armour Dunham raised Obama from age ten in their Ho ...

Dunham.Barack Obama's grandmother dies
NBC News

Today

Today, the home is privately owned by Shawn Christopher Clements and is being restored to its original beauty. It is open for tours and meetings by reservation. Clements also does many speaking engagements in the surrounding communities at libraries and group gatherings. The hope for this historical home is that it can continue to give back to the community of Kempton and the state of Indiana as it has for so many years before.

References

External links

The Dunham House
{{Coord, 40.280547, -86.231449, display=title, scale:1000 Houses in Tipton County, Indiana