The County Line
Joe Burgess was Hamilton County’s super historian of the past century. History was his great interest and he knew it well, lived it and wrote about it for decades.
Joe died Saturday at the age of 98, I knew Joe well, and relied on him when I was with the Noblesville Ledger and later with county government.
Whenever a question arose about the people and events in the county’s past, I called Joe and he always had the answer. He was a lifelong Noblesville resident. Joe and his daughter, Cindy, lived in a modest home on the city’s north side, a home that was packed with historical materials.
He was a veteran of World War II, going to Europe shortly after D-Day and serving in the U.S. military occupation administration of Germany. He returned home and started a 35-year career with the Wainwright Abstract Company.
In the 1960s he authored a book, “Hamilton County in the Civil War,” which is recognized as the best account of local soldiers in the war. He was named the official County Historian and became a founding member and chairman of the County Cemetery Commission which located and maintained the county’s pioneer graveyards. He was relentless in the preservation and upkeep of the early cemeteries when many folks paid little attention.
He wrote another book in his later years entitled “My Memories,” which unfortunately has yet to be published. In it, he recounted 75 years of Noblesville history from the point of view of an eyewitness observer. Perhaps it can yet be published.
Joe was a member of the Friends Church, American Legion, 40&8 Society and the state and county historical societies.
Joe’s funeral will be Friday with burial in Crownland Cemetery.
He made a great contribution to his community. He will be sorely missed.