You would not expect a historical society to be exciting, but that word describes the surprising discoveries and experiences at the Jefferson Historical Society.
When the building is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings, folks will stop by and leave a picture, artifact or story with the volunteer staff that often turns into a historical adventure that becomes subject material for this column.
Such was the case this past fall when a woman from Geneva, Ohio, dropped off some donations for the Christmas basket raffle. She also left a hardback copy of a book her grandfather had written and wondered if we had ever heard of him.
The book, written in 1940, was by Geneva-on-the-Lake former resident Perry Burgess, 1886-1962.
Burgess was born in Joplin, Missouri, but became a Geneva-on-the-Lake property owner when he married his second wife, Cora Turney Bateman, 1910-1962, of Madison. Cora’s father, Asa Turney, was a Madison, Ohio, pioneer. She had two children which Burgess adopted, Coralyn and John (who adopted the name Perry Burgess Jr.).
Cora’s grandfather had purchased the property on Lake Erie’s shoreline at Geneva-on-the-Lake in 1901. Burgess and his wife then purchased the property and cottage.
None of the society staff had heard of Perry Burgess or his books, but what the visitor said next perked my interest! Burgess had spent most of his life raising funds to help lepers around the world before retiring to his cottage at Geneva-on-the-Lake.
I asked myself, “Who in the world does that?” Was leprosy still that big of a problem during Burgess’ lifetime?
Burgess had asked himself that same question when approached about helping raise funds for lepers, and the answer he received and saw with his own eyes led him to spend his life raising funds to help those afflicted with the disfiguring, isolating disease that even today has not been confirmed as to the cause.
For a man few have even heard of today, I was amazed to see the number of websites that share his story. My interest increased when I ordered his first book off of eBay, “Who Walk Alone.” It was written by Burgess in 1940 as a fictional story based on the true experience of a young Spanish-American War soldier from Ohio who had been stationed in the Philippines and contracted leprosy years later. Leprosy can remain dormant for years before signs of its presence are seen on the skin. Often toes, arms and legs will deteriorate and fall off.
The soldier chooses to leave his fiancée and community and enter the leper colony of Culion, Philippines. He begins a new life and remains there until he dies years later. The soldier dedicates the rest of his life working with the Governor General to stamp out leprosy. In real life, Culion was one of the largest leper colonies and the most advanced in research, care and housing
The book won the National Book Award when it was published and by 1946 was in its 28th printing! By 1960 it had been translated into more than 50 languages and published in Braille and audio.
What did Burgess hear about leprosy that caused him to devote his life to those affected by it? The answer was found in the second book Burgess wrote which I found on eBay. “Born of Those Years” is the autobiography of Burgess written by him in 1951 after he returned to Geneva-on-the-Lake.
Burgess led a full and varied life after becoming a “boy preacher” at 16 earning enough money to put himself through college.
He and his first wife had two daughters, but the marriage ended. More than 30 years later, he met and married his second wife, Cora Osborne, and together they traveled the world visiting lepers, raising funds for them as well as helping to establish laboratories, schools and hospitals in their colonies.
Lepers were outcast and abandoned or killed. The only method of dealing with leprosy was total isolation from “well” people. Shunned for the rest of their life, no matter their income or status, they had to leave their families and communities and live in whatever shelter they could find and eat whatever food they could forage. When Burgess and his wife, who fully supported him, saw with their own eyes the utter despair of these outcasts, they were changed forever.
The most life-changing event Burgess encountered was to meet and support Major General Leonard Wood, Governor-General of the Philippines. Wood asked him to raise money for new buildings and research for a cure for leprosy. Burgess was a master at raising funds for the needy. One of his first fundraisers came at the request of Helen Keeler who became one of his good friends. Together, they raised thousands to help establish blind schools.
In 1925, Burgess met the wife of the chief medical officer of the Culion leper colony in the Philippines. At her request, Burgess became head of the fund-raising committee which became the Leonard Wood Memorial for the Eradication of Leprosy two years later at Wood’s death. Burgess then became head of the organization.
The funds raised supported the leper colony at Culion and helped build another colony on Cebu as well as supporting research. By 1931, Burgess organized a conference in Manila which brought out the International Leprosy Foundation. Throughout his lifetime, Burgess would be supported and encouraged by General Douglas MacArthur and many other well-known figures at the time who would help him raise funds for lepers.
Next week, you will read of what became of the property and cottage and what new resort has been built there.
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