Alvan V. Burch

Alvan Vernon Burch Sr. (also called A. V. Burch) (May 27, 1886 – November 21, 1973) was an American businessperson, public servant, inventor and politician. He served as chairman of the first Indiana State Highway Commission and was a leader in the development of Highway 40, Highway 50 and the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge. Burch served as Indiana State Auditor from 1944 until 1948. As long-time president of Burch Plow Company, he co-invented a rotary wheel hoe.

Early life and career

Alvan Vernon Burch was born in a log cabin in Crawford County, Illinois, on May 27, 1886. As an adult, he would tell people he was born in 1901. His parents were Sarah and Jasper Burch. He had many siblings and the family was very poor. Burch's highest level of education was 8th grade. Burch eventually moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he worked in the railroad industry. He was a switchman and a dispatcher. Circa 1907, he worked as a motorman on the Martinsville-Indianapolis Interurban Railway. On November 6, 1907, he married his first wife, Violet Hadley, in Mooresville, Indiana. He was a delegate to the 1944 Republican National Convention. That same year, he ran for Indiana State Auditor and won. He held the position from December 1944 until December 1948. After, he unsuccessfully ran for three additional offices: United States Congress, Indiana Governor, and Mayor of Evansville.

Later life and death

Burch divorced his first wife, Violet after almost 50 years of marriage for a much younger hairdresser named Janet Beckhan, they divorced some time later and he then married Velma Bohie, who ran the hat shop in the McCurdy Hotel. He was active in numerous service organizations, including Kiwanis, Shriners, Loyal Order of Moose, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Service Star Legion, and he was a Mason. He co-founded the Evansville Association of the Blind.

He died on November 21, 1973, in Evansville.

Legacy

Burch's papers are held in the collection of the Indiana State Library.