Services

Township Trustees assist residents that are having difficulty meeting their basic needs. Basic needs include having access to adequate shelter and food. This means the Trustee can assist residents with rent/mortgage payments and payment of utilities that make a residence livable. The Trustee also runs an onsite food pantry for all residents of Hamilton Southeastern School district (Delaware Township, Fall Creek Township, Wayne Township). To apply, call the Trustee’s office at 317-842-8595 and leave a message. If you have an emergency (i.e. electric is going to be disconnected within 24 hours), please note this in your message and we will work to get you in as soon as possible.

Many trustees creatively cooperate with other agencies and churches in their areas, keeping costs controlled and delivering services needed. The advantage the Trustee’s systems has over other forms of welfare is the freedom to discern whether or not an individual has and is willing to put forth that personal effort to help themselves. (Indiana Code Title 12)

For more information: Trustee’s Office Assistance – Serving your needs with dignity and respect – Debbie Driskell, Delaware Township Trustee

Burial assistance is available from the Township Trustee when no other means of payment are available. To apply for burial assistance, call the Trustee’s office at 317-842-8595 and leave a message.  Staff will return your call and assist you in completing an Application for Township Assistance on behalf of the resident who has passed away.

According to Indiana Code 23-14 the trustee is to provide and maintain certain pioneer cemeteries located in the township. This includes those cemeteries which have been abandoned. The Delaware Township trustee maintains 3 cemeteries in the township: Eller, Spannuth, and Heady Lane.

Eller

GPS Coordinates: 39.9430809, -86.0491257

In the late 1800’s, a Quaker church occupied the land adjacent to this cemetery. The church and cemetery were referred to as West Liberty. As that part of Fishers, was at one time its own separate town. Today, most genealogy websites refer to it as the Eller Cemetery; as a majority of the Eller family is buried there. Cheeney Creek runs along the southern edge of the property and makes an oxbow below a small hill, where this old landlocked cemetery is located. There are 38 people interred at Eller cemetery including 1 civil war soldier—James A. Payne of Co. E, 39th Indiana Infantry regiment.

Heady

GPS Coordinates: 39.9641000, -86.0330450

Around 1823, James Heady settled much of the area between Big Branch (just north of 126th Street) and the south boundary of Section 36 (116th Street). In fact, credit must be given to James’ wife Dorothy, since James died soon after bringing his family of eleven children to Delaware Township from Massachusetts. To quote Georgianne Neal of the Noblesville Ledger:

“Dorothy Heady, a native of Massachusetts, was evidently a pioneer woman of legendary determination. With her children, eleven in all, she stayed in Delaware Township and farmed. She is shown entering land in county records for the year, 1827, the first of several entries. Later census records show taxable property sufficient for Dorothy Heady to have been considered a woman of means.”
After James Heady died, Dorothy bought 80 acres from the government and encouraged her children to do likewise. Soon there was a total of 750 acres belonging to members of the Heady family and another 322 acres belonging to those who were married to the Heady girls—a total of 1072 acres in Delaware Township. (Heady Hollow: Haunted or Not? By Tom Britt, September 30, 2006)

There are approximately 101 people interred at Heady cemetery including Charles Wesley Heady who served as Delaware Township Trustee on several occasions and 3 civil war soldiers—Frances M. Heady, James C. Redwine, and Henry C. Redwine.

Spannuth

GPS Coordinates: 39.9937170, -86.0210450

There are approximately 100 people interred at Spannuth cemetery (also known as Weaver cemetery) including 6 civil war soldiers—Henry J Crossley, David Mullinex, and Robert Spoore. The oldest known grave in the township (Joshua A. Burgett 6/1787–3/1819) is located in the cemetery. Also interred at Spannuth cemetery is James Benjamin Garrison, who served as chief of Noblesville fire department for seventeen years. The deceased was a leader in this work, being among the first to reach all of the fires. His interest in the protection of the city against flames resulted in him being appointed chief of the fire department when the first horse drawn wagon was purchased by the city. He was also in charge of the department when the first auto fire truck was purchased by the Council.

Indiana Code 15-3-4 charges the trustee with destroying detrimental weeds within their township. Guidelines for notification to the property owner are set within the law.

Notary service is available at no charge for residence of Delaware Township. Please call the office to make an appointment for notary service.

There are other areas of responsibility for trustees that are not widespread. Those include:

• Parks and Recreation
• Zoning and Planning
• Emergency Medical Service
• Community Centers
• Shelters
• Sirens for Emergency Notification and Response