William Barnes Jordan Jr., a prominent Maine historian who published 10 books on topics ranging from the history of Cape Elizabeth to the burial records of Portland’s Eastern and Western cemeteries, died Saturday evening in Portland.

Jordan, who grew up in Cape Elizabeth and had been a longtime resident of Ocean Avenue in Portland, was 88.

Sarah Thompson of Portland with her father William Jordan Jr. at the Maine Veteran's Home in Scarborough in 2012. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

He had spent the last three years living at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Scarborough. Jordan served in the Navy during World War II.

“Bill was an indefatigable researcher. When he delved into a historical topic, he went all out,” State Historian Earle Shettleworth Jr., who is also director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, said Sunday. “He had a highly significant and lasting impact on Maine history.”

Jordan’s daughter, Sarah Thompson of Portland, said her father was an avid bibliophile who loved the history of Maine and Portland. He had an extensive library in his home.

“He had an amazing memory,” said Thompson, who serves as chairwoman of the Portland School Board. “He was like a walking encyclopedia. People from all over the world would call him with questions. He became the go-to guy for history.”

Jordan graduated from Cape Elizabeth High School and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Maine.

He went on to teach high school history before becoming a professor of history at the former Westbrook College in Portland, which is now the Portland campus of the University of New England. He taught American and Maine history there for 28 years. Jordan also served as an adjunct professor of history at the University of Southern Maine’s continuing education division for 18 years.

Though he was not a student of Jordan’s, Shettleworth sat in on a few of his friend’s lectures.

“Bill was a natural and gifted teacher,” Shettleworth said. “He took history very seriously but he conveyed it in a lively and colorful way.”

A MODEL FOR TOWN HISTORIES

Shettleworth said Jordan undertook several research and writing projects that will have a profound effect on future generations of people interested in Maine’s history.

His most notable work was “A History of Cape Elizabeth,” published in 1965, Shettleworth said.

“It has become a model of what modern town histories should be,” Shettleworth said.

In the 1950s, Jordan undertook the task of indexing articles from several Portland newspapers that had been published between 1785 and 1835. The project required him to read original newspaper articles from that period which had been preserved by the Portland Public Library and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The index was published in book form in 1995.

“It was a monumental work of research that will prove to be invaluable to future generations of researchers,” Shettleworth said.

In 1987, Jordan published two books detailing the burial records of Portland’s historic Eastern and Western cemeteries.

Thompson, Jordan’s daughter, said that cemetery officials were so impressed with his work that they reserved an honorary burial spot for him in a tomb at the Eastern Cemetery.

He would have become the first person to have been buried at the Eastern Cemetery in more than 100 years, but he chose to be buried with his parents, Dr. William B. Jordan and Martha W. Jordan, at the Forest City Cemetery in South Portland, Thompson said.

Jordan was a descendant of George Cleeve, who was one of Portland’s first European settlers, arriving in 1633. Jordan was also a descendant of the Rev. Robert Jordan, a minister to the Portland-area colony in the 1630s.

Ken Thompson of Portland, a fellow historian, first met Jordan as a sophomore at the University of Southern Maine. “He was a wonderful professor,” Thompson said.

Thompson reconnected with Jordan as a member of the Maine Historical Society and the two forged a close friendship. “We became close friends even though he was 18 years older than I,” Thompson said.

Jordan’s home was filled with books on a wide range of topics. “He just thirsted for knowledge,” Thompson said.

He said he would borrow books from Jordan and the two would talk history for an hour.

“He was an irreplaceable font of knowledge about Portland. It is a great loss for his family, a great loss for me and a great loss for anyone who cares about Portland history,” Thompson said.

He said Jordan had a wry sense of humor and a curmudgeonly manner. “He did not suffer fools gladly,” Thompson said.

‘INCREDIBLE TEACHER AND WRITER’

Jordan also had a generous side. He gave a number of papers to the Maine Historical Society. He also gave the rights to his book “A History of Cape Elizabeth Maine,” a history of Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, to the South Portland Historical Society, which reprinted the original 1965 edition several years ago. The book is sold in its museum.

Kathy DiPhilippo, executive director of the South Portland Historical Society, called Jordan’s gift a significant donation.

“In my opinion, it is the best history written on the city of South Portland without a doubt. It was well researched, scholarly and in depth. I turn to it all the time,” DiPhilippo said.

Bill Barry, an author and research historian at the Maine Historical Society, said the graduate course he took with Jordan was one of the best courses he ever had. “He was an incredible teacher and writer,” Barry said.

He said Jordan had a thorough knowledge of the Eastern and Western cemeteries in Portland.

“He went to the mat to find out who was buried there and where the veterans were,” Barry said.

Shettleworth said Jordan was also an activist, who spearheaded the effort to raise money to preserve the Portland Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Monument Square. Erected in 1891, the monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Also known as the Our Lady of Victories monument, it is considered the most prominent piece of public art in the city of Portland.

“As a result of Bill Jordan’s efforts, the cultural history of the state and the city have been greatly advanced,” Shettleworth said.

Sarah Thompson said visiting hours for her father will be open to the public. They will be held Wednesday at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road in South Portland, from 4 to 6 p.m.

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