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Much of our heritage is in
the ground itself—in countless cemeteries scattered all
over every county in every state in the nation. In many
states, the law and its administrative rules prohibit
unauthorized disinterment and establish a clear process
for examining and reburying remains. Reburial is
conducted under strict conditions as established by the
states and closely monitored.
Or so
we are told.
For
decades, the remains of our forefathers have been
removed from their resting places, in the form of
threats posed by urban development, agricultural
activity, lumbering operations, vandalism, and neglect.
A simple search of the Internet or a local newspaper
will quickly show that while the laws do exist in many
states, they are ignored on a regular basis by both
developers and local officials. This is not a problem of
the past. It is one that we face today, and it gets
worse every day.
Saving an endangered
cemetery is not an easy project. It is not fun, and it
is not something to be taken lightly. Your more than
likely to make more enemies than friends as a result of
your efforts. It will require a great deal of time,
energy and effort on your part. These issues can become
emotionally charged and can drag on for a considerable
amount of time. But if you are successful, the results
are so rewarding. You have taken steps to save an
irreplaceable part of your state and local history. You
are becoming an advocate for the cemetery and those who
are buried there.
In order to assist you
in getting started Saving Graves has put together the
following information that we hope will be of value. You
must realize that just as the laws regarding cemetery
preservation are different in every state, no two
cemetery problems are exactly alike. With that in mind,
it would be pointless to try to focus on one specific
issue. This is only a set of suggestions. There is a
great more that will need to be done than what we go
into here. This is only intended to assist those
interest in getting off on the right foot.
GETTING STARTED
ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE
PROPERTY DEEDS
MAPS, ETC.
LEGAL ISSUES -
ATTORNEYS
LEGAL ISSUES -
STATE LAWS
LEGAL
ISSUES - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
WHO TO CONTACT
- STATE / LOCAL OFFICIALS
WHO TO CONTACT
- THE MEDIA
WHO TO CONTACT
- THE
INTERNET
OTHER RESOURCES
GETTING STARTED
Before anyone else is
going to assist you or even take notice, you have to
make sure that they are aware of the problem and are
open to the concept that cemeteries are valuable and
should not be destroyed so that a farmer can plant a few
more crops, or that the local retail or grocery store
can open up a new location. Some people will have no
difficulty understanding this at all, but there are
others that you will have explain why this is not right.
You must be able to clearly inform and convince them why
cemeteries are valuable. Jeanne Robinson of the Oregon
Historic Cemeteries Association in her paper on Cemetery
Advocacy summed it up this way:
- They are
repositories of unique genealogical, historical,
religious, cultural, societal and medical
information that may not be recorded in any other
format.
- They are free
public museums filled with history and irreplaceable
artwork.
- They are places in
which the average citizen has an opportunity to walk
in the footsteps of their ancestors.
- They are sources
of humor, pathos, and folklore.
- They are
laboratories filled with antique biological
specimens.
- They are habitat
for birds and wildlife -- greenspaces.
You must be able to
describe the problem as briefly as possible, but at the
same time offering detail. Finding the right mix of what
to say, or sometime what not to say is vital. Keep in
mind that your audience quite likely may have never
experienced visiting an endangered cemetery. You may
want to take them to see for themselves or produce
photographic evidence. Please be sure that you have
permission to enter the cemetery property or cross
adjoining properties before taking people out to see the
cemetery. Be prepared at a moments notice to talk anyone
interested about your cemetery, its location, the danger
it faces, the attitude of neighbors in the area, etc.
You will need to have a
clear solution in mind to the problem taking into
account costs, time lines, impact to the cemetery,
visitors, neighborhood, etc., as well as plans for
on-going maintenance after the solution is implemented.
keep in mind that as a result of your efforts you may
save the cemetery, but what's to stop someone else from
trying the same thing a few years down the road?
One of the most
important things that we cannot stress upon you enough
is DON’T DO THIS ALONE! It's just too big of a
job for most people to do by themselves. You have
selected this cemetery to fight for because for some
reason it is special to you. You may or may not have
loved ones located there. You just know that what is
taking place is not right and it needs to be stopped.
Try and find others who feel as you do (no matter what
the reason) and enlist their help in developing your
plan of action. Some of them may be hard to find, others
not. But they are out there, and they care just as much
as you do. These people can help clarify your plea and
enhance your voice. They will help you be an effective
advocate (or one or more of them may do it better than
you). The more voices you have, the stronger your
message is. Remember, the goal is to save your cemetery
-- not to gain recognition for having done so. Stay
focused.
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ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE
One of the first things
that you need to do is to start accumulating whatever
evidence there may be from the past as proof of the size
and number of burials. You may find records of the
cemetery in various locations. You must be sure to
utilize every record available to you at the county or
local library, in the city and county offices, as well
as important family documents found by tracing and
contacting many pioneer descendants. The one thing that
you pass by could possibly hold exactly the information
that you need to save the cemetery Questions that you
must look into include:
- Are there previous
tombstone inventories from earlier decades?
- Are there any
indexed listings of burials in the county or local
newspapers? Have there been any articles printed on
this cemetery in the county or local newspapers at
any time in the past?
- Does the local
historical or Genealogy society have records on
these cemeteries?
- Were there ever
any county indigent burials made there where the
coroner or public administrator's office may have
records?
- Are there any
County or Local History books or publications that
would have records or mention of the cemetery
within?
In the case of
potential development on the cemetery property
- Was an
Environmental Impact Report ever written for this
development project?
- What does the
section on Cultural Resources say about the
cemetery? The watershed/drainage effects?
- Has the State
Trust for Historic Preservation been notified of
this potential loss?
- Are there any
endangered species (wildlife, plantlife, etc) within
the cemetery or it's immediate vicinity?
If you have names of
some of those buried there, sign up for all the
genealogy lists for each state (ie. through Rootsweb,
such as CEMETERY-L@rootsweb.com and send a NOTICE TO
POSSIBLE DESCENDANT FAMILY OF THOSE BURIED IN ???
CEMETERY. State succinctly what is happening and provide
the names of people to contact to complain about this.
(If you don't make it easy for them, chances are they
won't come forward.) More on this below.
Are there slave or
African American graves involved? If so, perhaps the
NAACP or other African American organizations could step
in to help also.
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PROPERTY DEEDS
You will want to
determine the current and previous ownership of the
cemetery property. You may find that the land was set
off and a cemetery established on one of the early
recorded deeds, but in latter deeds the cemetery is not
mentioned. It is vital to have all documented
transactions involving the land the cemetery is located
upon.
We suggest first
starting with the most recent deed/transfer/title at the
appropriate courthouse & working your way back. Make
copies! You may need to pull out old wills as well.
These will be located in a different area of the
Courthouse. In some cases they may have been relocated
to an archives building.
You may discover that
in some cases the cemetery may have been deeded at some
point to the township in the hopes that this will
protect it from development or relocation. This may not
necessarily be the case as the laws here will differ
from state to state. You will need to research this
point in detail. In California, for example, counties
may only legally relocate public cemeteries for specific
reasons. One is because of water resources reservoir
projects. The other, and only one other, is a county
hospital cemetery and that is only if the need for the
land occupied by the cemetery is for an equal and
similar public purpose (ie institution, hospital, etc.).
The site having been deeded over at some point may not
sufficient to protect it from development or relocation,
but it certainly could be helpful, provided the current
cemetery trustee is willing to stand up to the
developers. It is advised that if all possible to poll
the members of the Township Board to find out what their
position on the issue is.
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MAPS, ETC.
You should be able to
get copies of tax maps, aerial photographs from your
State or County Department of Transportation, Farm
Bureau, etc. Sometimes these areas have plat maps as
well. Go as far back as possible with photographs.
There is also thermal
imaging photography which is another option, but can be
costly depending on how large of an area you are
concerned with.
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LEGAL ISSUES - ATTORNEYS
If you know of a real
estate attorney, have him/her look over everything. As a
word of warning here, you can have 20 different
attorneys look over your information and get back 20
different opinions. Each one interprets the law into
what they know best. However, this is still a good step
to take and most attorneys will not charge you for an
initial visit.
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LEGAL ISSUES - STATE LAWS
Most, but not all
states have some type of laws that protect abandoned
public graveyards from the threats posed by urban
development, agricultural activity, lumbering
operations, vandalism, and neglect. The law must be
researched so that you have a clear understanding of
exactly is and is not legal in the state. This is
something that you can do on your own, or you may wish
to have an attorney to assist you. If you choose to do
this on your own, you will need to get a copy of the
State laws regarding cemeteries. Please be aware that
the laws regarding cemeteries are different in every
state. You will also need to be aware that there will be
cemetery related laws in many different sections of the
state code. Most States have their laws available on the
Internet, and have included the ability to search the
entire code. If you enter the word "cemetery" into the
search box you should receive a listing of every
occurrence of the word in the entire state code. Saving
Graves provides links to these laws on every State page
where possible. If possible, you will want to print
these out so as to be able to quickly refer to them as
needed.
Many states are now
offering an online Legal Information Center where there
will be a wide assortment of legal information. While
the basics such as the State code will be provided free
of charge there may be a small fee required to access
other parts of these sites.
In some locations there
may be county or local laws that will be in addition to
the state laws. These may or may not be accessible on
the Internet.
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LEGAL
ISSUES - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
We at Saving Graves
strongly believe that the possible presence of unmarked
burials should be considered in development projects. If
the location of burials is known in the early stages of
development planning, it would take little effort or
cost to modify plans and leave the burials undisturbed.
Whether
it is through formal reviews or by contacting the Office
of the State Archaeologist (OSA) or other such state
agency directly, developers and planning agencies should
consider project effects on burial sites. The OSA
regularly works with developers and agencies to help
identify burial sites within potential development
areas. If a burial site is present, the OSA may suggest
modifications to development plans to protect the site.
Prior
to construction—preferably in the early stages of
planning—developers, zoning and planning boards, other
agencies, and landowners should contact the OSA. Provide
maps and descriptions of development area boundaries, or
simply call the OSA with the legal description. The OSA
will check its records and will provide information on
any known burials within the project area. This
relatively quick step can save time and money in the
long run.
An
absence of recorded sites does not necessarily mean no
burials are present. It could just mean that no one has
ever looked for mounds or burial sites in that
particular location. The OSA can examine a site’s
environmental and topographic setting to assess the
potential for unrecorded burials. Blufftops, ridge
spurs, and high terraces overlooking rivers and streams
are likely settings for burial sites. If an area appears
to have a high potential for containing burials, an OSA
Burials Program staff archaeologist can make a site
visit, upon request, to determine if any obvious burial
features, such as mounds, are present.
Unmarked historic-era cemeteries can be present in a
variety of landforms and locations. Archival records and
interviews with local informants can often provide
valuable information on a cemetery’s presence.
The State Historical Society
also can provide state and federal guidelines for
archaeological surveys. All federally assisted or
licensed projects must be reviewed by the Historical
Society to ensure compliance with federal historic
preservation laws.
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WHO TO CONTACT
STATE / LOCAL OFFICIALS
There are many state
and local agencies that you may want to contact. These
would include the following
- Governors Office
- State Attorney
Generals Office
- State Trust for Historic
Preservation
- Dept. of Archives
& History
- State Conservation
Dept.
- Environmental
Management
- State Historical
Commission
- Law Enforcement
- Planning Offices
- County/Local
Director of Public Works
In the case of a
cemetery with Indian or Veterans graves, you should also
contact the following:
- State Indian
Affairs Commission
- State Dept. of
Veterans Affairs
- State Military
Dept.
- Local VFW Post
- Local American Legion Post
However, to be honest,
it's been our experience that contacting the local or
county officials in some cases the county officials is,
a waste of your time. Far more often than not, the local
and county officials are not only aware of the problem
but may be a party to it in some form. A housing or
commercial development will bring in more tax dollars
than a cemetery.
Saving Graves
recommends that you contact the State Attorney General's
office. You will want to explain the situation to them
in some detail, and if at all possible, point out which
state laws have been violated, and how. In the event
that there is not an existing state law dealing with the
issue in question, you may contact your local State
Representative to have their office request the State
Attorney General to issue an Official Opinion on the
subject.
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THE MEDIA
You have got to stir up public
interest--it's the ONLY thing that politicians know.
Because if the constituents don't seem to care, neither
do the politicians. You cannot do too much to promote
your cause. Do everything that you can
think of to get the word out to those that might share
your interests. The more people that know
about it, the more people will let the politicians know
that this is not acceptable to them and it needs to be
stopped.
You will want to
contact all the media -- Newspapers, TV, Radio, etc --
you can get contact information for, be it email or
regular addresses. In general the media outlets are
quite open to endangered cemetery stories as it will
attract readers or viewers.
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THE INTERNET
If used correctly, the
Internet can be a powerful tool in the effort to save
your cemetery. There are numerous websites, newsgroups,
mailing lists, etc that are of either a local nature or
cemetery specific that can and will provide a huge
amount of worldwide exposure to your issue. For example,
lets say that you are trying to save the Wilson Family
Cemetery located in Dekalb County, Tennessee. By
contacting the following you can reach a number of
people that may have a possible interest or connection
to the cemetery:
- GenFourm -
http://www/genform.com
Here
you could post your information to the following
fourms:
Wilson
Dekalb County, Tennessee
Cemeteries
- RootsWeb -
http://www.rootsweb.com
RootsWeb provides numerous mailing lists and message
boards where information could be provided on your
cemetery reaching thousands of people daily.
These are just two
suggestions, there are many other Internet resources
that would welcome your information. Saving Graves is
proud to be able to offer free Webspace to anyone
wishing to place the information about their cemetery
problem online. An example of the services that we can
provide can be found at the following URL:
http://www.savinggraves.com/usa/va/pebblecreek/index.html
In a short span of just
under three weeks, over 2,600 people visited this
website. It was picked up be various local media and the
community was informed of what was taking place.
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OTHER RESOURCES
If there are
Revolutionary vets in the cemetery:
If there are
American Civil War vets in the cemetery:
If
there are Native American graves in the cemetery:
On Nov. 16, 1990,
Congress passed the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA). Comprising sections 3001 through 3015 of
Volume 25 of the United States Code, NAGPRA was created
in result to the concerns raised by Native American
groups over the desecration of their sacred burial
grounds and sacred objects. This law establishes a way
for Native Americans to request the return of tribal
human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and
other objects having a central importance to a Tribe's
culture that are held by federal agencies or federally
funded museums or institutions. The Act also protects
against the inadvertent discoveries of Native American
sacred objects in that it requires a 30 day delay period
after the discovery is made so that Native American
groups have the opportunity to determine the appropriate
action to take regarding the objects. You can learn more
about NAGPRA by visiting
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/.
All NAGPRA business is
conducted and made possible by federal funding from the
National Park Service. Each tribe has appointed a
primary NAGPRA contact, the role of which has also
expanded to include daily communication with agencies
such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Park
Service, various state and federal agencies including
but not limited to historical societies, Bureau of Land
Management, private sector construction/excavation
companies, state archaeologists, Departments of
Transportation, federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies, U.S. Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and Attorney General offices of various
states.
Federal Agency Contacts
for Implementation of The Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act.
For further information
on NAGPRA, contact Laura Mahoney, NAGPRA Consultant,
National Park Service, Archaeology and Ethnology
Program, 1849 C Street NW, NC340, Washington, DC, 20240;
202-343-8161 ext. 1095; or
dca@nps.gov.
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