Brian and Jean:
What most people don't realize is that the Township Trustee is prohibited by
law from lifting a finger on cemeteries on property on which taxes are
ASSESSED AND PAID. [See Indiana Code 23-14-68 (CARE OF CEMETERIES BY
TOWNSHIPS) at
http://www.ai.org/legislative/ic/code/title23/ar14/ch68.html for
the precise language of the pertinent statute.]
Have you ascertained the legal ownership of the real estate at Hatfield
Cemetery and Stephenson/Sugar Creek Cemetery?
That's really KEY in getting something done. The Trustee's statutory duties
are very specific as set out in IC 23-14-68.
Lois
=================
Clark County Cemetery Preservation Committee --
Next meeting: Saturday, June 3, 2000, at Clarksville Library
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5881
Clark County GENWEB Project:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inclark
Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian <bsmead(a)gte.net>
To: <INALLEN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [INALLEN-L] Allen County Cemeteries
Hi Jean,
Supposedly, the township trustee is to take care of cemeteries, however for
3 days I tryed to contact the trustee in Washington Township and never got
an answer. In Hatfield Cemetery the front part looked like it was taken
care of but 50 feet back it was a disaster.
Brian Smead
At 04:45 PM 04/09/2000 EDT, you wrote:
>Recently, Brian Smead wrote of the deplorable conditions he found while
>visiting the Hatfield Cemetery in Washington Township and his efforts to
have
>something done about it. A genealogy cousin and I are trying to locate
>burials in Stephenson/Sugar Creek Cemetery in Monroe Township, Allen
County.
>As neither of us live near Indiana, a wonderful volunteer offered to check
>for us. She reported back to us that the Stephenson Cemetery is a horrible
>mess. There are many stones missing, stones broken off and lying flat on
the
>ground. Many of the stones are unreadable and are sunken into the ground.
>
>We know from DAR cemetery records for Allen County, that Nancy COBLE
>WHITRIGHT is buried in Stephenson Cemetery. She and her sons and possibly
her
>husband Samuel stones just could not be found because of the conditions of
>the cemetery.
>
>I am terribly concerned about the conditions of these cemeteries in Allen
>County.
>What can be done? Thank you.
>
>Jean Whitright
>Connecticut
>
>