This may be of interest to those living in the vicinity of Decatur County.
From the Rush County list:
This was what I sent to the Rushville Republican I hope it gets in
before the meeting tomorrow Diana
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? GONE TO CEMETERIES EVERY ONE-
"Where have all the flowers gone, The've gone to cemeteries one by
one" these words from a 1960's song reminds us that cemeteries have
flower placed on graves of the soldiers. It also tells us that at a
later time those same cemeteries return to flowered fields. The
burial sites of many of Indiana pioneers are being lost, but not back
to flowered fields. There is a group of people in Rush Co. that has
compiled a list of the locations of all known cemeteries in Rush Co.
Photographs of each site have been taken and will soon be in the
Rushville Public Libraries Genealogy research room.
In expanding this project, an informational meeting at will be
held at the Rushville Library on January 8 at 6:30 p.m. Jeannie
Regan-Dinius, from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
will provide information about the current Indiana Law and the
cemetery registry being set up by the DNR as required by the law that
went in to effect 1 July 2000.
In the state of Indiana, a group of "unattached" people have banded
together to form a group called "Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries
Restoration Project" or INPCRP. The founder of this 'loose' knit
group is Lois Mauk, of Clark County. Though the efforts of Lois and
this group and Representative Mark Lytle of the 69th District,
Madison, the Indiana Laws are slowly being changed to help preserve
the Pioneer cemeteries.
In July of 2000 the new Indiana Law set up a section in the
Indiana DNR to develop a statewide listing of ALL burial locations in
the state. This computer database is being compiled and maintained
by Jeannie Regan-Dinius. This data entry plan will register not
only the very old cemeteries but any location being used to provide
the a final resting place within Indiana. To do this she has called
on Lois Mauk and her group to gather data in their local counties.
This data is placed in the State's DNR database. Information
collected will include: location dates for the first graves; whether
the cemetery is still being used; what if any group maintains the
location; the exact location & etc. The purpose is to provide a
record of the sites to preclude their destruction or loss. There is
also a provision in the law to establish a county cemetery
commission. Most of the counties surrounding Rush now have such
commissions.
Many of Indiana pioneer cemeteries have already been destroyed
due to neglect, vandals or down right total destruction by farmers,
shopping centers or housing developments. The 2000 law makes it a
crime to destroy or misuse the site of any known grave or cemetery.
The DNR has been charged with protection of any location known to
have been a burial location. The fact that any grave before 1935 is
to be considered an archeological site and also provides special
procedure to protect and for moving of that gravesite.
In Rush Co. we have at least 9 cemeteries that have been plowed
up for farm usage. There are, also, some gravesites that are in
desperate need of care. Due to the neglect that comes with the
years, the old family plots and what were once church graveyards are
being lost. In order to help with the development of the cemetery
registry, learn what other implication the 2000 law and discuss a
cemetery commission. Jennie Regan-Dinius from the DNR, will be the
main speaker at the 8th January meeting. She will explain the
workings of her database and the Law as it now applies to Indiana's
cemeteries.
Anyone that is interested in the cemeteries in the area, wants
information on the state wide registry, or the current Indiana
cemetery laws is welcome to attend the 8 January meeting. If you are
interested in the Indiana Pioneer Cemetery Restoration web site check
out
http://www.
rootsweb.com/~inpcrp/ or contact Diana Mahan at
932-3008 (wmmahan(a)comsys.net) for information on the 8 January
meeting.