Maybe anyone who has been through John Walters cemetery restoration class
would qualify. I don't know...Bob
June 2, 2008
Cemetery volunteers help hunt for history
Uncovering headstones aids state in preservation
By Vic Ryckaert
vic.ryckaert(a)indystar.com
The state is enlisting volunteer history buffs to help uncover and preserve
fallen tombstones at old cemeteries across Indiana.
"These are our ancestors. We are doing this out of respect for what they did
to help settle Indiana," said Jeannie Regan-Dinius, cemetery registry
coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology.
The state has thousands of cemeteries, including 132 in Marion County. Some
are forgotten. The stones topple, dirt builds, and grasses and weeds take
over.
A small cadre of several hundred volunteers is helping to find those buried
stones and catalog the people who rest below.
"(Cemeteries) become an eyesore and haven for vandals when they are not kept
up," Regan-Dinius said. "These individuals are out there spending their own
money and their own time to do this preservation work."
It's against state law to disturb a grave, but archaeologists can get
permits for scientific investigation. Recent changes in state rules now
allow trained volunteers to get permission to search for old tombstones
without disturbing remains, Regan-Dinius said. This month, the state began
hosting meetings to teach volunteers about the changes in the laws.
One preservation training session was Saturday. The state will train these
volunteers to use long metal poles to probe for buried stones, ideally
without causing damage, Regan-Dinius said.
Forgotten grave sites have long been a national problem. Often, old
cemeteries are found when a bulldozer smashes into a stone.
"The big problem, certainly around the suburbs of Indianapolis, is we have
all these tiny little cemeteries that began to spring up in the 19th
century," said Paul Mullins, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
"Many times, developers don't know they are there, farmers don't know they
are there, until they accidentally dig up grave markers or, in the worst
case, skeletal remains," Mullins said.
He credits Regan-Dinius and the DNR for trying to tackle the problem rather
than ignoring it.
"This is an attempt by the state to really develop a concrete preservation
strategy," Mullins said. "That's the logical place to start. You can't
save
the stuff if you don't know where it is."
Cemeteries are revered grounds, he said, and most researchers would rather
not disturb them.
In many cases, bodies don't need to be dug up. Uncovering the tombstones and
grave sites can give experts a treasure trove of information about how
people lived, such as their social status and religious beliefs, Mullis
said.
Earl Salisbury's strong interest in genealogy prompted him to get involved
and volunteer in the DNR's cemetery effort.
Salisbury, a former Indianapolis City-County Council member and a member of
the Sons of the American Revolution, a national group that helps preserve
the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, said his love of history fuels his
desire to get his hands dirty helping to preserve the past.
"History provides phenomenal direct lessons to family," he said. "Keeping
cemeteries in place gives us a place to visit that past family."
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