Jon,
I asked a county commissioner to have the county surveyor to survey a
cemetery for me. He did it with no problem and sent ME the survey. This
cemetery was deeded to the trustees of the cemetery (not township trustee).
It has long been abandoned and has not been maintained at all. Since the
first burial was done in 1835 I felt it was, ultimately, the county's
responsibility.
Angela Tielking
----- Original Message -----
From: "jon andrews" <sianoil(a)hotmail.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2002 9:05 PM
Subject: [INPCRP] Map Standardization, Surveys, etc.
To the list:
Taking two steps back and off the subject of genealogy. There was quite a
detailed discussion a few days ago about GPS and recording data on
location
of cemeteries, which was way over my head to say the least. I
wondered
though, first, we have talked a lot on this list about county officials,
but
have never heard much discussion about County Surveyors and their
role in
helping to preserve these sites. Now, I know most are underpaid and some
counties don't even have them or contract it done, but second, I would
suppose that if the cemetery falls under the rule of the public, say
County
Commissioners or the trustee, aren't they somewhat obligated to
make a
land
survey or at the very least a
recording of the coordinates of the cemetery to help preserve it. The way
I
see it is...
1. If the DNR does not recognize a cemetery that is not recorded (This is
what they told us a few years back during our coal mine battle) and
2. You can't record it without a description
Then, I would think that the County Surveyor would be somewhat obligated
to
bring it into compliance with the law and I also question the fact
that
the
trustees are spending public funds on something that,
essentially, does not exist. Not to mention that some of them are located
on
private property.
Just a note as to what has happened in our county. The Commission, through
the County Surveyor, has a workforce of surveying students from Vincennes
University under his wing surveying and recording over 30 cemeteries in
Knox
County, so far. I hope it continues.
Jon
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Quote from William Gladstone (1809-1897), three-time Prime Minister of
England
and Victorian contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli:
"Show me the manner in which a nation or community
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exactness the tender mercies of its people, their
respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty
to high ideals."