The stone was probably removed when the granite stone was placed there. I
am speculating that the military stone does not have dates, or complete
dates, and the granite stone does. If the military information on what
unit he was a member of, date information, etc. is on the granite marker
that presently marks the grave, there is no need to return the marker to
the cemetery. It was probably removed when the newer stone was placed and
is actually discarded material which eventually was used as the step,
probably by a relative. I would say your options are:
1. Let the owner of the property where it was found keep it.
2. Put the stone in the Library's museum collection.
3. Give it back to the government, explaining that the stone has been
replaced. (I think it still remains government property?)
I have had two stones turn up in Princeton under similar circumstances,
both had been replaced by newer stones and a family member took the old
stone home. It is best to destroy a stone that has been replaced for this
very reason. Many years later someone will find the old stone and not
know where it came from or the circumstances surrounding how it came to be
where it was found. I would vote for the library museum in the case of
your stone.
Ernie
At 01:46 PM 04/29/2003 -0500, you wrote:
Hello all,
I have need of some advice. A frequent patron of the Indiana Room here
came in and said she had found a tombstone. She had been telling a friend
of hers for several years that the stone step by his garage was a
tombstone. The stone was there when he bought the house 17 years ago. They
turned it over last week, and it is a military tombstone for a CW soldier.
After a couple of days research, we found it belongs in the IOOF cemetery
here in Marion. Now called the Historic Estates of Serenity, the IOOF is a
very old, very large cemetery, still in use today. I called the cemetery
sexton, told him about the stone and asked if we could put it back with
the soldier's grave, it is marked with a granite stone so it isn't an
unmarked grave. The sexton said they would have to install it for
insurance reasons, and then said what he would do was lay it face up on
the ground in concrete. I, of course, said "NO YOU WON'T". He was somewhat
taken aback that I would disapprove of this, and I !
said the stone would deteriorate, and it would not be able to be removed
from the concrete. He said he would install it up right, if there was room
where it wouldn't be in the mower path. I told him we would clean the
stone, and he advised me to use bleach. I again said "NO YOU DON'T". He
said he had had good luck with bleach, also scouring powder and a
biodegradable cleaning solution used with a power washer. He several times
mentioned that he hates marble. He also told me he had repaired several
old stones with 5 minute epoxy and a professional product called Akem. He
refuses to install the stone we have in the ground unless it is put into a
concrete base that encases the stone. He says that tamping the ground and
putting the military stones in the dirt doesn't work, and the stones will
lean. Mark Davis and I went to the cemetery and looked at the military
replacement stones he had installed in the concrete, and also where the
stone we have needs to go. We seem to have 3 !
options that we can think of:
1. Not put the stone back, and the person who's property has the stone
considers the stone "his property" and doesn't want the stone put back in
an unsafe manner that might cause damage to it in the future. We could
possibly store the stone in the library's museum collection.
2. Go in a night and install the stone the right way, and see how long it
takes them to notice its there.
3. Find a descendant and see if they can persuade the sexton to install
the stone correctly. I have traced the soldier's grand son to 1994 when he
died, still working on finding more relatatives.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Since the IOOF is a private cemetery, is
there a way to make them use the proper techniques to install and repair
stones. I appreciate any help any one can give.
Rhonda Stoffer
Head of Indiana History and Genealogy Services
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If we cannot respect the dead, how can we respect the living?