Very true LA. And don't forget that infants and small children were
sometimes buried at the foot of the grave of the mother or to the side of
one parent with no marker.
I would bet "accidental" discoveries would abound as soon as anyone starts
burying in any pioneer cemetery without solid proof of open burial plots. I
would imagine DNR-DHPA has better things to do than have scores of
"accidental" discoveries to investigate in the pioneer cemeteries of
Indiana.
So the solution is to use MODERN cemeteries for burials and leave the
pioneer cemeteries alone. (In other words pay the money for a plot just like
the rest of us)
I know of a pioneer cemetery in Bartholomew County where the wife of the
deceased came in and told the funeral director to bury her husband's
cremains in one of their family plots they had purchased from the township.
Of course there were no plot markers so the funeral director had the
cremains and the stone put in where the family said. Now 2 years later
another relative dies and "oops" the cremains and the stone were located
where the this relative was supposed to be buried...so what happens...the
cremains and the stone have to be moved 20 feet to the proper location. The
family's plot map was HAND DRAWN....what a mess.
So if anyone wants a whole lot of grief and trouble just start burying in
pioneer cemeteries. Every University Archaelogy Dept in Indiana will have
piles of bones in plastic tubs sitting on shelves for a long time.
Mark Davis
----- Original Message -----
From: "L.A. CLUGH" <clugh_la(a)msn.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 7:25 PM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Empty spaces
How interesting,
I thought these new laws were created to protect these
Pioneer cemeteries, pre 1850. And that these old cemeteries
could NOT be used for burials today because of the lack of records.
There are always unmarked burials. That is why they added
the 100 foot barrier. Slaves and servants were know to be
buried outside the fences too.
LAC
----- Original Message -----
From: "ejw13" <ejw13(a)ccrtc.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 8:47 PM
Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Empty spaces
> I know of one cemetery here in Tipton County that has graves dating from
> 1840 to the present. I was told if you can prove no one is buried in a
> site
> then you have permission to be buried there. The records as many of the
> older cemeteries were burned in a house fire many years ago. This is
> under
> the Trustee's care.
>
> Joan Wray
> Tipton County
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brian Smead" <bsmead(a)gte.net>
> To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 1:16 PM
> Subject: RE: [INPCRP] Empty spaces
>
>
> Sue, your last paragraph makes since but some of the pioneer cemeteries
> are
> still active. Case in point is the Hatfield cemetery outside of Fort
> Wayne.
> First burial was in 1836 and the last one was in 1988, and this is only
> an
> acre plot of land, willed to the township in 1865. Maybe they can do the
> same as the Veterans cemeteries. If my wife gets buried in a veterans
> cemetery as the wife of a veteran, then I, as the veteran, has to be
> buried
> on top of her in the same plot.
>
> Brian E. Smead
> Terre Haute, Indiana
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sue Silver [mailto:ssilver1951@jps.net]
> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 11:42 AM
> To: INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com
> Subject: Re: [INPCRP] Empty spaces
>
>
> Periodically funeral homes and privately owned and operated cemeteries
> (re:
> commercial entities) have come up with new and innovative approaches to
> these matters. Most of the time it is a way to skirt the law and the
> cost
> of doing things legally. Trouble is, they all talk to one another and so
> these kinds of "ideas" spread like wildfire.
>
> If I recall, a lot of this started back in the 1960s. The book "American
> Way of Death" (pub. 1960s) documented what was going on then. An updated
> edition of the book was released a few years ago.
>
> I just have to ask why these historic "pioneer" cemeteries cannot just be
> left alone (read: no more burials) so they may remain what they represent
> in
> the here and now - pieces of the past for the local communities as
> symbols
> of their history and heritage.
>
> Sue Silver
> California
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephens, Larry V" <stephenl(a)indiana.edu>
> To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:32 AM
> Subject: [INPCRP] Empty spaces
>
>
> > I am told that the owner of a funeral home in Greene County appeared at
> > a
> genealogical society meeting in a nearby county and asked for help
> locating
> old cemeteries. His plan is to locate available spaces in those
> cemeteries
> and then offer them to people at - probably - reduced costs. I suppose
> this
> is compared to commercial cemeteries like Valhalla here in Bloomington.
> >
> > This is not meant to impugn the intent or integrity of these people,
> > but
> it did raise some questions in the attendees' minds. Many remote
> cemeteries
> do not have regular tending and, in some cases, it may be hard to
> determine
> who "owns" them and controls them. If a funeral home so chose, they could
> "sell" these lots (sell without benefit of rights of ownership in the
> first
> place), bury someone and move on.
> >
> > Of course there are supposed to be filings on burials, but...
> >
> > Any thoughts on this notion?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Larry V. Stephens
> > Office of Risk Management
> > 812-855-9758
> > stephenL(a)indiana.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > ==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
> > Brad Manzenberger < INPCRP(a)inpcrp.org > is the INPCRP State
> > Coordinator.
> Feel free to contact him directly regarding questions or comments you may
> have about the INPCRP.
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
> This list is for discussion of topics related to the Indiana Pioneer
> Cemeteries Restoration Project only.
> Please do not send genealogical queries through this list. The surname
> and
> geographic Mailing Lists on Rootsweb at
http://lists.rootsweb.com are a
> better venue.
> Thank you.
>
>
> ==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
> Brad Manzenberger < INPCRP(a)inpcrp.org > is the INPCRP State Coordinator.
> Feel free to contact him directly regarding questions or comments you may
> have about the INPCRP.
>
>
>
>
>
> ==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
> Brad Manzenberger < INPCRP(a)inpcrp.org > is the INPCRP State Coordinator.
> Feel free to contact him directly regarding questions or comments you may
> have about the INPCRP.
>
>
==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
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http://www.inpcrp.org