It is unfortunate that we here in the United States, a country whose
citizens conspicuously owe everything to their ancestors, show them such
disrespect. I have witnessed similar events here in my home county of
Huntington. Sadly, In my youth, I was party to the destruction of a
cemetery:
As a youngster I spent a couple of summers working as a farm hand. The
farm where I worked was typical of those in the area and aside from the
normal cultivation of corn and soybeans, had a small number of beef
cattle, pigs, and sheep. There was a long narrow strip of pasture
stretching out behind the grain barn, bordered on both sides by
barbed-wire fence and cultivated fields. At different time of the year
this pasture was occupied by all of the resident livestock. At the end
of this pasture was a patch of woods roughly 10 acres in size. The
farmer used the edge of this woods to store (deposit) unused farm
implements of various types. One day I was given the task of delivering
an old cultipacker to this private salvage yard. As I drove the tractor
back through the pasture towards the woods, I noticed what appeared to
be a collection of boxes strewn about the ground in front of the woods.
As I drew closer I realized what I was seeing were actually
gravestones. I deposited the rusting hulk behind the tractor in a
likely spot and started back toward the barn. I made a wide arc along
the edge of the woods and stopped near the old cemetery to have a look.
The cemetery was small and I could see less than a dozen stones. The
stones were mostly toppled over and many were broken. The ground around
the stones was bare and the pigs had used the grave depressions as
wallows. I looked for a bit from the seat of the tractor and then
continued back to the barn, all too soon forgetting this little
cemetery. I was then, at the tender age of 13 or 14, far more
interested in biology than genealogy.
Now, more than twenty years later, the pasture, the woods, and the
cemetery have all been cleared in favor of bigger fields for
cultivation. I have never found any records of the little cemetery or
anyone who remembers it. I don't know how old it was or what people
buried their dead there. Because I said nothing, did nothing, and told
nobody, I am as guilty of destroying this cemetery as the farmer and the
man who ran the bulldozer.
--
Scott Satterthwaite
Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project State Coordinator
http://www.citznet.com/~ssattert/inpcrp/
Indiana Biographies Project Assistant State Coordinator
http://www.aye.net/~dee1234/indybios/inbio2.html
Huntington County InGenWeb Coordinator
http://www.citznet.com/~ssattert/HiGenWeb.html
==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
Cemetery: (n) A marble orchard not to be taken for granite.