Hello All,
Now that you have determined who owns the cemetery, and obtained permission
from the proper persons, you are ready to go to work!
The next step is assembling all the data that you can find on the cemetery.
Old plats and old listings of those buried there will be helpful, and
don't forget to search for WPA records for the cemetery.
In the 1930's, the Veterans Graves Registration Project platted and
recorded many of the cemeteries in the State. Though the project only
recorded Veterans graves, the maps will show the demensions of the
cemetery, and the number of rows and lots. I have found these maps to be
fairly accurate, but keep in mind that these were done 50 to 100 years
after the cemetery was established, and discrepancies may be found. On a
recent project in Gibson County, the 1939 WPA map indicated a corner of the
cemetery 75' from the cemter of a county road intersection, but the road
had been moved by over 100' in the last 60 years!
Your local library or historical society may have copies of these records,
or they may be obtained from the State Library. We had all the records for
Gibson County copied to microfilm for about $300.00, and are available in
the Princeton Library. You can contact Mr. Stephen E. Towne at the Indiana
State Archives to determine the cost for the records you need. They will
also send a photocopy of the records on an individual cemetery for a small
fee. Remember, not all cemeteries are available.
Seek the assistance of the County Surveyor in locating the boundaries of
the cemetery. In the case of a cemetery that will be maintained by a
township, The Trustee will want to have the legal description provided by
the surveyor recorded. If you do not have enough information to determine
the boundaries, you may have to wait until cleanup is completed, then have
the surveyor establish boundaries that will include all gravesites.
Now, the cleanup process. The most important rule to follow is, MOVE
NOTHING until you have marked it's exact location and recorded it. I used
several copies of the WPA plat to record the location of every piece of
stone that was found during the cleanup process for Marsh Creek cemetery,
but any hand drawn maps or graph paper will work.
Another important rule is to limit the use of power mowers, tractors and
heavy equipment. I have seen stones that were destroyed by the blades of a
bushhog pulled by a small Ford tractor, and stones hidden under weeds
broken by the weight of small tractors as the wheels ran over them. Remove
the vegetation and overgrowth by hand, taking care not to damage or mar any
stones that may be hidden.
If erosion will not be a problem, spraying to kill all vegetation is a good
idea. It will help when you start the process of locating buried stones,
and you can re-seed the cemetery with grass once you have the stones
re-set, and leveling and grading done.
Remember, record the location of every piece of stone. You will find that
even the smallest piece may offer a valuable clue in the identification of
a grave. Also, chunks of rock called "fieldstones" were sometimes used to
mark the locations of graves of people who could not afford a tombstone.
Every rock may be significant in a cemetery.
The condition of your project cemetery will determine how easy or hard
cleanup will be. If most stones are still standing, or laying near their
original location, and you are certain that none have been moved or buried,
cleanup may be as simple as mowing around them and re-setting the ones that
have fallen. The cemetery that I am referring to for these restoration
tips was completely destroyed, with mamy stones buried or thrown in a fence
row, some found a mile away! You must determine which steps are needed for
your project.
Next time, part 3, probing and digging - The search for the pieces of the
jigsaw puzzle!
Ernie Lasley