Hello all, I have a problem that I just learned of here in Gibson County, and I need a little help and guidance on what, if anything should be done. I'll start from the beginning with a little background about the cemetery. Hinkle Cemetery is located in the Northwest 1/4 of Military Donation 70; Twp 1S; Range 10W in Washington Township, Gibson County IN. Of the two hundred plus cemeteries in Gibson County, this is one that we have very little data on, the farmer who owns the land would not allow us access to collect information for our "Gibson County Cemeteries" webpage located here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ingibson/gibcem.html The cemetery is listed under "Washington Township" as "Hinkel". It is an old Pioneer Cemetery that has existed at least 170 years, with at least 20 burials dating back to the 1830's. A deed search for the cemetery has never been completed, but an 1881 plat map shows the landowner as Benjamin Hinkle. A 1900 plat map shows the owner as Jos. Wolfe Sr. There is no known cemetery plat or map that shows lots, and it is not in the WPA listings. It is not yet known if the cemetery is mentioned in or excepted out of the land deeds for the property. I am working on obtaining a burial listing from a genealogist that visited the cemetery several years ago. The present landowner is a Wolfe Descendant, Maurice R. Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe died Wednesday evening, and is to be buried "at the Wolfe Cemetery located on the original 125-year-old home place" according to his obituary: http://www.funeralplan.com/colvin/obits?id=64892 So the big question is, can a person be buried in an old Pioneer Cemetery? Since his family has owned the land for 125 years, can he rename the cemetery and declare it as his final resting place? There are existing laws that a cemetery must be platted and must have a perpetual care fund before a person can be buried there? What about "disposal of a body" laws? Is the funeral home responsible for determining if the selected burial place is legal and proper? Will digging a grave there violate the DNR and DHPA rule on needing a permit to disturb the earth within 100 feet of a cemetery? Whose responsibility is it to enforce those laws? I am not sure how to proceed with this. Any thoughts, opinions and guidance on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ernie

You need to check the land records at your county recorder's office and see what you can find. There may be a description or exception in the land records. Have you checked the Federal Land Records site http://www.glorecords.blm.gov to see who the original land owner was and you can trace it down from there. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ernie & Connie Lasley" <elasley@sigecom.net> To: <INPCRP-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 5:48 PM Subject: [INPCRP] New burial in a Pioneer cemetery? > Hello all, > > I have a problem that I just learned of here in Gibson County, and I > need a little help and guidance on what, if anything should be > done. I'll start from the beginning with a little background about > the cemetery. > > Hinkle Cemetery is located in the Northwest 1/4 of Military Donation > 70; Twp 1S; Range 10W in Washington Township, Gibson County IN. Of > the two hundred plus cemeteries in Gibson County, this is one that we > have very little data on, the farmer who owns the land would not > allow us access to collect information for our "Gibson County > Cemeteries" webpage located here: > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~ingibson/gibcem.html > > The cemetery is listed under "Washington Township" as "Hinkel". It > is an old Pioneer Cemetery that has existed at least 170 years, with > at least 20 burials dating back to the 1830's. A deed search for > the cemetery has never been completed, but an 1881 plat map shows the > landowner as Benjamin Hinkle. A 1900 plat map shows the owner as > Jos. Wolfe Sr. There is no known cemetery plat or map that shows > lots, and it is not in the WPA listings. It is not yet known if the > cemetery is mentioned in or excepted out of the land deeds for the > property. I am working on obtaining a burial listing from a > genealogist that visited the cemetery several years ago. > > The present landowner is a Wolfe Descendant, Maurice R. Wolfe. Mr. > Wolfe died Wednesday evening, and is to be buried "at the Wolfe > Cemetery located on the original 125-year-old home place" according > to his obituary: > > http://www.funeralplan.com/colvin/obits?id=64892 > > > So the big question is, can a person be buried in an old Pioneer Cemetery? > > Since his family has owned the land for 125 years, can he rename the > cemetery and declare it as his final resting place? > > There are existing laws that a cemetery must be platted and must have > a perpetual care fund before a person can be buried there? > > What about "disposal of a body" laws? > > Is the funeral home responsible for determining if the selected > burial place is legal and proper? > > Will digging a grave there violate the DNR and DHPA rule on needing a > permit to disturb the earth within 100 feet of a cemetery? > > Whose responsibility is it to enforce those laws? > > I am not sure how to proceed with this. Any thoughts, opinions and > guidance on this will be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > Ernie > > > > > ==== 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. > >