Hi Listers! I've been lurking out here following this thread on restoration of cemeteries with interest. I agree with Howard, it can be done, but it usually takes someone from in the family to give it the tender loving care touch that it deserves! I live in Southeast Missouri. There's an old family cemetery near Farmington that someone in the family has restored. Previously, it was just a plain little old cemetery with a rock wall around it, not really neglected but nothing special either. When I stopped by there this past summer, I could not believe my eyes. It was like stepping into the Garden of Eden. There were new shrubs and evergreens, stone benches, bird baths, and new sod. There wasn't a weed in the place. They'd also wired the cemetery with electricity and had a sprinkling system on a timer. I know because it went off while I was there! Just about every grave was decorated with gorgeous floral arrangements. It looked like something out of Better Homes & Gardens Magazine. In fact, it's the first cemetery that I've ever been to that I wished I'd brought a book as I wanted to sit down and stay awhile. It was like being in a shady, lush courtyard. I have pictures if anyone is interested. My cousins and I recently discovered a family graveyard on private farm property in which our 4th greatgrandfather and his immediate family is buried. It's way back in the woods and has a beautiful decorative iron fence around it. You can see that it was a pretty little cemetery in its day. However, it's now so overgrown and neglected that we had to fight our way through the weeks and brush just to find the stones. My 4th great grandfather has thousands of descendants as he had 14 children himself and several of his children had between 10-15 children each. The farmer who owns the property is not related, but he's not a problem. He's been very nice in allowing us access to the cemetery. The problem is finding someone to help me clean it up. I've tried posting messages on the appropriate surn ame boards, contacting descendants directly, putting out requests to boy scout troops, etc. but have only received lukewarm response. It seems that most of the people who have contacted me supporting my clean-up effort are either too old or too far away to help out themselves and the younger ones don't have any interest. It's so far gone, that it would just be too big of a job for just my cousins and I (who are all female) to handle on our own. I guess my next step will be to solicit donations to hire it done. I haven't been able to find any kind of endowment or trust that's ever been established for this cemetery. I'm not really interested in getting into all that red-tape, I just want to clean it up. By the way, my 4th great grandfather didn't fight in the Civil War, but he did fight in the War of 1812. Does anyone know if military markers can be ordered for that War like they can for the other Wars from the VA? Thanks for listening! B. Warner mailto:bkwofc@i1.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Gadberry" <gadberry@sound.net> To: <MO-CEMETERIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 2:20 PM Subject: Re: [MO-CEM] Re: Cemetery disrepair > Marilyn and List Members--- > Don't despair! Abandoned cemeteries can be restored! > > I recently visited the Harmony Cemetery six miles east of Miami MO. > This small cemetery formerly sat beside a Presbyterian church of the > same > name. In the "History of Saline County, Missouri" (page 39) the > abandoned > cemetery is described as "In bad condition, overgrown with brush and > weeds > - hard to get into. The church building is also in bad condition. Most > stones > are in good state, and can be read." > > Imagine my surprise to find the cemetery neat and clean as if new! There > was > a new Metal sign reading "Harmony Cemetery - Established 1878" > The church building had been removed leaving no trace. New trees had > been > planted, and stone benches installed at the corners. It took a lot of > effort and > time to restore that place. > > But the stingiest thing is -- I can not find out who was responsible for > the great > job of cleanup. Was it the County? Or the Saline Historical Society? > Or some > church from Slater, Miami, or Marshall? I would like to learn who did > this job, > and how they were able to organize the work that obviously was required. > We could learn from them how to clean up other abandoned cemeteries. > Does anyone out there happen to know about this cleanup? > Howard Gadberry > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "mfwebber" <mfwebber@email.msn.com> > To: <MO-CEMETERIES-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 12:53 PM > Subject: [MO-CEM] Re: Cemetery disrepair > > > > Dear List members, > > I have tried to recruit family members from MO & KS who I know > are > > descendants of a family cemetery in Putnam Co. MO. I have received > some > > interest in cleaning and repairing the cemetery and also many many > questions > > on how to do it. The cemetery is located on private property by a > fellow > > who no longer lives in the state. The cemetery is almost totally > unknown by > > people who now live in the county. It is overgrown and totally hidden > and > > contains a Civil War soldier who was my great great grandfather, my > > gggrandmother, several of their children and grandchildren. I have > heard or > > tried the following things and would like some feedback if any one > else has > > run into these issues or knows answers to them: > > I have been told: 1).Once a cemetery is cleaned, sometimes Civil war > > tombstones are stolen and placed on the market for sale. They are > hard to > > trace unless close up photos are taken and other photos to prove where > the > > stones came from. This is especially true if the site is remote. 2). > > There are Civil War groups that are interested in helping identify and > clean > > cemeteries where former soldiers are buried and they keep the > information > > regarding these old sites relatively private to avoid desecration. > 3). > > That the land owner can refuse to let repair take place. ( I plan on > getting > > copies of the MO laws). > > I have tried: 1) I called the KC area Veterans Administration to > find out > > if there was any group that helped with this type of issue. They > didn't > > know. 2) I spoke with the tombstone company in the county and was > told > > they really didn't now how to repair old stones. They had no list of > local > > groups that could help. They suggested I hire local jobless workers > clean > > the site. > > Any ideas or comments would be appreciated. I would really like to > clean > > and repair my ancestors family cemetery. Marilyn > > > > > > ==== MO-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== > > Checkout the other lists being watched over by your List Mom; > > http://mailing_lists.homestead.com/lists.html > > To learn more about my world visit http://dwp.bigplanet.com/kburnett > > Vist the Mo-Cemeteries Volunteer and Cemetery List > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mocemete/mocem.htm > > > > ============================== > > Search more than 150 million free records at RootsWeb! > > http://searches.rootsweb.com/ > > > > > > > ==== MO-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== > NOTICE: Posting of virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, political > announcements, current events, items for sale, personal messages, flames, > etc. (in other words - spam) is NOT ALLOWED and will be grounds for removal. > Consideration for exceptions, contact Kathleen Burnett kburnet@efortress.com > To learn more about my world visit http://dwp.bigplanet.com/kburnett > Vist the Mo-Cemeteries Volunteer and Cemetery List http://www.rootsweb.com/~mocemete/mocem.htm > > ============================== > Search over 900 million names at Ancestry.com! > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp > >