I took this from IN-CCCPC-L@rootsweb.com website. Just passing it along FYI only. Glenda > Dear Friends: > > Well, it took quite a while for me to get wind of it, but we've lost another > cemetery down here. > > Whalen Cemetery in Silver Creek Township, Clark Co., IN is about to be > disinterred. See http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/whalencem.html for details > about this tiny cemetery and the gruesome tale of 20th Century murder and > suicide that surrounds this site. > > Judge Daniel F. Donahue of the Clark Circuit Court on May 29th, 2001, issued > an Order to Disinter, Remove and Reinter Human Remains from Whalen Cemetery. > See: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~incccpc/WHALENCemetery-OrdertoDisinter.pdf > for a copy of the Order. > > The Petition was filed NOT by the property owner, but by a local funeral home > director who happens to be a MEMBER of the Clark County Cemetery Commission. > > What really gripes me about THIS one is that Dan and Betty Johnson went in > there back in 1999 and repaired all three stones in this 10x20' cemetery. We > hiked through tremendously difficult terrain for at least a half an hour to > get to this site, only to discover it was just over a neighbor's fence. > Weed-whipping this cemetery would take every bit of 2.5 minutes. > > The owner of the surrounding property (the cemetery is a specific exception on > the current deed) talked to us back then about moving the graves so he could > build one more house in his new subdivision. I told him point-blank in 1999 > that he DID NOT OWN THE CEMETERY -- that there was a 10x20' hole in his > property. We discussed in detail what he could do (put an ornamental iron > fence around the plot with a locked gate, work with the Township Trustee, > etc.) as he developed his plan for a high-density subdivision on a 50-some-odd > acre plot of timberland and pasture. > > Guess what? The Judge has found in his Order that (1) "THE GRAVE SITES HAVE > NOT BEEN MAINTAINED" and (2) that "IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE > ABOVE-NAMED DECEASED TO RE-INTER THEIR REMAINS TO EBENEZER CEMETERY IN > MEMPHIS, INDIANA". > > The Judge has given the funeral director (NOT THE OWNER OF THE CEMETERY OR THE > OWNER OF THE SURROUNDING PROPERTY OR THE DESCENDANTS OF THE DECEASED) > permission to disinter these people's remains. [BTW, their death dates were > 1861, 1910 and 1912.] > > All they are waiting for now is a permit from the State Department of Health, > which is apparently a purely rubber-stamp deal now that they have this Court > Order. > > I have spoken to the Township Trustee (WHOSE STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITY WAS TO > CARE FOR THIS CEMETERY!) and he informed me that he knew all about this > disinterment. He acted like it was no big deal. > > I am SOOOOOO disturbed by this! I'm going to stop by the Courthouse in the > morning and pick up a copy of the Petition, etc. This one I've got to read > word for word!!! > > Is it possible, in Indiana, that someone who is (1) NOT the owner of property > surrounding an cemetery, (2) NOT the outright owner of a cemetery and (3) NOT > a descendant can get a court order to disinter your ancestors' remains????? > Apparently so! > From: Lois Mauk <LoisMauk@home.com> > > >