Hi y'all, With regard to your questions about cemetery law in SC, I'm not an attorney and I certainly don't have all the answers, but since there have been several questions on the subject, I'll do my best to tell you what I've found after rummaging through all the sources I could find. South Carolina does have laws regarding abandoned cemeteries, grave removals, and destruction/vandalism of cemeteries, and these laws are similar to the protective legislation that North Carolina has. However, it seems to me there is one major difference in the "cemetery statutes" of what I would call a "practical" nature, to wit: 1) NC requires that county commissioners keep a list of abandoned cemeteries (identified through the state-authorized North Carolina Cemetery Survey) on file with the register of deeds. [As far as I know, there's not been a cemetery survey of this nature in South Carolina, with results on file with the county, let alone the state. I would love to hear that my information is incomplete. As for the "on file" portion, Jo tells me that at least some cemeteries in Dillon County are identified on a tax map in the county courthouse. Whether or not this is required and/or offers protection to the cemeteries is not known to me at this point.] GRAVE REMOVALS: In both states, persons who own land on which an abandoned cemetery is located can remove the graves to a suitable plot in another cemetery or other "suitable" location provided a) the city or county approves, b) 30 days notice is given to the relatives of those buried in the cemetery, if known, and if not known, 30 days' notice must be published in the newspaper which circulates for the county (or on the courthouse door if there is no newspaper). Expenses for most everything involved in moving abandoned graves is born by the person seeking to remove the cemetery, including hiring a funeral director to supervise the removal of the graves. [Think about it; who can afford something like this? Most graves will "stay put" Is there a law against building on top of graves? One feels intuitively that there ought to be a law against a "Poltergeist" situation, yet I have not found it yet] A cemetery in SC is defined as "abandoned" if the land in which it is located was sold "without reservation for the cemetery". Again, I'm not an attorney, and the above is only my understanding of the SC State Code I've found available online at: http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/code/t27c043.htm and elsewhere on the South Carolina State House site. DESECRATION OR DESTRUCTION OF GRAVES: Concerning the more common problem of vandalism, SC State Code, Title 16, Section 17-600 - Destruction or desecration of human remains or repositories thereof; liability of crematory operators; penalties. says: "SECTION 16-17-600. (A) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper legal authority to: (1) destroy or damage the remains of a deceased human being; (2) remove a portion of the remains of a deceased human being from a burial ground where human skeletal remains are buried, a grave, crypt, vault, mausoleum, or other repository; or (3) desecrate human remains. A person violating the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not less than one year nor more than ten years, or both. <<snip -- paragraph concerning crematory operators>> (B) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper legal authority to: (1) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a burial ground where human skeletal remains are buried, a grave, graveyard, tomb, mausoleum, or other repository of human remains; (2) deface, vandalize, injure, or remove a gravestone or other memorial monument or marker commemorating a deceased person or group of persons, whether located within or outside of a recognized cemetery, memorial park, or battlefield; or (3) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a park or other area clearly designated to preserve and perpetuate the memory of a deceased person or group of persons. A person violating the provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both. (C) It is unlawful for a person wilfully, knowingly, and without proper legal authority to destroy, tear down, or injure only fencing, plants, trees, shrubs, or flowers located upon or around a repository for human remains, or within a human graveyard or memorial park. A person violating the provisions of subsection (C) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Injury or loss of property less than two hundred dollars is a misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court. Upon conviction, the person must be fined, imprisoned, or both, not more than is permitted by law, without presentment or indictment by the grand jury, and further must be required to perform up to five hundred hours of community service in an amount to be determined by the court." Please note that the above is quoted directly from the SC State House web site and is current through the end of last year only. Again, I am not an attorney and I do not have access to the most current, printed version of South Carolina state law. If you are a South Carolina resident, you should contact your state or county representative to get current and official information on the subject of state laws pertaining to cemeteries. Victoria

Victoria, |Could you please resend that gem you wrote earlier that explains so beautifully why it is our duty as historians and genealogists to preserve these cemeteries and all the records we so dutifully collect? It was beautifully written, and I want to send it to a nephew who has an old abandoned cemetery on his land outside Nashville, TN. Mildred (emvee@kingwoodcable.com)

Sure Mildred, here's that portion, if somewhat roughly extracted: We need to do something to preserve our history where it's records exist, be it a headstone, a deed, a Will, or a favorite family story. At the very least, each of us, as genealogists and historians, should take the time to record, as exactly and precisely as possible, with whatever tools exist (the pen, the camera), the physical records of our ancestors' lives. What is here today may well be gone tomorrow, through accident, through human intervention, and certainly through the ravages of nature. We can all work together to make things better, make folks aware of the value of history, make laws tougher, and we should. Yet let's not forget to make a record of what is there, and do it well enough that someone a hundred years from now will see, truly see, exactly what it is we are looking at--from the color of the paper a document is written on with it's small tear in the corner, to the beautiful engraving of angels on a tombstone with the verse so lovingly placed by a devoted husband or wife or children. Our one small voice may be the last to record what disappears tomorrow. Victoria At 10:16 PM 8/23/01 -0500, you wrote: >Victoria, > >|Could you please resend that gem you wrote earlier that explains so >beautifully why it is our duty as historians and genealogists to preserve >these cemeteries and all the records we so dutifully collect?

I have some second hand experience with this in North Carolina. A family friend moved to Onslow County, NC a couple of years ago, and they discovered a single marked grave on their property, and it was located in the section where they wanted to build their house. The person's who's grave it was died in 1805 (or thereabouts, I forget the exact date now), and they asked me if I could help them identify the person, since they knew I was a family genealogist. It just so happened that the person was a distant relative of mine, but he died unmarried, so no living heirs to contact. They had to go through all the hoops Victoria mentioned with the county, and finally they got approval, and the Funeral Home people came and excavated the grave, and moved it to another location on the same property. Now, this part might be disturbing to some, so don't read further if you get queasy easily when talking about "the dead". You were warned. Okay, when they attempted to exhume the body, they found nothing at all remaining, no trace at all of casket or remains. So basically they moved a bunch of dirt, and a tombstone, but by doing so satisfied all state and local laws, and as far as I know, no relatives even exist to be upset about it. As a very distant relative myself, I was not bothered by my cousin being moved, since it all seemed to be done with genuine care. Marty Grant (Marvin Grant Jr) e-mail: public@martygrant.com AIM: MartyGrantNC web: http://www.martygrant.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Victoria" <vproc@ix.netcom.com> To: <SCMARION-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2001 9:56 PM Subject: [SCMARION-L] SC Statutes on Cemeteries > Hi y'all, > > With regard to your questions about cemetery law in SC, I'm not > an attorney and I certainly don't have all the answers, but since > there have been several questions on the subject, I'll do my best to > tell you what I've found after rummaging through all the sources I could > find. > > South Carolina does have laws regarding abandoned cemeteries, > grave removals, and destruction/vandalism of cemeteries, and these > laws are similar to the protective legislation that North Carolina has. > However, it seems to me there is one major difference in the "cemetery > statutes" of what I would call a "practical" nature, to wit: > > 1) NC requires that county commissioners keep a list of abandoned > cemeteries (identified through the state-authorized North Carolina > Cemetery Survey) on file with the register of deeds. > [As far as I know, there's not been a cemetery survey of this nature > in South Carolina, with results on file with the county, let alone the > state. I would love to hear that my information is incomplete. As > for the "on file" portion, Jo tells me that at least some cemeteries > in Dillon County are identified on a tax map in the county courthouse. > Whether or not this is required and/or offers protection to the > cemeteries is not known to me at this point.] > > GRAVE REMOVALS: > In both states, persons who own land on which an abandoned cemetery > is located can remove the graves to a suitable plot in another cemetery or > other "suitable" location provided a) the city or county approves, b) 30 days > notice is given to the relatives of those buried in the cemetery, if known, and > if not known, 30 days' notice must be published in the newspaper which > circulates for the county (or on the courthouse door if there is no newspaper). > > Expenses for most everything involved in moving abandoned graves > is born by the person seeking to remove the cemetery, including hiring a > funeral director to supervise the removal of the graves. [Think about it; who can > afford something like this? Most graves will "stay put" Is there a law > against building on top of graves? One feels intuitively that there ought > to be a law against a "Poltergeist" situation, yet I have not found it yet] > > A cemetery in SC is defined as "abandoned" if the land in which it is located > was sold "without reservation for the cemetery". > > Again, I'm not an attorney, and the above is only my understanding of the > SC State Code I've found available online at: > http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/code/t27c043.htm > and elsewhere on the South Carolina State House site. > > DESECRATION OR DESTRUCTION OF GRAVES: > Concerning the more common problem of vandalism, SC State Code, > Title 16, Section 17-600 - Destruction or desecration of human remains > or repositories thereof; liability of crematory operators; penalties. > says: > > "SECTION 16-17-600. > (A) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper > legal authority to: > (1) destroy or damage the remains of a deceased human being; > (2) remove a portion of the remains of a deceased human being from a > burial ground where human skeletal remains are buried, a grave, crypt, > vault, mausoleum, or other repository; or > (3) desecrate human remains. > A person violating the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, > upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned > not less than one year nor more than ten years, or both. > > <<snip -- paragraph concerning crematory operators>> > > (B) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper > legal authority to: > (1) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a burial ground where human skeletal > remains are buried, a grave, graveyard, tomb, mausoleum, or other repository > of human remains; > (2) deface, vandalize, injure, or remove a gravestone or other memorial > monument or marker commemorating a deceased person or group of persons, > whether located within or outside of a recognized cemetery, memorial park, or > battlefield; or > (3) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a park or other area clearly designated to > preserve and perpetuate the memory of a deceased person or group of persons. > > A person violating the provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a felony and, upon > conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more than > five thousand dollars, or both. > (C) It is unlawful for a person wilfully, knowingly, and without proper legal authority > to destroy, tear down, or injure only fencing, plants, trees, shrubs, or flowers located > upon or around a repository for human remains, or within a human graveyard or > memorial park. > A person violating the provisions of subsection (C) is guilty of a felony and, > upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or > imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Injury or loss of property less > than two hundred dollars is a misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court. > Upon conviction, the person must be fined, imprisoned, or both, not more than > is permitted by law, without presentment or indictment by the grand jury, and > further must be required to perform up to five hundred hours of community service > in an amount to be determined by the court." > > Please note that the above is quoted directly from the SC State House > web site and is current through the end of last year only. Again, I am not an > attorney and I do not have access to the most current, printed version > of South Carolina state law. If you are a South Carolina resident, > you should contact your state or county representative to get current and > official information on the subject of state laws pertaining to cemeteries. > > Victoria > > > ==== SCMARION Mailing List ==== > Marion County SCGenWeb site: > http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/1786/marion.html >