First newspaper article-- Grave concern: Exhumation plan in Hanover draws opposition from families BY BOB PIAZZA TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 03, 2001 Hanover County officials are considering digging up 30 graves in the way of a sewage plant expansion and having the remains studied elsewhere in a plan that has stunned some remaining family members. Some distraught relatives believe the county should be able to build around the old cemetery. And they want a voice in whether their loved ones' remains are sent to Radford University for as much as a year of study. The unmarked graves could date to 1875 or earlier. "The county has done everything they wanted to do as if it were their own [family] they were making the decision on, and they don't have a right to do that to other people's families. Not even the county has that right," said Allan Kay Smith Sr. , who believes some of his forebears are buried in the cemetery. County officials said that they made it clear in 1997 when the plant project off Pole Green Road was approved that the county reserved an option to re-locate the graves. Officials also said no final decision has been made about the graves, and that family members' views are welcome. "If there are relatives out there who can assist us in determining who's buried there we would love to talk to them," County Administrator Richard R. Johnson said. The county is seeking a state Department of Historic Resources permit to use archaeological techniques to remove any human remains for a plant expansion that is expected to be needed by 2014. The current plant, which is under construction, will treat 5 million gallons of sewage a day; the expansion will double the plant's capacity. County officials said the study of the remains was a state requirement to aid identification. The county's application explains further that the study might help scientists learn more about the habits, nutrition and overall daily lives of 19th century men and women. The county is proposing to eventually shift the remains to another part of the 125-acresite. The new resting place would be accessible to family members and would include a monument, county officials said. Johnson pointed out that the graveyard was fully grown over until recently and had received "no apparent attention for decades." He also said that some former land owners believe the remains were removed from the graves years ago. Robert L. Tate said at least four of his relatives are buried in the graveyard, including his great-grandfather's brother Preston Tate and his wife, Laura Bowles Tate. Some family members believe the two elder Tates were among the last people buried at the site. Robert Tate said he believes family members farmed the land for about 150 years. Robert Tate and Melvin L. Tate said they were assured by county representatives years ago that the graveyard would not be affected by the sewage project. Robert Tate said he doesn't like the reburial plan but can live with it if it is handled with care and dignity. He finds it upsetting, however, that in 1997 he was told the county "had no plans to do anything with the cemetery." Melvin Tate said his district supervisor, Elton Wade, told him "the cemetery would never be disturbed." Wade was vacationing out of town and could not be reached for comment. "No one knew exactly where the graveyard was [in 1997]," county utility engineer Steven Herzog said. "But we thought we'd probably have to move it. And we told everyone we'd probably have to move it." The sewer project was hotly contested in 1997 and still fuels debate in the county. In one of the latest chapters, the county drew complaints when it condemned a small piece of land once farmed by the famed agriculturist Edmund Ruffin. The farm is now owned by Henry Broaddus and his mother. Broaddus said he views the county's proposal for the old cemetery as just another example of "a certain lack of respect being shown" to Hanover's many historic resources. Supervisor Chuck McGhee, whose district includes the graveyard, said he can't understand why any study of the remains is necessary if remaining family members exist to identify those buried in the graveyard. "Unless there's some compelling reason for [the remains] to leave the county, I don't see a need to do all that[at Radford]," he said. The Historic Resources agency typically gets only two or three requests like Hanover's per year, said Cara Metz, whose division is reviewing the county's application. Metz said recently that the agency had received two letters asking for a public meeting to raise questions and air concerns about the county's proposal. Metz said the department will not decide until after Monday whether to hold a public meeting. If Hanover receives state approval, Metz explained, no heavy machinery would be used in the exhumation. "It's all done by hand," she said. County officials said workers could probably exhume any remains from the graves - which rest on about a one-fourth of an acre - within a month. Herzog said he had been told that the Radford University study could take as long as a year. Smith and at least one other relative, Melvin Tate, aren't keen on the study. "I know bones are bones and spirits are spirits and everything has gone on [from this life] but it's the idea it's being handled like it's just a class project," Smith said. "We don't even know if all the parts of the family members will be brought back [from Radford]. "We have no way of surveying what they are going to do up there." Contact Bob Piazza at (804) 559-8408 or [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Second newspaper article- County removing remains from graves BY BOB PIAZZA TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jun 14, 2002 http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/more/MGB3BAELF2D.html Several weeks ago, Hanover County officials began quietly removing the remains from about 25 graves threatened by a future sewage-treatment plant expansion. A family member of some of the deceased said Wednesday that relatives and the county agreed not to invite publicity about the exhumation, partly from fear that the graves might be disturbed by thieves. The remains are expected to be shifted to a fenced part of the site within a few months. The project became news last year when the family objected to a county proposal to have the remains studied at Radford University for as much as a year. The county later backed off the study at Radford. "The family has been more than pleased at the way the county has cooperated with us," said family member Robert Tate. "Now, you might look at it with cynicism and question what their motivation might be after the initial problems we went through, but they did everything in the world they could to appease us and help us." Tom Harris, a public information officer for Hanover, said the archaeological firm contracted for the project finished the field work for the exhumation last Friday. Harris said the remains from 26 bodies will be reinterred in individual containers and placed in a vault at the sewage-treatment plant site at Pole Green Park. In the meantime, the remains are being housed in a locked room at an administration building for the plant, Tate said. He said the workers who exhumed the remains spent about four weeks on the dig, using shovels, trowels, paint brushes and other tools. He said they were "very, very careful, and they were very thorough." He said that among other items, the diggers recovered buttons, a gold wedding ring, broaches and stick pins from some of the graves. He said the possessions would be reburied with the remains. "There was nothing of any value, other than maybe sentimental value from a family standpoint," Tate said. The graves were in the way of a treatment plant expansion expected to be needed by 2014. Harris said the exhumation and reburial are expected to cost the county about $99,000. The county hired John Milner Associates for the project last year after learning that an earlier consultant had failed to immediately notify the county in October 2000 that it had unearthed two skulls at the site. The skulls will be joined with their skeletons and reburied, Harris said. Contact Bob Piazza at (804) 559-8408 or [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Additional information-- There were some grave desecrations in Hanover Co this past year. Given the way the Virginia state codes are written as this time, all rights to a private, family cemetery are given to the property owner. That is what I feel should be changed and changed as quickly as possible and this matter is being looked into very seriously at the present time. If you would like more info, please feel free to contact me privately at [email protected] and I will be glad to pass along some additional info. Out of respect for the List Manager and other subscribers to the list, I do not want to use the Hanover Roots list for anything other than what it is intended for nor do I want to offend anyone. If anyone wants additional info, please don't hesitate to email me privately. Thanks, Sheri Millikin