I've said it before (on my blog: History, both Local and Family, lost and More History Being Lost & One Solution), and I'll say it again... We are losing our history at an alarming rate.

In the early history of Indiana, many of our families came and settled into the heavily wooded wilderness of the state. If you care to find out more about what they contended with, read about it at Indiana GenWeb's Boone County Genealogy, and one of the stronger visual descriptions, I believe, from George B Richardson. And, if you care to get a little more visual idea of the type of land Central Indiana used to be, take a drive on US31, just north of Westfield. See those woods on either side of the road? Now, imagine moving to the area, and your land being completely covered with those woods. It amazes me that our Indiana ancestors cleared land like this with axes, handsaws, shovels and other hand- or horse-drawn tools, and built their homes, schools and churches (some still standing), and made all the farmland and many of the older roads from heavily forested woods like these. (Does anybody still camp out in rustic cabins in the woods with no amenities like bathrooms, running water, toothbrushes, washer/dryer, soap, grills, motorized vehicles, etc.?) They made their own clothes, food (remember - no refrigeration), and fun.

And, they buried their dead, most on land donated by one or more of these settlers, placing what today would be considered rudimentary headstones, many of soft sandstone, carved with the name of the dead. Many include the names of their spouses and parents, date or at least year of death, and sometimes, either date or year of birth or their age in years, months and days. And, sometimes, even these old sandstone headstones were also carved with pictures, not of the individual themselves, but of something representing their life or for which what they were known.

When I was growing up, I remember visiting my grandmother on weekends. On Sunday, we'd go to church, and afterward, would go to the cemetery for a while, so she could visit my grandfather's gravesite. Very few people do that, anymore. Even fewer take the family to the cemetery to visit their ancestors and take a picnic lunch to spend more time there. I seem to remember picnic tables under some trees in these cemeteries. I know I remember pumps scattered throughout, allowing visitors to pump water into their cans to water the flowers on the graves. We were taught to try not to walk on the graves themselves, but behind the row in front, to read the headstones. This was done out of respect for the dead, not for fear of any reprisal by any authority. Now? Recently, we trudged across the middle of graves of those who had been there for years, carrying a casket to bury my grandmother. Before, we would have been MUCH closer to the other row. People who were there with us walked anywhere on the grass, across numerous rows of graves, just dodging the old headstones.

THIS is just more history we are losing. Not only are we losing the old headstones themselves through weather and normal deterioration - many are now close to or completely unreadable - but we are losing the graveyards of our ancestors.

We are a scattered society - no longer the "nuclear family". Our ancestors may have been just as scattered, but usually within the state, and there are MANY related individuals and families in certain cemeteries around here - Mounts Run(n), Carmel Cemetery, Hutton/Pleasant View, Eagletown, Eagle Creek... To show how the scattering has expanded, I have grandparents and an uncle buried in Eastern Ohio and Sheridan, Indiana; my parents plan to be buried in Lafayette; an aunt lives in Arizona; cousins in Florida, Georgia and Western Ohio; kids looking for jobs anywhere, meaning they could end up buried in California; my wife and her children are from Evansville, and I, myself lived in Lafayette for 25 years, Indianapolis 4-5 years, Lebanon since 1992 - I have no clue where I want to be buried, at this time.

And, apparently, cemeteries and graveyards are no longer the sacred, peaceful, permanent resting-places they once were. As progress continues on, we move them from their original location; or we move the headstones only, leaving the buried bodies under a roadway, or we simply forget about them (see Ceder Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, Boone County, IN). Kids and adults who have not been taught the value of history vandalize them, spray-painting, breaking and battering the old stones and monuments, and stealing stones and other artifacts.

The problem is that most states do not and cannot afford to fund promotion and preservation. And legislatures are afraid to put any stringent laws concerning moving graves, removing markers, and vandalism into place for fear of alienating those who own private cemeteries, or those who own the land on which a cemetery (public or private) exists. They are also afraid that a law they place on the books today may have to be repealed or changed in the future to allow development and expansion.

There is no "central location" for the public to find these cemeteries - although Indiana's DNR is working on one - and there is no and will be no state-mandated centralized database of all those known buried in Indiana, whether they have markers or not. Almost all work for finding and listing these cemeteries in Indiana is through volunteers, and the expertise and locations vary widely. (See Creating a Spatial Database for Indiana’s Cemetery and Burial Ground Registry (PDF) for information about the database to locate all cemeteries and burial grounds in the state of Indiana, pursuant to Indiana Code (IC) Section 14-21-1-13.5, Survey and Register of Indiana Burial Grounds )

I also don't understand why cemeteries (public and private) are not considered Historic Landmarks. Most are deserving of that status, though it appears that others share this view (see Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, specifically Stakeholder Input for the Future - Presentation to the Board of Directors, 2005, page 43.)

In Boone County, we have Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, WWI, WWII, and other Wars' soldiers buried in numerous cemeteries, some marked as such and others not; we have many of the people who first settled Boone County; and many others who helped make Central Indiana in general and Boone County specifically what it is, in graves that may or may not be marked (any more).

By "losing cemeteries", what I mean is this... I have a friend who's been going out and taking pictures of the gravestones in cemeteries around Central Indiana, especially Boone County. We both have many relatives buried in these cemeteries. He was telling me about visiting one in Mechanicsburg, where the only access is through private property. Apparently, these people don't mind one or two people, once-in-a-blue moon, traipsing across their property to get to the cemetery for whatever reason. But what happens when they sell their property? Will the new owners be as understanding? What happens if this cemetery becomes an historic place and people start visiting more often? The state should purchase a right-of-way and small area for parking, so people can visit. The other problem with this cemetery is that few even know it's there, because it's not only behind their home, but deep in the woods, making it impossible to see from the road. From a pre-2001 (when the author died) listing of the cemetery, there are at least seven (7) civil war veterans, and one or two from the war of 1812 buried there. Don't they deserve better than to be forgotten in a lonely woods?

We also have cemeteries, considered abandoned, the land reclaimed for other use, and the headstones removed, finally to the dump! (See Ceder Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, Boone County, IN) We CANNOT let this happen, again! It's bad enough to move the buried and dead, who thought that where they were buried was to be their last mortal resting place; but when we remove the monuments and other markings to make a PARK, or ANYTHING else, and do not move the graves themselves (as Indiana is doing to make room for I69), then we are desecrating the graves of our ancestors.

Meanwhile, we have cemeteries with fallen over or vandalized and broken stones stacked in the back (see two pictures from Rosston Cemetery), monuments vandalized or fallen over and left where they fell (see picture from Hutton Cemetery), old stones becoming unreadable (see picture from Mounts Run Cemetery) and flat stones that become buried (see pictures from Farley Cemetery), and these are all in well-kept cemeteries. We also have cemeteries that are unreachable without crossing private property, like the Mechanicsburg Cemetery and Smith Cemetery, both in Boone County, Indiana.

Please note: The linked pictures are NOT representative of these cemeteries. Most remembered cemeteries in Central Indiana are well-cared for, and most are in good shape. However, even those have some of the situations shown above.

We need to create something like a Central Indiana Cemetery Commission (Boone County, Hamilton County, Clinton County, Hendricks County, etc.) to work in association with the DNR and the Historical and Genealogical societies of the area. The commission could and should keep archival funeral home, burial and cemetery records, possibly copies of death records, etc. My suggestion would be that they make these records (both scans and text versions) available online for historians and genealogists, since most are public records. They could also:

• be the "go-between" contact for people who note maintenance problems at cemeteries, and those responsible for the upkeep, if that isn't locally available (no caretaker on/near the grounds).
• negotiate access to those on private property, and make sure there are signs pointing to where the cemetery is located.
• map out each and every cemetery, noting location of each stone.
• be advocates for these cemeteries and local cemetery associations with the legislature, to help get laws passed for protection and preservation.

One other thing they could do would be to design and install smaller, permanent versions of those stones that have become "missing" and unreadable. These mini-stones would not replace existing stones, but could provide as close to the original "look" for the stone as possible, and be placed either directly behind or beside the existing stones. Unmarked graves could be marked with this type of marker, too. Again, not to replace future stone placement, but just to mark where someone is supposed to be, and their birth, death and possible marriage information.

Money for the commission could come from donations, sales of books, CDs and DVDs of the cemetery listings and images, and subscriptions to their databases. And, if they were given the authority to levee fines for various offenses, like not maintaining the grounds and monuments, they could also make operating fund money this way.

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Here are a few other links associated with cemetery associations and commissions that may be of some interest:

• Indiana Cemetery FAQs from the Indiana Historical Bureau
• Indiana DNR - Department of Historic Preservation and Archeology - Cemetery Preservation
• Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project (INPCRP)
• Mark Davis Cemetery Restorationist - Marion Public Library
• Stone Saver Cemetery Restoration (Mark Davis' website)
• The Association for Gravestone Studies
• Task Force on Preservation of Kentucky Cemeteries (PDF)
• Pamphlet on Preserving Historic Cemeteries (Texas Preservation Guidelines) (PDF) - from Texas Historical Commission

Other sites that may be of interest

• Indiana Cemetery Association
• Indiana Sons of the American Revolution
• Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution
• Society of Civil War Families of Indiana (SCWFI) from Indiana Genealogical Society
• Indiana Coalition to Honor Civil War Dead
• INDIANA IN THE WAR OF 1812 by Joseph R. Bay (PDF)
• Military Resources - Indiana State Library

If you think of any other sites that would be appropriate for this page, let me know.

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Followup

I sent the following on August 01, 2007, through their websites, as a Letter to the Editor of both the Lebanon Reporter and Indianapolis Star. If they get published or I get any responses, I will let you know.

It was published in the August 04, 2007 Edition of the Lebanon Reporter.

NOTE: The day it was published, I received a call around 10AM, from an old lady (her term) who said she was "100% behind" me, that we just needed to "keep on them." She told me she'd had dealings with Hopewell Cemetery (on US47). She apparently found a hole right beside or over a grave - She thought something underground had collapsed. She said she called those responsible for the cemetery a number of times, and they finally filled in the hole. (Dad would say, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease.") She then said she was an old lady, and wanted to know that when she was buried, she would stay in that place, and the cemetery and her grave (and stone) would be taken care of. - This is my feeling that our pioneering ancestors (and even more recent ancestors) thought when they were buried with their families in whichever cemetery it was. Part of the idea of the stones is so people would not forget them, and could visit whenever they wished.

After sending this, I did a little more research, and found that county cemetery commissions do not own land, and are normally not granted authority to fine. They help the township trustees, by finding, listing, mapping, and cleaning up cemeteries. Many are unfunded - all volunteer work - with cleanup materials, restoration equipment, etc. either donated or funded by either the commission members, themselves, or the trustee, who must account for the money used. The counties themselves, through the county commissioners, can accept donated land - which is how many counties acquire cemeteries. The Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project (INPCRP) contains a lot of information on these and other points.

However, besides the above, wouldn't it be advisable to "deputize" county cemetery commissions, to "write up problems" levying legislated fines, payable to the trustee? Who sends the write-ups to those controlling the cemeteries would need to be decided, too - The cemetery commission? ... The Trustee (township or county?) ... The County Commissioners? Again, these fines could (and should) be used to maintain all cemeteries. I think it would also be advisable to legislate that county commissioners be required to accept cemetery land donations, or show, in writing and available for public view, preferably on a website, why they couldn't or wouldn't accept them.

BTW:

1. For those doing pioneer and forgotten cemetery clean-up - It's very easy to do damage to many of the, especially older soft-stone, stones. Your first rule should be "DO NO MORE HARM THAN HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE."
   1. Be sure to research methods. Too many who don't clean stones with chemicals too harsh, with brushes too stiff, with... you get the idea... While the stone is clean, and nothing but dirt appeared to come off, some of that dirt was microscopic particles of the stone, making it even more susceptible to wind and weather erosion.
   2. DO NOT place stones in concrete when they weren't to start with, and DO NOT use concrete to "patch" stones and glue them back together. It seems to me that the special compressible dirt used to underlay road work, could be used, if it's not acidic. And there are special epoxies which may work. Any holes you make in stones to insert screws may cause more damage than good.
   3. DO NOT do any work, other than brush clearing and cleanup without an "expert."
      1. Have at least one person in the group attend multiple cemetery restoration workshops - where they are shown how to do what needs to be done in the cemetery you wish to clean up. As described in #3 (below), even the basic acts of mowing and weed-eating can cause stone damage.
      2. Even more preferable, have someone attend the restoration, who has plenty of experience. Some will do it for free, some will charge a small fee to help cover their mileage and materials, and some can be quite expensive. These costs also depend on what must be done in the given cemetery. Be sure you get someone with references, and expertise.
2. For those listing, taking pictures, and rubbing stones:
   1. If it is or is possibly on private property, make sure to get permission from the property owner. Don't climb over fences or cross through a field without it. You could be charged with trespass, and, possibly worse. ("Trespassers will be shot")
   2. DO NOT use chemicals, chalk, markers, shaving cream, or anything else that may damage the stone to "bring out" the letters/numbers. When reading a cemetery (PDF), or getting "rubbings" of stones, be sure to research valid (and safe-for-the-stone) methods for making stones readable.
3. For those who mow and weed-eat around stones:
   1. First of all, I want to be one who thanks you for your tireless, and normally, thankless, work in keeping the graveyards of our ancestors neat and tidy. HOWEVER:
      1. You MUST be very careful not to hit or scrap the stones. I was in one of the larger cemeteries last Wednesday, and saw someone weed-eating around one stone. While I believe it was the base of the stone, years of maintenance have eaten the area where the weed-eater was running, back about one full inch from the edge - it was very obvious. Before weed-eaters were developed, this "close-in" work was done by hand with clippers, which means stones were damaged must less.
      2. While rain and wind will blow some, if not all, mown grass and leaf clippings, and blown dirt, off the stones, it doesn't get it all, especially if the grass is even slightly damp. The more build-up that occurs the more likely a flat stone will be buried. If blowers don't do it, something needs to be developed to be towed by the mowers that will clear the clippings. Also, I would think that over the years, the constant blowing of even grass clippings against a stone will do damage. Cut so the mowers blow AWAY from the stones (front and back).
   2. Why couldn't the rubber door edgings used to keep car doors from banging paint-to-paint,l or something like them, be used on the lower edges of the mower decks? Even so, you don't want to scrape against the stones, but I think something like this would help.

by Bill Sanders © August 05, 2007 - email:

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