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Save our Cemeteries

Save our Cemeteries

Judy Merrell Brickhouse (View posts)
Posted: 2 Nov 2006 12:58AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hello Everyone,
Ben Bateman and I would like to ask you to help us save what few cemeteries that are left in Currituck Co.
We had a bit of trouble last week when we tried to photo a cemetery that the landowners thought they owned but in fact had been excluded off of the deed and in actuality no one owned it. It was quite a mess with the police being called and even though we had 2 neighbors on our side stating that this cemetery was indeed excluded, we still had to go through the "rigger ma roll".
What we are hoping ya'll will do for us is either call or write NC Govenor Mike Easley asking him to give Ben and I "Blanket Authority or Permission" to enter any property for the purpose of documenting, unearthing, if necessary, and digitally photographing all tombstones that can be found. It would be nice to also contact each of the County Commissioners with the same request, let the Govenor and the Commissioners know that Cemeteries are held in deep respect by some of us and send out a public out cry that you want these cemeteries recorded as best as possible by Ben and I. Waiting to get permission from the County when the landowner denies Ben and I access could possibly cost us a cemetery. I am not sure they realize that these tombstones are our Ancestors History, and in the case of small children who died between Census and before 1913, and of course if there was no Bible record these children and some adults, for all intents and purposes "Never Existed!" You may run into the same "Political Double Talk" that Ben and I have heard so many times and that is "There is a committee working on changing the laws and regulations governing the cemeteries now" it is true about the committee but after what Ben and I have seen done to one cemetery in the last 7 months on the Bell Cemetery , the Cemeteries won't last long enough for the laws to change or be enacted.
If we don't move rapidly we could lose all chances of recording some of these cemeteries. So please send your letters.
Thanks
Judy Merrell Brickhouse

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 8 Feb 2007 2:38AM GMT
Classification: Query
Judy, I am late reading the notes here, so I am wondering what is happening now. Would it still help if I wrote as per your request, or has permission already been granted? Garland and I were down last week to search for some graves and the old Currituck cemetery book was a great help. Luckily some locals answered questions and pointed out the graveyards, many now hidden from view by new development. We had to enter private property for two grave sites and the owners were helpful and gracious, even asking us to come back. I was really surprised as I had expected grudging approval at best. We would like to send letters if they are still needed.

Glenda and Garland Walker Newport News, VA.

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 9 Feb 2007 5:19PM GMT
Classification: Query
Glenda, I appreciate your interest in helping us, believe it or not you are the ONLY one who has offered to help us!! We had a real hum dinger of a mess with one supposeded landowner of a cemetery we went to at the REQUEST of someone else!! We had an altercation with the woman on the first day we arrived at the cemetery, and just on a hunch Ben and I went to the Courthouse and dug through the deeds to find the cemetery had been EXCLUDED off the property (which meant the cemetery was NOT on the woman's property) and Ben and I unknowingly had went on the wrong driveway and were not on her property to begin with but on her neighbors. Anyway we went back the second day knowing we were in the right, (we had already dug up one tombstone) before all HECK broke loose, the woman's husband arrived on scene and called the police (which we had alerted the police, and the Clerk of Court that am that we expected further problems from this landowner)We didn't have 1 police officer We had "6" cars of Police to show up, "2" sets of neighbors (with their deeds in hand)all arguing with this landowner that they had nothing to do with this cemetery. Ben and I both believe that there are other tombstones there underground about 6", but we were asked to await the decesion of the Magistrate, because this property owner and his Wife were so unreasonable and refused to accept that this property was not on their deed.
LONG STORY SHORT...The man's whose driveway we were on and who takes care of the cemetery told us we could come on his property ANY TIME and he would love for us to find the other tombstones BUT....the magistrate wants the other Property Owners off his back and would rather we not go back without an order from the Clerk of Court (which we do not have time to get orders from the Clerk for every cemetery we might run into trouble on). Ben and I thought if we approached the Govenor of North Carolina and asked for BLANKET permission to photograph and if necessary dig up the buried tombstones we could aleviate any futher ordeals of this magnitude. Unfortunately as I said before YOU are the only one to reply to our out reach of support.
Ben and I will continue to do our thing untill we run into another problem and decide at that point if what we are doing is worth all the grief.
Thanks again Glenda

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 9 Feb 2007 6:05PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Judy,

My Ancestor's came from Princess Anne Co., VA...Currituck Co., NC, right on or near the border. I don't know where any of my Ancestor's are buried, so I'm all for saving the cemeteries. I live in California, so I can't physically be ther, but I could call people, or write to people. A cemetery shouldn't be on anybodie's property, unless the owners of the land are within that family.

Jolene

jojo.not@verizon.net

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 9 Feb 2007 6:06PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hi Judy,

My Ancestor's came from Princess Anne Co., VA...Currituck Co., NC, right on or near the border. I don't know where any of my Ancestor's are buried, so I'm all for saving the cemeteries. I live in California, so I can't physically be ther, but I could call people, or write to people. A cemetery shouldn't be on anybodie's property, unless the owners of the land are within that family.

Jolene

jojo.not@verizon.net

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 9 Feb 2007 6:53PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thanks for the reply. I will alert others I correspond with concerning Currituck Co. Maybe we can get some others interested. Perhaps many are not reading the message boards but once notified of the problem would want to help.
Glenda

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 3:47AM GMT
Classification: Query
Everyone, The problem has not been handled, I suppose we will continue to have to deal with it on a one on one situation, and the Clerk of Court has assured us that she will issue us an order to go on any property to take photos. We are not always there just to take photos if we have reason to believe that other tombstones might be there we have a long probe (long metal pole) that we always punch into the ground looking for tombstones that has broken off and buried into the earth or in some cases a whole cemetery that the tombstones were physically broken off and laid down to make mowing the grass easier, and Ben and I dug up all of those tombstones (luckily for us there was no one living on the property to give us grief). Keep in mind while the Clerk of Court is understanding and believes in what we are doing, we first have to be run off of a property by the landowner, then we have to go to the Clerks Office, she in turn goes to the site (cemetery)and decides that what we are doing is not harming the property and then issues an order for us to go on the property against the owners wishes....We are wasting a lot of time running up and down the road back and forth to the Court House when we could be photographing 2 or 3 Cemeteries. It just isn't time efficent for us when Ben comes all the way from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and only has a day or two in which to photo as many as possible while he is here. It is so Sad but True but Currituck County has become such a highly valued Real Estate area and a bunch of pardon the expression IGNORAMUSES are moving in that #1 have no family members buried in these cemeteries #2 have no understanding of the historical information obtained from the tombstones #3 have no MORALS and have never been taught to RESPECT the Final Resting Ground of the Deceased #4 Just Plain Don't Give a Rats A-- about anything or anyone but themselves and the appearance of THEIR surrounding property.
As far as I am concerned anyone that would destroy a cemetery and its tombstones should never be allowed a final resting place to be interred in and should just be chopped up and fed to the Wild Animals!!!!! Cause that is just what they are a BUNCH OF HEATHENS!!!! To me they have no claim to be laid to rest OR any last wishes on their behalf to be kept
The Lady that called the Police on us and caused so much commotion told us Point Blank that she wished the Cemetery would just DISAPPEAR!!!! Ben and I know of several Large Cemeteries that have done just that since we have grown up, people have moved in and actually destroyed and demolished a whole cemetery. I know what you are going to say...BUT-- by law you have to see them doing this and PROVE that THEY actually destroyed the tombstones and then what is going to happen to the offender, even though there are suppose to be "Strict Regulations and Laws" forbidding this.....nothing!!! The State Representatives has a committee suppossedly trying to change the gray areas of the Laws and Regulations governing the destruction of Cemeteries but in the last year that I have been in touch, nothing that I have been made aware of has been done except just TALK, which is par for the course in our government and by the time they get around to actually doing something are we going to have any "PRIVATE" cemeteries left? This is the big thing, you don't have to worry about a PUBLIC Cemetery someone will definitely protect them and the Laws will be most definitely enforced but supposedly no one wants to jump on the band wagon for the "PRIVATE" or as we call them "Family" Cemeteries, no one (in authority or government) will admit that they have power concerning OR governing "Private" but are quick to tell you that they do have power over "Public", do any of you see any "Public" Cemeteries disappearing? When Ben and I were rallying for support to save the Willis Gallop grave site, we called Marc Basnight's office, and while his office got us attention in places we needed (we assume) they too were quick to tell us that their office had no power over PRIVATE cemeteries ONLY "Public",
Go to www.rootsweb.com/~ncccc/cemeteries Go to Shawboro 004 then click on Cemetery Information...you will see a 2004 photo then (2) 2006 photo's and if you saw the newspaper article that was done on Ben and I doing the cemeteries you will see another photo of this same "Private" Cemetery done 4 months later and in 4 months time how much the farmer has destroyed since we photographed it in April. This is why Ben and I are trying so hard to get these cemeteries photographed not for our own gratification but to document their existence before they become extinct. We approached the County Level trying to get them to give us Blanket Permission to photo and dig if necessary for any buried tombstones, and when I say dig I only mean usually about 4 to 6 inches below ground (trust me Ben and I are not into physical labor), this was not granted, just with what I previously said about the willingness of the Clerk of Court to help. I called Governor Easley's Office and have not received a reply, but of course I was only ONE at the time. I have been in touch with House Representative Carolyn Justus and Tim Spear who are both on the Committee to change the wording of the Laws and Regulations and I will include both their addresses and Tim Spear's phone number.
What would be realy nice is to bombard Justus, Spear, and Governor Michael Easley with request to give Ben and I blanket permission to go on any property to take photos and or dig up tombstones in Currituck County. It is no different than sending a Census Taker door to door, we are only gathering information that soon will no longer exist.
Here are the addresses
Carolyn Justus
1023 Legislative Building
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
Phone: 919-733-5956

Tim Spear
Home Address: 612 Mt. Tabor Rd
Creswell, NC 27928
Home Phone: 252-797-4481
Office Phone 919-715-3029
Office Address
403 Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925


Govenor Michael Easley
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Fax.919-715-3175

Phone: 919-733-4240, 919-733-5811

I believe ONLY Governor Easley can give this kind of Blanket permission, and when they tell you that they are working on changing the Laws let them know WE DON'T HAVE TIME on our side.

Thanks Everyone for your help, I feel like I finally have someone on our side.
Judy

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 4:03AM GMT
Classification: Query
Jolene, who are your ancestors? Ben and I have done a few cemeteries along the border, but concetrate on ones we feel are endangered by development for now. There was a Morris Cemetery that a farmer has TOTALLY destroyed in 4 months since I was last in Moyock (which is on the border of Virginia via Princess Anne). There were 4 or 5 perfect tombstones there with daffodills covering the whole cemetery and he has totally plowed everything under. I used to deliver the mail through there for 10 years so I KNOW what good shape they were in and have been by there and when I went back about 5 months ago I was SHOCKED....Nothing but a bean field, if you didn't know you would never guess there once was a cemetery.
I was just curious about your ancestors and Ben and I will keep an eye out for them when we go out again.
Judy

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 5:09AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Heath
Hi Judy,

James Heath,d 1702, Ann Heath, d in 1723 James Heath Jr, d in 1728....their wills were all in Princess Anne Co. So was Mary Foster Heath, d in 1728.

I haven't even found the will yet for Robert Heath #1 d bef 1740, Robert Heath #2 d in 1762, Robert Heath #3 d in 1795, the last two died in Currituck Co.

Thank you for asking.......

It makes me ill when people haven't any consideration for graves, cemetery's, or anything old and/or having to do with history.

Jolene

Re: Save our Cemeteries

Posted: 10 Feb 2007 5:10AM GMT
Classification: Query
jojo.not@verizon.net

I got ahead of myself.
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