Amnesty Program

CGN'S AMNESTY PROGRAM

If you have, or know the whereabouts of a gravestone, or memorial piece that has been relocated, can its original home be found ? In some cases --- YES.

CGN's network has been successful in relocating the home of one 1806 slate. It came to rest years ago in upper NY State . When contacted, CGN and an AGS member got on line and within two days time we found that this child's stone belonged in Rhode Island.
A lady in California for 17 years was concerned about an old slate stone that was used as a garden stepping stone. This past fall she finally found information on the family name. She contacted AGS and today the stone is being readied to be reset at the grave it left so many years ago, in Cape Cod, MA.
When a couple recently purchased a new home and were uneasy about finding a marble gravemarker in their back yard. The town wanted nothing to do with their problem. Through available records we found that, many towns away, this memorial had been either replaced already or for some reason made new. The problem of what to do with the one they have was not immediately resolved but they were calmed to know that it was no longer a stone without a grave. And better yet, that there surely was no grave in their yard.
Years back, a gravestone enthusiast in Connecticut noticed a photograph of an early 1700's gravestone that he recognized in an old auction flyer from New York city . He knew the yard it came from, was familiar with the work of the carver, and knew exactly what grave it was missing from, via past inventories and the footstone, which was still in place. It took him a couple of years (this was long before everyone had computers) but he finally found it. He (after a long drive) was able to retrieve it, and happily put it back.

Chimney caps, stairs and steps, stone walls, well covers, patio enhancements, fireplace decorations, coffee tables (a folk art craze of the 60's - how many are out there), are not proper places for memorials. The head of CGS, Ruth Shapleigh-Brown, has been trying to find her ancestors OLD stones for years now. Most of the colonial stones from her family plots in Maine, have been stolen years ago. She strongly feels that from information she's collected that nearly all 20 to 30 slate stones are out there some where, after being uprooted by a person that was known to have done so and sold them to New York auction markets.

The Connecticut State Statues state it is illegal to have a memorial marker, plaque or funerary decoration belonging to a person's grave, out of its original site. It is illegal to sell gravestones or funerary art. It is personal property and can be viewed only as theft unless otherwise documented.

The following are excerpts from a most eloquently written article by Erling A. Hanson, Jr. President of Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, the article in it's entirety appears in the Nov./Dec. 1996, Vo.3,No.1, issue of the Historic Preservation Forum News, which is published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (1758 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036).

"Although it seldom makes headlines and often goes unreported, even unnoticed, cemetery art theft for profit occurs at an alarming rate throughout this country. The systematic removal of funerary items such as bronze statuary, plaques and busts, stone memorials, wrought ironwork, stained glass windows, and marble benches is stripping our cemeteries of their rich heritage". "What can be done? We in the memorial business must identify, photograph, and record all objects that are candidates for theft. We must report a theft as soon as possible. Antique dealers, auctioneers, and other professionals must refuse to handle obvious funerary art and must insist on establishing the rightful ownership of questionable items. And, clearly, the public must be made aware of what is happening. The theft of cemetery art must be stopped, or it will devastate a basic part of our American heritage". Surely we all must know at least one professional in one of these markets. Let's spread the word NOW !!!