Posted: 5/16/2008 1:50:21 PM EDT
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All right, here's something a little different for the crowd here. Background: Family on my Mother's side has two private cemeteries in a town. One is currently maintained, in part by myself. However, the other has not been in years, because it does not have roadside access, and is landlocked within a property. Several years ago, the town declared the cemetery abandoned, in the hopes of repairing, and restoring the cemetery. However, the town did not go through the proper procedure of declaring it abandoned. Because of the improper process, and the unreasonable conditions placed upon the town, and the contractor, by the landowner, the town abandoned the project. Now, I come along. I am able to prove that I am the descendant of several of those buried in the cemetery, dating back to the early to mid 1800's. There is also at least one buried there that is a veteran of the Revolutionary War. The Town Counsel did deed research, but he didn't go back far enough, nor were the Selectmen, or the Cemetery Commission made privy as to the exact wording of the deed, from the early 1900's. Or so I am told. I've managed to trace the deeds back to 1873, when a bunch of my ancestors signed off on the deed. In the deed, it says, "Excepting and reserving the grave yard thereon with right to pass and repass to and from the same and the right to repair the wall or fence around said yard". Is the wording within the deed enough to establish a permanent right of way to the cemetery? The town wanted to create a permanent ROW, but were on shaky legal ground, as they had fumbled the abandoned cemetery process. From certain contacts that I have made, and the stories that I have read, the cemetery is in poor condition, and may completely disappear after a few more decades. Which I believe is what the current landowner is hoping for. However, my ancestors deserve to have a respectable place of burial. Thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated. |
I'm not trying to keep the town OUT. If anything, I'm trying to help them get IN. They were the ones that wanted to get in to clean it up, before I ever knew of this. They believed that they could enforce a right of way, but because they fumbled the abandonment process, the landowner has leverage. Because I'm a direct descendant, at this point, I believe I carry more weight than the town right now, with regards to the cemetery. One of the landowners unreasonable demands was that for any trees that were cut down within the cemetery walls, he wanted the trees replaced with nursery grown stock.  Trees that are on property he doesn't own. Which puts me in a clear-cutting mood right now. By having only a temporary right of way, the landowner can continue to impose unreasonable restrictions with regards to access, I believe. However, if the writing in the deed that I mentioned in my original post is cause for a permanent right of way, I will request that the Board of Selectmen begin the process of creating a permanent ROW, so that my family and I can get in there, and return it to a respectable place of burial. I'll give the town the option to fulfill the responsibilities that they willingly undertook, in attempting to repair and restore the cemetery, but it they no longer will, then I want in, so that I can. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of what kind of lawyer I need. Not sure if we have a Special Deed Family Law Council up this way, but I'll look into it. Thank you. |