Genealogist: ‘Good guys have won'

A Platte County farmer has lost his bid to run a pivot irrigation system through a 125-year-old cemetery that contains the grave of a Civil War veteran.

The Nebraska Supreme Court rejected on Friday a case brought by Calvin Sjuts, a farmer who has owned the land surrounding the Granville Cemetery for some 32 years.

Nancy Hartman, a Bellwood genealogist who has been involved with the matter for about five years, said this morning that the ruling will have consequences for all cemeteries in the state.

“It was kind of overwhelming that the good guys have won. To me it is a very great victory,” Hartman said. “We started out doing something small and we ended up doing something large,”

Granville was incorporated as a cemetery in 1881.

There are 17 stone grave markers in the cemetery, including that of Francis H. Baker, who served in the Civil War. Court records say there is evidence of as many as 20 other unmarked graves in the cemetery.

Hartman said it's possible that number could be higher, and that 49 white crosses have been erected in the cemetery to denote the estimate.

In 1976, Sjuts began to operate a center pivot irrigation system, which crosses a portion of the cemetery. The pivot's wheels have left well-worn tracks in the cemetery, although Sjuts says they do not cross over any graves.

The Supreme Court ruling states that although the appellants assert the system's wheels do not cross any graves, they acknowledge that “irrigation pipe and sprinklers pass over the gravesites.”

A few years ago, Hartman began contacting descendants of those buried in the cemetery and recruiting people to help her fix it up. One of those descendants was Mary Schott of Alliance and her sister, Roberta Sherman of rural Valentine. Schott said this morning that the family was relieved by the decision.

“How do you say thanks when it's something that means so much? I don't know where to start,” Schott said.

Schott's great-grandparents, Adin and Dianna Potter, sold the land for the cemetery after their 2-month-old daughter died. The Potters buried her in the new cemetery which was within view of their home. Another set of Schott's great-grandparents are also buried at Granville Cemetery. In the 1890s, the Potters moved west and the whereabouts of the cemetery were eventually forgotten.

After Hartman notified Schott's family about the condition of the graveyard, the family hired an attorney to look into the matter.

“Graves are to be taken care of,” Schott said.

In 2003, Sjuts filed a quiet title action against the Granville Cemetery Association, claiming the cemetery had been abandoned and taking ownership of the property.

Sjuts filed his legal action after the cemetery association began building a fence around the cemetery, which would have prevented him from running his pivot irrigation across the cemetery.

The Supreme Court's opinion stated that there is no evidence that Granville was ever dissolved or that the cemetery property was legally abandoned. At some point in time, however, Granville's board of trustees became inactive and Granville's board was not reactivated until February 2004. Granville is presently operated on a nonprofit basis.

In ruling Friday for the cemetery association, Judge Lindsey Miller-Lerman cited a ruling in a Kansas case that said cemetery property has a public nature and must be given special protection.

“A cemetery is as public a place as a courthouse, or a market,” the ruling said. “It may not be frequented as much, but visits to it are necessary and as certain. We may keep away from the courthouse, and avoid the market, but the place of the dead none may shun.”

Sjuts and his lawyer, James Egley of Norfolk, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Brian Beckner of Osceola, who represented the cemetery association, hailed the ruling.

“I am very happy for our board of trustees and other people who have taken an interest in this pioneer cemetery,” he said.

Hartman said the graves in old cemeteries must be protected, even if the families of the deceased cannot be found.

“Somebody loved them,” she said. “Somebody cared about them.”

She said work continues on the cemetery where, in the past few years, monuments have been vandalized. The Civil War soldier's monument is one of those.

“It's not only been moved, it's been broken,” Hartman said.

She said people should respect the pioneers who settled this area.

“We owe them a lot,” Hartman said. “It's our responsibility to care fore the people who passed on before us.”