- Cemetery Articles

Posted: Monday, Apr 28, 2008 - 04:19:21 pm CDT Jefferson City News Tribune

Descendants of slaves, slave owners gather to save cemeteryBy The Associated Press City officials say relocation needed to spur development

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - Descendants of slave owners and descendants of slaves gathered to preserve history and make sure the final resting place of their ancestors remains undisturbed.Brought together by a proposed relocation of several homestead cemeteries on Kansas City International Airport property, those descendants held a 90-minute ceremony Saturday at the Miller-Rixey cemetery, one of the gravesites that was targeted for relocation.The city's plan was to move marked graves from five cemeteries on airport property to a five-acre site near Tiffany Springs Park. The relocation, city officials said, was needed to spur economic development on the 7,000 acres of vacant airport property.But the relocation plan, for which the city sought a court order, did not include unmarked slave graves that descendants say are buried near those cemeteries.The event, which was called Unity Circle of Prayer Day: A Celebration of Common Ancestry, was scheduled before a Platte County judge ruled April 17 that the city had not shown sufficient cause to move the graves.The ruling was a victory for the descendants, who argued in court that their ancestors' remains should not be disturbed. And to further honor their ancestors, they organized Saturday's event.The Miller-Rixey cemetery has as many as 40 graves, with slaves occupying perhaps more than a third of the plots.

"This is a chance to acknowledge that slavery was wrong and that (pioneers and slaves) helped make Platte County the county that it was," said Olin Miller, a Platte City insurance agent whose ancestors settled in Platte County and are buried in the Miller-Rixey cemetery.Warren Watkins, whose ancestors were Platte County slaves, said the ceremony also would give people an idea of the area's history."There were numerous plantations and slaves in Platte County, and nobody knows about it," said Watkins, whose family owns Watkins Brothers Funeral Home in Kansas City. The two men were at Saturday's gathering, which began a little before noon as many of the worshippers streamed off a charter bus and walked down a dirt road to tables and chairs set up in the grass just outside the small cemetery.Speakers had to pause periodically as landing airplanes roared toward the nearby airport.Those who stepped on the small podium included clergy, historians, archeologists and descendants of whites and blacks buried in the cemetery.The service ended with everybody joining hands and forming a large ring around the tables and chairs.The Rev. Charles E. Johnson, pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Platte City, gave the final prayer. Reflecting on the gathering afterward, Johnson said: "It's a blessing from God - truly a blessing - when all of God's people can come together in unity."

Posted on Fri, Apr. 18, 2008 10:15 PM

Graves near airport will stay

By GLENN E. RICE and JOHN SHULTZ
The Kansas City Star

A Platte County judge has halted a plan that would have relocated dozens of graves on Kansas City International Airport property to make way for more economic development.

Kansas City officials had sought a court order to move the graves - many buried in family plots during the 1800s - to a five-acre site near Tiffany Springs Park.

Circuit Court Judge Abe Shafer issued a ruling late Thursday that determined the city had "failed to demonstrate good cause for the disinterment and movement of the individual remains." The city also failed to provide evidence that the public would benefit from moving the graves, Shafer wrote. Local historian Shirley Kimsey, whose family is buried in one of the cemeteries, praised the verdict.

"Once a cemetery is established, it's supposed to stay where it is forever," she said. "I was quite sure that the judge was going to do the right thing."

Mark Van Loh, Kansas City aviation director, said airport officials were disappointed in the ruling because the city had planned to consolidate the cemeteries, which are often vandalized and used for illegal dumping. Van Loh said they would proceed with plans to build fences around the cemeteries.

City officials testified in March that the relocation would help bring more economic development to the 7,000 acres of vacant city-owned property around the airport.

One of the cemeteries, where family members of pioneer Waller L. Brightwell are buried, is on the 300-acre site of a proposed motor sports park that would include a private racetrack for members.

Rick Watkins, who will be one of the track's principal owners, said the ruling would not deter plans for the motor sports park.

"We can design around it," he said, adding that the developers plan to visit with city aviation officials next week to start that process.

Watkins did say he was somewhat surprised by the ruling, noting that historic cemeteries have been moved for road projects in other cases.

"But I'm not the judge," Watkins said. "I'm just the developer who has to work within the confines of the ruling. And we will."

The other cemeteries are near where there are plans to extend Tiffany Springs Parkway to Interstate 435. No timetable has been set, but officials think a parkway would open the area to development.

In his three-page ruling, Shafer said the lease between the city and Kansas City International Motor Sports Park does not require removal of the cemeteries. Shafer also wrote that the city failed to produce evidence of any necessity for moving the cemeteries in order to allow development on areas adjacent to the cemeteries.

Also at issue during the case were unmarked graves thought to exist in or near the cemeteries.

The court appointed Platte City attorney Robert H. Shaw to represent any unknown dead. In his ruling signed Thursday, Shafer also blocked the city from disturbing or disinterring any remains located "in, around and in the vicinity of the cemeteries."

Shaw commended the ruling on Friday.

Unclear is what effect the ruling will have on a related suit filed earlier this month in federal court by Kansas City resident Oralee Watkins.

Watkins, who could not be reached Friday, has ancestors buried in a cemetery on KCI property that is not part of the relocation plan.

Posted on Fri, Apr. 18, 2008 06:36 PM

Platte County judge halts city's plan to relocate KCI grave sites

By GLENN E. RICE and JOHN SHULTZ
The Kansas City Star

A Platte County judge has ruled that four homestead cemeteries near Kansas City International Airport will remain intact and not be disturbed to make way for economic development.

Kansas City officials had sought a court order to move the graves from those cemeteries to a five-acre site near Tiffany Springs Park.

Circuit Court Judge Abe Shafer ruled Thursday that among other things, the city "failed to demonstrate good cause for the disinterment and movement of the individual remains." The city also failed to provide evidence that the public would benefit from moving the graves.

Local historian Shirley Kimsey, whose family is buried in one of the cemeteries, praised the verdict. "Once a cemetery is established, it's supposed to stay where it is forever," she said. "I was quite sure that the judge was going to do the right thing."

Kansas City Aviation Director Mark Van Loh said they were disappointed in the ruling because the city had planned to consolidate the cemeteries, which are often vandalized and used for illegal dumping. Van Loh said they would proceed with plans to build fences around the cemeteries.

City officials testified in March that the relocation would help bring more economic development to the 7,000 acres of vacant city-owned property around the airport.

One of the cemeteries, where family members of pioneer Waller L. Brightwell are buried, is on the 300-acre site of a proposed motor sports park that would include a private racetrack for members.

Rick Watkins, one of the track's principal owners, said the ruling won't deter plans for the motor sports park.

"We can design around it," he said, adding that the developers plan to visit with city aviation officials next week to start that process. Watkins did say he was somewhat surprised by the ruling, noting that historic cemeteries have been moved previously for road projects.

"But I'm not the judge," Watkins said. "I'm just the developer who has to work within the confines of the ruling. And we will."

The other cemeteries are near where there are plans to extend Tiffany Springs Parkway to Interstate 435. No timetable has been set, but officials think a parkway would open up that area to development.

In his three-page ruling, Shafer said the lease between the city and Kansas City International Motor Sports Park does not require removal of the cemeteries. Shafer also wrote that the city failed to produce evidence of any current necessity for moving the cemeteries in order to allow development on areas adjacent to the cemeteries.

Also at issue during the case were unmarked graves thought to exist in or near the cemeteries.

The court appointed Platte City attorney Robert H. Shaw to represent any unknown dead. In his ruling signed Thursday, Shafer also blocked the city from disturbing or disinterring any remains located "in, around and in the vicinity of the cemeteries."

Shaw commended the ruling on Friday.

It's unclear what impact the ruling will have on a related suit filed earlier this month in federal court by Kansas City resident Oralee Watkins. Watkins, who could not be reached Friday, said she has ancestors buried in a cemetery on KCI property that is not part of the relocation plan.

Posted on Wed, Apr. 02, 2008 10:15 PM

Lawsuit aims to prevent cemetery relocations near KCI

By MIKE RICE
The Kansas City Star

A Kansas City woman has filed a federal lawsuit to block the proposed relocation of four cemeteries near Kansas City International Airport. The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri by Oralee Watkins, seeks to "prevent any further irreparable harm" to 19th-century pioneer and slave graves descendents believe are scattered throughout 7,000 acres of vacant city-owned property around the airport. KCI officials are seeking approval from a Platte County Circuit judge to move marked graves to a five-acre site near Tiffany Springs Park. They say the relocation is needed to make way for economic development in the area.

One of the cemeteries, where family members of pioneer Waller L. Brightwell are buried, is on the 300-acre site of a proposed motor-sports park that would include a private racetrack for members.

Watkins' lawsuit said descendents of those buried in the cemeteries do not want graves to be disturbed "because some wealthy Porsche or Ferrari owner wants to … drive as fast as they can."

The suit names as defendants Kansas City Aviation Director Mark VanLoh and the Aviation Department's commercial development division.

Melody Cockrell, an assistant city attorney for the department, said Wednesday that the lawsuit was another way for opponents to stop the city The relocation case has been tied up in court for a year. City officials said they have been respectful of the dead and have based the relocation plan on historic records containing the names of people known to be buried in the cemeteries.

Last year, Platte County Judge Abe Shafer appointed a legal guardian for the unknown dead who are considered by some, including Watkins, to have been buried in unmarked graves near the cemeteries.

At a court hearing March 17 in Platte County, Shafer heard testimony from both sides. He gave them until Tuesday to submit their proposed findings and legal conclusions.

Cockrell questioned the authority of the federal court. "The only basis in this suit is that the city used federal money to buy some of the airport property," she said.

Watkins, 25, has ancestors buried in a cemetery on KCI property that is not part of the relocation plan. Her father, Warren Watkins, whose family owns Watkins Brothers Funeral Home in Kansas City, testified at the hearing.

In the lawsuit, Oralee Watkins wants the city to prove ownership of the cemeteries. The suit notes that any relocation must be in accordance with federal preservation laws.

VanLoh has said the city and an archeologist hired to oversee the relocation are adhering to federal regulations.