- The Pioneer Cemetery Concept

The Pioneer Cemeteries of Missouri are the final resting place of our pioneer forefathers who came to this land at a time when it was primitive and undeveloped, seeking to establish a new life for themselves and their families to come. The existence of these pioneer family cemetery stems from a time in our history when this area was without church and municipal cemeteries and other places of congregate burial and the family unit was the was the sole support system for maintaining the grounds in which our forefathers were buried. Family members who "passed away" were commonly buried on the family farm at a point which was distant enough from the home that it did not intrude on daily family life; but close enough that it could be protected and maintained.

The record, carved in stone, that these cemeteries provide stand as a testimony to the hardships they endured to make our state what it is today. These pioneer cemeteries provide a record for historians and genealogists that many times are unrecorded in other places. Sometimes there is no other recorded information about an area and these pioneer folk except what can be found in cemeteries. Cemeteries tell us about the ethnic background of people, their occupations, how long they lived and, sometimes, what caused their deaths. The cemeteries stand as landmarks in the migration of families from East to West, sometimes with little other recorded information that these people had settled here for a time and then moved on. They provide us with insights into cultural and religious practices and beliefs. Some monuments are simple; a slab of wood or a carved piece of concrete with a name and dates scratched in. Others are elaborate sculptures bearing religious inscriptions or clues to their occupations or social and fraternal organizations.

As time passed, after these family cemeteries were established, frequently the families moved on or started family burials in newly established church or congregate cemeteries. When these settlers moved on the family farm was sold to others who had no vested interests in the cemetery that existed on that property. They received only minimal care and gradually fell into disrepair. The apathy and frequently hostile consideration that they received from landowners that felt that the cemetery was taking up valuable farmland that belonged to them, further accelerated the demise and destruction of these pioneer family cemeteries. We frequently find, on old maps and in land records, references to these cemeteries that were once beautiful family cemeteries that no longer exist. These family cemeteries once dotted the countryside are now hidden away from sight by trees and heavy undergrowth or just simply no longer exist with no idea of what happened to the stones that once marked the burials contained within. Survival of the family cemetery is constantly threatened by expanding urban areas, vandalism, removal of headstones, theft of objects such as benches, gates and statuary, neglect and lack of fences to keep cattle from toppling headstones. If not cared for, these reminders of early settlements will be lost forever. Of the family cemeteries in Missouri, the precise location of only a small portion has been recorded. This information is scattered in various sources and is not complete, detailed, or in many cases accurate. In some cases only a verbal description gathered by volunteer preservationists exists and the only known location in the mind of the “old timer” that remembers it from their childhood. Determining the exact location of a cemetery is critical to preservation efforts.

We have no estimate as to the total number of pioneer family cemeteries that exist in Missouri since many still lie unrecorded or hidden away from common knowledge. Also, those counties which were inhabited early in the history of our state, contain the greatest number of these family cemeteries since those that were established later more rapidly developed the infrastructure to support congregate burials. In those counties along the Missouri River, moving from East to West, which were among the first counties to be populated, we find a greater number of these family cemeteries. The hilly terrain and a myriad of small streams and rivers in this region limited the mobility of these families and further tended to increase the frequency of establishing the family cemeteries as opposed to the larger congregate cemeteries. Many of these small family cemeteries still remain "unlocated". As an example; in 2001 Callaway County, Missouri had a catalog of 223 total cemeteries "known" to the local historical society. With a renewed effort in locating these pioneer family cemeteries, this number has increased to 288 by January 01, 2006, and at that time there was a list of approximately 50 potential cemeteries yet to be checked out. Estimates indicate that from 35 to 40 of these potential cemeteries will prove to be valid, previously "unknown" cemeteries and added to the current catalog of total cemeteries. Similar situations exist within most of the counties of Missouri.

The system of laws that govern our cemeteries of Missouri fail to address the real issues that face these small family cemeteries and further perpetuate the lack of knowledge of and general apathy toward the family cemetery. Within the statute which pertain to cemeteries of Missouri, very few sections address the family cemetery and only one directly mentions "abandoned family cemeteries" by guaranteeing the right of an individual to visit a family cemetery that is surrounded by private property. The other real issues that continue to threaten the very existence of the family cemetery are not addressed, other than to make cemetery destruction or vandalism a misdemeanor in our scheme of laws. Our laws fail to make provisions to protect and preserve these family cemeteries or to address the issues surrounding abandonment or property ownership and taxability of a family cemetery not deeded separately from the property on which it lies or to advise potential purchasers that a cemetery exists on that property. Our laws also fail to address the historic nature of many of these cemeteries or set them aside as a "cultural resource". A separate statute in Missouri governs the protection and preservation of Native American burials where theft from, vandalism of, and destruction of a Native American burial site is a felony and sets them aside as a "cultural resource".

It is time for our government to address the real issues of family cemeteries of Missouri and provide new legislation geared to protect and preserve these family cemeteries, and recognize many of them as historic and a "cultural resource". It is with this in mind that we propose the term "Pioneer Cemeteries" that provides recognition of the true status of these cemeteries and the heritage that the people buried in these cemeteries have left for us. We fail to recognize that today when we purchase a cemetery lot we expect perpetual care and protection of our burial site and we expect that these same rights should be extended to our pioneer ancestors who were buried at a time when these were not guaranteed and protected by existing laws. It is time to establish a "Pioneer Cemetery Law" in the state of Missouri.