Laurel Grove Cemetery - Savannah, GA

CHANGES MADE TO DISINTERMENT/REINTERMENT PERMIT PROCESS

Richard Gerbasi

On October 7, 2019, changes were enacted to rule 511-1-3-.23 Permits for the Disposition, Disinterment, and Reinterment. It's been just two years since the last changes were made to the same rule. These changes, however, are a little more impactful; perhaps not to the cemetery but certainly to the parties requesting the disinterment and reinterment.

Effective on October 7th, permits for disinterment and reinterment of a dead body or fetus, including interred cremains, will be issued by the County Registrar upon receipt of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction directing such interment. Previously, a disinterment/reinterment permit only required joint signatures of the surviving spouse, or the next of kin in the absence of a surviving spouse; the owner of the cemetery plot; and the person who is in charge of the disinterment. Now, only a court of competent jurisdiction can authorize a disinterment/reinterment. Additionally, they now require a permit to disinter or reinter interred cremations.

Please be aware, permits are not required when disinterment and reinterment occur within the same cemetery. However, this does not mean you cannot apply the same standard within your cemetery. 

CLOSURE BROUGHT TO THE DENSLER FAMILY CEMETERY PROJECT

Richard Gerbasi

As a cemeterian, I certainly do not advocate for relocating cemeteries. However, I understand that the need is occasionally warranted. While the "need" of each case is certainly a debatable topic, we can at least be grateful that there are laws in place to protect or, at least ,mitigate the damage to these sacred grounds. It is even more satisfying to know that, at least in my opinion, more people are becoming cognizant of and even speaking up on behalf of these historic and often hidden cemeteries, which is how the Densler Family Cemetery was saved from being paved over.

In the case of the Densler Cemetery, the developer had no knowledge of the cemetery. The only above-ground evidence was a ledger and a tablet, both of which were removed from the site to Gravel Hill Cemetery prior to the developer purchasing the property. Fortunately, a local citizen tipped off City of Savannah staff, who quickly issued a stop-work order.

The developer applied for a permit to relocate the Densler Family Cemetery, which was subject to review by the City of Savannah. After review and in accordance with O.C.G.A. 36-72-1 et al,, the permit to relocate the Densler remains was approved.

With the help of the archaeology firm, New South Associates, five remains were successful located and disinterred. On September 19th, 2019, New South Associates reinterred the five Densler remains in Laurel Grove North Cemetery. Shortly thereafter, the ledger and tablet were reunited with Densler remains at Laurel Grove, where conveniently there was space on a cemetery lot belonging to another part of the Densler family. In the near future, Landmark Preservation will be conserving the fractured ledger and resetting the tablet. If there is a such thing as a happy ending to a cemetery relocation, I suppose this is it.