Clerical error from 1970s causes problem in Pine Hill Cemetery
CHEBOYGAN — The Cheboygan City Council voted to waive burial fees for two people to be buried in Pine Hill Cemetery after a clerical error from the 1970s caused two parcels to be double sold.
Cheboygan City Clerk Alyssa Singles said in around 1968, a portion of Pine Hill Cemetery was purchased by Stanley and Florence Crate. This was the west section, south half of lot 24, block three. This contains four graves, which was considered half of a plot in that section of the cemetery.
Stanley Crate passed away in 1968 and was buried in the first of the four graves, before his wife had purchased the parcels in the cemetery.
"Before she passed, she's in parcel two, she left a note that is attached to the deed that left the two remaining parcels that she bought to her daughter, Velma, and her son-in-law," said Singles.
Singles said recently, the sons of Velma and Henry Scott — Crate's daughter and son-in-law — came in to schedule a burial for their parents. She and the sons pulled the city's burial book out, which keeps record of everyone buried in the cemetery, to verify the graves.
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"We say, 'Yes, we have grandpa, grandma and this Sadie Williams,'" she said.
There was some confusion as to who Williams was, as the family did not know her. She was not connected to the Crate family in any way, either through blood or friendship.
Singles started doing some research into the matter, looking through all of the public records she could find. She even subscribed to Ancestry.com for a short period of time in an attempt to find out who Sadie Williams was and why she was buried in the Crate family's burial parcels.
During her research, Singles also looked at the burial transit permits from the 1970s. She found that Nordman-Christian Funeral Home in Cheboygan took care of Williams' burial. The research also showed that Williams may not have had any children. Singles was not able to find any record of her being married or having any other family.
"I do find in our deed books that back in '77, we had double sold the parcel," said Singles. "Donald R. McRae, guardian of Sadie Williams, purchased the south half of the south half, which was the two remaining parcels that the Crates had purchased in '68, that they had purchased and were unused."
Singles said the Cheboygan city staff during that time sold the two remaining parcels to McRae, to bury Williams when she passed away. She is now buried in parcel three, next to Stanley and Florence Crate.
The Crate's grandsons — Scott's children — made a request to the City of Cheboygan to waive the burial fees for their parents, due to this clerical error. The cost for the burial would be $200. Velma and her husband Henry were both cremated, so both of their urns would be able to be placed in the fourth parcel originally purchased by the Crate family in 1968.
Singles brought the request for waiving the burial fees before the city council members at their June 14 meeting.
Councilman Ken Kwiatkowski, who served as Cheboygan City Clerk-Treasurer for more than 20 years, said he dealt with a lot of similar things such as this clerical error and double selling of a plot when he worked for the city.
"Well, I think it's a fair thing to do," said Kwiatkowski.
The council members voted unanimously to waive the burial fees for the Scott family.
Pine Hill Cemetery was first established in 1897 on the western edge of the city limits, between Court Street and Pine Hill Avenue. More information on the cemetery can be found on its Facebook page.
Contact Reporter Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Clerical error from 1970s causes problem in Pine Hill Cemetery
