Headstone of 110-year-old grave damaged in second vandalism report at Jensen Beach church

JENSEN BEACH — Vandals toppled a 110-year-old gravestone at the cemetery of the All Saints Episcopal Church on Northeast Seaview Drive Tuesday, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

William Hogg, who died July 7, 1913, was the entombed whose grave was damaged.

The vandalism was reported five days after Hogg's birthday, as the former Jensen Beach resident was born Oct. 12, 1869, in Glasgow, Scotland, according to Find a Grave. He was part of a pioneer family who settled in Fort Pierce in 1876, Find a Grave records show.

Hogg later moved to Jensen Beach and lived the rest of his life there.

A second stone, of Warner Belknap's grave, was also moved out of place, said Rebecca Damberg, the cemetery manager. Belknap was born Oct. 11, 1896 and died Oct. 5, 1984.

Joyce Fletcher Menard, a historian for All Saints Episcopal Church, said the cemetery carries an abundance of history.

“History’s important. This is an outdoor museum…” Menard said. “We have tours. We have self-guided tours so people will know this is where our history lays.”

The cost to restore Hogg's tombstone is an estimated $5,000, sheriff’s officials said.

Damberg said the cost is so high because the church must hire a specialized team out of Texas to restore the headstone.

The toppled-over stone is so heavy it would likely require a pulley system to lift it off the ground, Menard said.

For Martin County sheriff's Chief Deputy John Budensiek, the desecration of the grave is personal.

Budensiek said his grandparents are buried near the vandalized headstone and the cemetery is the resting place for many Martin County residents’ loved ones.

Investigators suspect the headstone was intentionally vandalized as it requires more than one person to push something so massive, Budensiek said.

The chief deputy said the cemetery has no surveillance cameras, so investigators have not determined a suspect yet.

Investigators are asking for anyone near the area who saw something or know someone who may have had something to do with the crime to report it to the Sheriff’s Office.

Budensiek said the Sheriff’s Office is relying on the public’s help to make an arrest and right the wrong that’s been done.

“It’s been around a long time, and again, it’s a beautiful place. It’s a peaceful place overlooking the river,” Budensiek said. “So it’s personal for us, personal for me. I think we can all relate to someone vandalizing a loved one’s headstone of how against the grain that goes for all of us, not just myself.”

Damberg said the vandalism is no minor offense, as it’s desecrated more than a century of history.

“The desecration of a grave is not just teenagers having fun, the old adage. This is desecration of one of our pioneer families,” Damberg said. “Desecration of any grave is wrong, but the desecration of one of the founding members of our community is just unacceptable.”

The damage to the gravestone is the second reported vandalism incident at the church within two weeks, sheriff’s officials said.

Last week, someone broke window bars on the outdoor shed of the church and damaged a fence, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said the vandals left behind beer cans and cigarettes.

Any willful damage to a church greater than $200 is a felony under Florida law.

However old the grounds may be, it’s still a functioning church and cemetery.

“We can’t just let our front yard go to wrack and ruin because it’s the front yard of the church,” Menard said.

The All Saints Episcopal Church cemetery has 6,500 graves, which includes 1,000 veterans, Menard said.

Both the church and cemetery have been around since the 19th century. The church was founded in 1898 and the cemetery was founded in 1899.

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Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@TCPalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Grave vandalized at All Saints Episcopal Church Jensen Beach