This story is from the "Herald Star" in Steubenville, Ohio published online on December 18, 2019.
The in-depth research material is well written and clearly presented by staff writer, Mark Law. mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.
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Short Excerpt:
"The Jefferson County prosecutor’s office asked the probate court to disinter the remains of 29 people from the mausoleum and rebury them in Highland Cemetery. The body of Christopher Milliken’s great-granduncle, Watson A. Meredith, shown in the picture, who died on April 16, 1927, is located inside the structure."
-- Mark Law
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Watson A. Meredith on Find A Grave is shown as being interred at the Mausoleum. That designation will need to be corrected once he is re-interred in the Highland County Cemetery.
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This is a must-read article for a variety of reasons. The scope of information appeals to a wide range of folks; and particularly to those who have loved ones buried in old crumbling mausoleums.
I feel 'the system' has failed because it resulted in the mausoleum falling into severe disrepair and being left to remain that way until it had become painfully apparent to the 'powers that be' that the human remains it contained would have to be re-interred out of necessity.
The costs of demolishing the mausoleum, cleaning up the area where it was located, all of the time and effort required to locate descendants of those interred in the mausoleum. Last, but certainly not least, are the financial costs and human toll involved to re-inter the bodies of those 29 lost souls who had no voice in the matter but to be taken from their final resting places - that was once a grand place - to one now that is not of their choosing.
This painfully sad situation has taken a toll on the living and the dead that shouldn't have happened.
A more satisfactory result could and should have happened through earlier assessments conducted for the future of the mausoleum. Taking steps to restore it before it became as dangerously deteriorated as it did.
