A Platte County, Nebraska, farmer has been advised that he cannot run a pivot irrigation system through a 125-year-old cemetery that contains the grave of a Civil War veteran. On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a case brought by Calvin Sjuts, a farmer who has owned the land surrounding the Granville Cemetery for some 32 years. Judge Lindsey Miller-Lerman cited a ruling in a Kansas case that said cemetery property has a public nature and must be given special protection.
Nancy Hartman, a Bellwood genealogist who has been involved with the matter for about five years, said that the ruling will have consequences for all cemeteries in the state. She also said, "The good guys have won."
There are 17 stone grave markers in the cemetery, including that of Francis H. Baker, who served in the Civil War. Court records say there is evidence of as many as 20 other unmarked graves in the cemetery.
You can read more about this story on the Columbus (Nebraska) Telegram's web site at http://www.columbustelegram.com/articles/2006/07/31/news/news2genealogist.txt
