Cataloged IfUf&ntautf (dputptprjj AaaDriation (Eliarter, Sulfa anJi Sfgulatiuua Soma ^ Niuftffn ^unirfJi iFuur Pamphl^ CoITeclfbii Dukp- University Library Pamphlet CoUcction Duke University Library Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/originalcharteraOObell BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ST. LOUIS, MO. ORIGINAL CHARTER, AMENDMENTS TO CHARTER, TOGETHER WITH THE BY-LAWS AND RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE Bellefontaine Cemetery AND SUGGESTIONS TO LOT OWNERS, ETC.; ALSO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH. St. Eouis, Mo.: THE FREEGARD PRESS, 1904. 7r> T ■' ’ . ' ts.',.. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE Bellefontaine Cemetery Hssociation. PRESIDENT, GEO. R. LOCKWOOD. VICE-PRESIDENT, HENRY C. SCOTT. SECRETART AND TREASURER, J. B. Gi^ZAM. SUPERINTENDENT, FRANK HOTCHKISS. TRUSTEES. Samuel Cupples, Daniel Catlin, Edwards Whitaker, John J. O’Fallon, John F. Sheet, ev, H. N. Davis, Wm. E. C. Eliot, H. E. Bridge, L. D. Dozier, Geo. D. IMarkham, John T. Davis, Thos. H. West, Duncan. OFFICE HOURS. City Office, 514 Security Building, 4tli and Locust, 9 a. m. until 4 p. M. daily, except Sunday. Not open on Sunday. At Cemetery, 8 a. m. until 5 p. m. daily, except Sunday. Sunday, 9 a. m. until 12 noon only. THE FIRST BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION, 1849. Wm. M. McPherson. PRESIDENT, JAMES HARRISON. SECRETARY, w]\i. M. McPherson. TREASURER, WAYMAN CROW. James E. Yeatman, James Harrison, John F. Darby, Henry Kayser, Wayman Crow, Chas. S. Rannels, Gerard B. Allen, Philander Salisbury. Wm. Bennett, Augustus Brewster, CIVIL ENGINEER AND SUPERINTENDENT, A. HOTCHKISS. HISTORICAL SKETCH, ETC. The Bellefontaine Cemetery Association was incorpo- rated under the name of the Eural Cemetery Association,- by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, ap- proved March 7, 1849. The first meeting of the corporators named in the charter was held on the 21st day of the same month. The first purchase of land, embracing a tract of one hundred and thirty-eight and fourteen hundredths acres, was completed on the 12th day of July following. A Superintend- ent was appointed on the 21st of August; and the work of clearing up and laying out the grounds eoromenced under his direction on the 5th of October. On the 15th day of May, 1850, the grounds were dedicated as the “Bellefontaine Cemetery,” and opened for the selection of lots. Additions to the grounds have been made from time to time, giving the whole present area of the Cemetery three hundred thirty-two and one-half acres. The amendments to the charter, proposed by an act of the Legislature, approved March 1st, 1851, were adopted by the Association at a meeting of the stockholders, held on the 8th day of November in the same year. By these amendments the name of the corporation was changed to the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association, and authority given the Board of Trustees after all debts should be paid, to determine by by- laws (subject to the approval of the stockholders) to pay off the stockholders, and make lot owners holding not less than eight hundred square feet the corporators. By a subsequent amendment to the charter, approved March 19, 1866, and accepted by the stockholders, the corpo- rate powers of the Association were vested in a board of fif- 6 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, teen trustees, required to be lot owners, who were to be chosen jointly by the former stockholders, and by owners of lots containing not less than four hundred square feet, which Board of Trustees was made a perpetual body, with authority to fill all vacancies from among the lot holders, by a majority vote of their whole number. In this body now, and for all future time, rests the title, control and management of all the property and affairs of the Association, to be administered by them for and in behalf of the present and future lot owners in the Cemetery. Lots in the Cemetery are only laid out when selected, and may be procured of any desired shape, and of any size not less than four hundred superficial feet. Every lot will front either on a carriage road, or pathway sufficiently wide for the passage of persons on foot, and be entirely separated from any other lot either on the sides or rear. The Bellefontaine Cemetery Association was organized for a public purpose — to supply a public want— and its original and publicly avowed object will, in all respects, be faithfully carried into execution. By its charter the grounds are secured for cemetery purposes forever, and placed en- tirely beyond the power of legislative or other control, save in accordance with the objects intended in their selection and dedication. No lot is liable to taxation for any purpose, nor can a lot be sold under execution, or by order of any court or in any way conveyed, after interments have been made in it, out of the family of the original proprietor, except as pro- vided for by section 5 of amendments to the charter, ap- proved March 19, 1866, as found herein. ORIGINAL CHARTER AND AIVIENDMENTS OF Bellefontaine Cemetery? association. AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE RURAL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION OP ST. LOUIS. (since changed to bellefontaine cemetery association.) Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Mis- souri, as follows : Section 1. That John F. Darby, Henry Kayser, Way- man Crow, James E. Yeatman, James Harrison, Chas. S. Ran- nels, Gerard B. Allen, Philander Salisbury, Wm. Bennett, Augustus Brewster, and Wm. M. McPherson, and their as- sociates and successors, he, and they are hereby created, a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the Rural Cemetery Association, and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall be competent, by the name and style aforesaid, to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be de- fended, in all courts and places, and in all matters whatso- ever ; and shall in like manner have authority to have and use^ a common seal, and may alter or change the same at pleasure,. and may also make, ordain, and establish such by-laws, rules, and regulations as may be deemed necessary for the good government of said corporation, and the efficient manage- ment of its affairs : Provided, That the same shall not be contrary to any provisions of this charter, nor to the consti- tution and laws of this State, or of the United States. Sec. 2. The said corporation shall have power to pur- chase and hold a tract of land not exceeding two hundred acres, to be located not less than two miles nor more than five 8 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. miles distant from the present corporate limits of the city of St. Louis, to be appropriated and used for a cemetery, or burying ground, and for that purpose may laj'- off the same into lots and subdivisions suitable for graves, vaults and mon- uments, and may embellish the same with trees, shrubbery and flowers, and lay out roads and walks ; and when thus laid olf and dedicated, shall be forever held by said corporation for the purposes aforesaid, and none other. Said corporation may sell and convey any of the lots or subdivisions in said Ceme- tery for the purpose aforesaid, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by its by-laws; and every right sold and conveyed shall be held and used by the proprietors thereof for the purposes aforesaid; shall be indivisible, and shall not be subject to attachment or sale under execution, or to be con- veyed by the owner out of his family, after any interments have been made in such lot, nor by order of any court.* [iVot?.— The foregoing Section 2 has been changed in two important particulars, viz.: By the amendments approved March 1st, 1851, authority is given to purchase and hold a tract of land for cemetery purposes not exceeding five hundred acres. And by the amendments approved March 19. 1866, authority is given a lot owner to convey out of his family, under certain restrictions, his lot, even after Interments have been made therein.] Sec. 3. The officers of said corporation shall consist of not less than seven, nor more than eleven Trustees (the num- ber to be regulated by the by-laws),, a Secretary and Treas- urer, and such other officers and agents as they may choose to elect. The Trustees shall be elected annually, and shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors are duly elected. They shall choose one of their number as President, who shall also be President of the corporation ; they shall also choose a Secretary and Treasurer, either from their own body or at large; whose duties shall be defined by the by-laws of the corporation ; a majority of the Trustees shall eon- [ Vofe.— The foregoing Section was, by the act approved March 19, 1866, so amended as to increase the number of Trustees to fifteen, by changing the mode of their elec- tion, and by making them a self-perpetuating body.] *An interlineation in the original was transposed by the engrossing clerk. It should read: "And shall not be subject to attachment or sale under execution, nor by order of any court, or to be conveyed by the owner out of his family after any interments have been made in such lot. ” ORIGINAL CHARTER AND AMENDMENTS. 9 stitute a quorum for business, and they shall fill all vacancies that may occur in their body during the time for which they are elected. Sec. 4. The persons herein named shall constitute the first Board of Trustees, and shall hold their offices until an election of their successors takes place, as hereinafter pro- vided, and any three of said persons may call a meeting of said Board, by giving at least five days’ notice in writing; or through a daily paper published in St. Louis; and if a quorum appear at the time and place appointed they shall organize by the election of officers, and proceed to business; said Board shall determine upon the amount of capital stock of said corporation (which shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars), the mode and manner in which the same shall be subscribed, paid in, transferred and held; and the by-laws making these proffisions shall be forever binding on the cor- poration. The board shall also fix upon the time for the first meeting of stockholders for the election of officers, the man- ner of voting, and the number of votes to which each stock- holder shall be entitled, at which annual meetings the re- ports of the Secretary and Treasurer shall be presented. Sec. 5. No sale of lots in said Cemetery shall be made until at least fifty acres shall be laid off in suitable lots, and a plat of the same filed in the Recorder’s office of St. Louis county, and at least thirty-three per centum of the net pro- ceeds of all sales shall be expended in improving and embel- lishing the grounds, building suitable fences or walls around the same, and erecting necessary buildings on the premises. [Wole.— See Section 2 of amendments, approved March 1, 1851, for modifications of the foregoing Section 5.] Sec. 6. All deeds for the conveyance of lots in said Cem- etery shall be signed by the President of said corporation, and attested by the Secretary, with the seal of the corporation attached ; and the further certificate of the Secretary, that the President executed the same for the purpose therein men- tioned, with the corporate seal attached, shall be deemed suffi- cient authentication of such deeds in all courts and places whatsoever. 10 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. Sec. 7. It shall be lawful for said corporation to take and hold any grant or bequest of money or property in trust, and to apply the same, or the income thereof, under the di- rection of the Board of Trustees, for the improvement of said Cemetery, or any portion thereof, or in the erection or pres- ei’vation of any tomb or monument, according to the terms of any such grant or bequest; and any court having equity jurisdiction for the county of St. Louis shall have power tc compel the performance of any such trust, upon the appli- cation of any lot owner in said Cemetery. Sec. 8. Any person who shall wilfully destroy, injure or remove any tomb or monument, or any grave-stone placed in said Cemetery, or shall Avilfully remove, destroy, cut, break or injure any fence around, or any railing, fence, tree, shrub or plant, within the limits of said Cemetery, or shall shoot off or discharge any gun or any other fire-arms within the said limits, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof before any justice of the peace or court having jurisdiction of such cases within the county of St. Louis, be fined not less than five dollars, nor more than fifty dollars, according to the nature and aggravation of the offense ; and such offender shall be liable to an action of tres- pass, to be brought before any justice or court of competent jurisdiction, in the name of said corporation, to recover all damages sustained by his or her unlawful act or acts; and such money, when recovered and collected, shall be applied by the Board of Directors to the reparation or restoration of the property destroyed or injured; and in such suits members of the corporation shall be competent witnesses. Sec. 9. Any person who shall Avilfully open any vault or graAm, within the limits of said Cemetery, for the purpose of robbing such grave or vault of any of the clothes or ma- terials placed therein with a corpse, or who shall remoA^e any body from said Cemetery for the purpose of dissection, or who shall knoAvingly receive any such body after its removal, together with all aiders and abetters, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by im-. prisonment in the penitentiary for the term of two years. ORIGINAL CHARTER AND AMENDMENTS. 11 Sec. 10. Said Cemetery is hereby declared exempt from all taxes and assessments, so long as the same shall remain dedicated to the purposes of a Cemetery. Sec. 11. In case the land selected for such Cemetery shall be on or contiguous to any of the principal roads leading out from the city of St. Louis, and beyond the portion now macadamized, the said corporation may tender to the County Court of St. Louis county any sum of money, not less than two thousand dollars, nor more than three thousand dollars, to be appropriated to the extension of the macadamizing upon such principal road; and upon such tender being made, it shall be the duty of said court to appropriate a like sum ; and the sum so tendered and appropriated shall, without delay, be expended by the said court in the grading and macad- amizing of such road, in continuation of the work already completed ; and in consideration of such sum being . con- tributed towards such road by said corporation, all carriages and persons going to and returning from burials in said Cemetery shall be exempt from paying toll for travelling upon such road, between said Cemetery and the city of St. Louis. Sec. 12. This act is hereby declared a public Act, and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage; and the Act entitled “An Act to Incorporate the Rural Ceme- tery Association,” approved twenty-eighth January, eighteen hundred and forty-one, not having been used, be and the same is hereby repealed. Approved March 7th, 1849. AMENDMENTS. Approved March 1, 1851. AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT TO INCORPORATE TPIE RURAL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION OP ST. LOUIS, APPROVED MARCH 7th, 1849. Be it enacted hy the General Assembly of the State of Mis- souri, as folloivs : Section 1. Said Rural Cemetery Association is hereby authorized to increase their Cemetery grounds, by purchase or otherwise, to any quantity of land not exceeding five hun- dred acres, which additions shall be subject to all the priv- ileges and restrictions provided for in the act to which this is amendatory. Sec. 2. So much of the fifth section of the act to which this is amendatory, as requires a plat of the land laid off into lots to be filed in the recorder’s office, be and the same is here- by repealed, and all sales made of lots in said Cemetery grounds are hereby ratified. Sec. 3. The Trustees of said Association are hereby authorized to recommend to the County Court of St. Louis county, a suitable person, who shall be appointed a deputy marshal by said court, ivith full power and authority, with or without process, to make arrest for all offenses provided for in the act to ivhieh this is amendatory, and may take any offender before any judge or justice of the peace in the coun- ty, and may serve all processes issued against any trespasser or offender, at any place within the county of St. Louis, and such deputy marshal shall hold his office until removal by the AMENDMENTS. 13 Board of Trustees ; and when such removal is made, they shall fuimish a certified copy of the removal to the County Court. Sec. 4. In case said Association shall get permission to open a road to said Cemetery, through the park and grounds of Col. John O’Fallon, then the provisions of the act of incor- poration, as to trespassers and the discharge of firearms, shall apply to and be extended over said grounds to the distance of one hundred yards on each side of such road, and such deputy marshal shall have the same power to arrest for such offences within said 0 ’Fallon’s grounds, to the distance aforesaid, as in eases occurring within the Cemetery grounds. Sec. 5. Whenever the debts that have been incurred by said Association shall all be paid, the Board of Trustees may determine by. by-laws to pay off the stockholders, and provide for sinking the stock, and making the lot-holders holding not less than eight-hundred square feet the corporators, and vest- ing such lot-holders with all the powers now vested in the stockholders, which by-laws shall be submitted to the stock- holders, and if agreed to by them the Board of Trustees shall proceed to carry out the provisions of said by-laws. Sec. 6. Hereafter the Rural Cemetery Association shall be known and called the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association, and by that name shall be vested with all the rights and priv- ileges vested in them by the name and style of the Rural Cemetery Association, and by the name and style of the Belle- fontaine Cemetery Association may sue and be sued on any contract or agreement entered into under their former name. Sec. 7. This Act shall be submitted to the stockholders at a meeting to be called for that purpose, when these amend- ments shall be submitted by sections ; and, if approved by a majority of the stockholders, shall be adopted and become a part of the charter of said Association, from the time of adop- tion, but if rejected shall become null and void. Approved March 1, 1851. [Voie.— The foregoing- amendments, enacted by act of the State Legislature, -were adopted by the stockholders, and became a part of the Charter of the Association on November 8, 1851.] AMENDMENTS. Approved March 19, 1866. AN ACT IN EELATION TO BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. Be it enacted hy the General Assembly of the State of Mis- souri, as follows : Section 1. The corporate powers of the Bellefontaine Cemetery Association shall hereafter be vested in a Board of fifteen Trustees, to be elected as follows : The present Board of Trustees shall, within sixty days after the first day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, call a meeting of the lot owners in Bellefontaine Cemetery for the purpose of elect- ing eight Trustees, at which election every lot owner shall be entitled to one vote for every four hundred square feet of land he may own in said Cemetery; and at the next annual election to be held by the stockholders of said Association they shall elect seven Trustees, and the Trustees so elected by the lot owners and stockholders shall meet and organize by the election of a President and other officers, as now provided by the by-laws, and shall have and exercise all the powers now vested in the Trustees of said Association. Sec. 2. No person shall be eligible as a Trustee who is not a lot owner in said Cemetery and a resident in Saint Louis County, and a removal from the county or the disposal of his lot shall vacate his office as such Trustee. Sec. 3. The Trustees so elected shall be a perpetual body, and shall fill all the vacancies created in their Board by a vote of a majority of their whole number, and may expel AMENDMENTS. 15 a member at any regular meeting for cause, to be stated on tbeir records, by the vote of ten members in favor of such expulsion. Sec. 4. As soon as said Board of Trustees are elected and organized as above provided, the stockholders in said Association, as now existing, shall have the balance due on their stock returned to them, and from that date their stock shall be deemed cancelled and their rights as stockholders shall cease, and the corporate rights shall by that act be vest- ed in the lot owners in said Cemetery, and thereafter repre- sented by the Board of Trustees above provided for. Sec. 5. The owner of any lot in said Cemetery which has been used for interment, and the bodies afterward re moved by consent of the corporation, may, after two years from the date of such removal, sell and convey said lot as though the same had not been used. This act shall be in force from and after its passage. Approved March 19, A. D., 1866. [Note . — The foregoing amendments to the Charter were accepted by the stockhold- ers, as per certificate on file under date of 22d November, 1866 ; the elections called for in said amendments were duly held on the 28th November, 1866; and the new organi- zation perfected by the election of officers on the third day of December, 1866, as per records of the Association.] By-Laws OF THE BeUcfontaine Cemetery association. Adopted 1st May, 1878. ARTICLE I. OP THE POWERS AND DUTIES OP CORPORATORS AND TRUSTEES. Section 1. All proprietors of lots containing not less than four hundred square feet are members of the corporation ; and no one not an owner of a lot shall be eligible to the office of Trustee. (See. 1, Amended Charter, approved 19th March, 1866.) Sec. 2. The Board of Trustees consists of fifteen mem- bers, who must be lot owners at the time of their election, and shall reside in the city of St. Louis ; and any Trustee ceasing to be a lot owner, or removing from the city of St. Louis, shall thereby vacate his office. (Sec. 1 and 2, Amended Char- ter, approved 19th March, 1866.) A majority of the Board are requisite at any meeting for the transaction of business. '(Sec. 3, Original Charter, approved 7th March, 1849.) Sec. 3. Any Trustee absenting himself from four con- secutive regular meetings of the Board, of wliich he has been duly notified by the Secretary, shall be considered to have given cause for vacating his office, as provided for in Section 3, Amended Charter, approved March 19, 1866. In case of any vacancy occurring in the Board of Trus- tees, the Board shall proceed without any unneeessaiy delay to fill the same by ballot, a majority of their whole number being necessary to elect in such case. (Sec. 3, Amended Charter, approved 19th March, 1866.) BY-LAWS. 17 ARTICLE II. OF MEETINGS OP THE BOARD. Section 4. There shall he four regular meetings of the Board in each year, viz. ; on the fourth Mondays of January, April, July and October. Special meetings, when deemed necessary, may be called by the President or by the Secretary, upon request of any two members of the Board. ARTICLE III. OP THE OPPICERS OP THE ASSOCIATION AND THEIR DUTIES. Section 5. The officers of the corporation shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer (which may be held by the same person), and Superinten- dent ; all of whom shall be elected at the meeting of the Board of Trustees held on the fourth Monday in April of each year, and shall hold their offices for one year, or until their succes- sors are duly chosen. In case of a failure to elect at the time specified herein, the election shall take place at the next meet- ing of the Board. Sec. 6. The President shall preside at the meetings of the Board of Trustees. He shall sign all deeds for the con- veyance of lots in the Cemetery, and have a general super- vision over the interests and affairs of the Association. In his absence, from any cause, the Vice-President shall preside at the meetings of the Board and discharge the duties of President. Sec. 7. The Secretary shall notify Trustees of all meet- ings, attend same, and keep a faithful record of their doings. He shall have the custody of all the books, papers, title-deeds and documents of every kind belonging to the Association. He shall, jointly Avith the President, sign all deeds for the conveyance of lots in the Cemetery, and keep a true record of such sales in a book for that purpose, and enter therein such changes as may occur from time to time in the oAvnership of any lots sold. He shall also keep a true record of all inter- 18 BELLEPONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. merits in the Cemetery, and issue tickets of admission to same under the rules for that purpose, and. shall perform any other duties required of him appropriate to his office. Sec. 8. Tlie Treasurer shall have the custody of all funds belonging to the Association, depositing them as re- ceived from time to time in such bank as may be designated by the Board. He shall collect all moneys due the corpora- tion, and hold, invest, or pay them out, under the direction of the Board of Trustees or President. He shall be empowered to pay all claims for work and materials authorized and cer- tified by the Executive Committee; and also the orders and certificates of the Superintendent for expenditures made by him, together with the monthly payrolls of all employees at the Cemetery, when same are duly certified by him. He shall keep the necessary books, showing the receipt and disburse- ment of all funds passing through his hands, and render at every regular meeting of the Board a statement showing bal- ance of funds on hand, and at the meeting in January a full statement for the previous year of receipts and disbursements, and showing the condition of the Association up to that time. He shall also perform any other duties required of him ap- propriate to his office. He shall give bond, with security to be approved by the Board or Executive Committee, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of his duties as Treasurer. His salary shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Trustees. Sec. 9. The Superintendent shall reside on or near the Cemetery grounds, and shall at all times be subject to the direction of the Board of Trustees, either directly or by its Executive Committee. He shall have the general care and custody of the Cemetery, and direction and control of all im- provements on the premises. He shall lay out all lots, and all walks, roadways and avenues in the Cemetery, and pre- serve a record thereof, so that the same may be known and easily found should the boundaries become changed or obliter- ated. He shall also keep a map of the grounds, showing all improvements. He shall have the control and direction of BY-LAWS. 19 all subordinate officers and workmen employed in the Ceme- tery, directing their duties and fixing their compensation, and shall have the enforcement of all laws, rules and regulations affecting the rights of proprietors or the conduct of visitors. He shall have charge of and keep an account of all property, tools and implements belonging to the Association, and shall cause a record to be kept of all interments made in the Ceme- tery. He shall keep such books of record, make such reports, and perform such other duties appropriate to his office as the Trustees may from time to time require. He shall with his subordinates give especial attention to negotiating the sale of lots, affording to parties desirous to purchase all the facilities in their power for the inspection of the grounds, and all un- sold lots of the Association. He shall pay over, or cause to be paid to the Treasurer, monthly or oftener, all moneys that may be received as proceeds of any property sold by him or his subordinates at the Cemetery, or that may be received from any other source, belonging to the Association. Sec. 10. No person in the employ of the corporation shall be permitted to receive any perquisite for any matter of service connected with the Cemetery or his duties therein — the salary or wages of such person being considered as full compensation therefor. Sec. 11. Any officer of the corporation may, for good cause shown, be removed by the board of Trustees at any meeting thereof, by a vote of not less than a majority of the whole Board. ARTICLE IV. OF THE APPOINTMENT OP pOMMITTEES AND THEIR DUTIES. Sec. 12, There shall be a standing committee of three, to be called the “Executive Committee,” who shall be elected at the same time with the officers of the Board, who shall be charged with the general care and management of the grounds and property of the Association; and shall have power to make contracts for the improvement and embellish- 20 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. meut of the grounds, and arrangements for the proper regula- tion thereof; and may employ all necessary superintendents, agents and laborers for that purpose, subject, however, to such general or special instructions, if any, which the Board of Trustees may from time to time prescribe. The President and Vice-President for the time being shall be e,x ofEcio mem- bers, in addition thereto, of said committee. Sec. 13. There shall also be elected at the regular meet- ing in April of each year a committee, to be called the “Com- mittee on Accounts,” consisting of three Trustees, of which either the President or Vice-President shall be one — whose duties shall be to examine yearly or oftener, if so directed, the books, accounts and vouchers of the Treasurer, with a view to their correctness, and report their findings to the Board. They shall also act as auditors in the verification of any claim against the Association, not otherwise properly vouched for, and in regard to the correctness or justness of which the Treasurer may not be able to determine ; and their approval shall be authority for payment by him. ARTICLE V. IN REFERENCE TO ANT CHANGE IN THE BY-LAWS. Sec. 14. These By-Laws may be enlarged, altered, amended or repealed at any meeting of the Board; provided^ that a majority of the whole Board shall concur in the pro- posed proceeding. RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE Bellefontatne Cemeter^^ Heaociation, RULES GOVERNING LOTS AND LOT OAYNERS. 1. All lots are and shall be held in pursuance of “An Act to Incorporate the Rural Cemetery Association of St. Louis” (since changed to Belief ontaine Cemetery Associa- tion), approved March 7, 1849 — and amendments thereto, ap- proved March 1, 1851, and March 19, 1866 — and such By- Laws and rules as are made hi/ the Board of Trustees from time to time. 2. The minimum size of lots shall he four hundred square feet, and the boundaries of each lot must be designated by at least four boundary stones set flush with the surface of the lot, on one of which the number of the lot will be placed, and which will be erected by the Association and must be paid for at the time of purchase of lot. 3. The price of lots (until otherwise ordered) ranges from seventy-five cents to two dollars per square foot. 4. Inclosures, of all kinds, around lots are prohib- ited, whether of fences, coping, hedges or anything else, as are also wooden head-boards. 5. No paths will be permitted on lots, nor may any structure be erected thereon other than a vault, monument, or head-stone. No entrance or entrance post may be placed upon any lot; and no steps, except where steps are required by the grade of the lot, and upon application to the Association. No more than one monument or mausoleum may be placed upon any one lot, and no head-stone upon any lot shall 22 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. be liigliei' than ten. inches above the ground except hy special permission of the Association, which will *be granted upon application to such owners of old lots as have already com- menced to set head-stones of uniform height where, for the sake of uniformity, additional ones may be set of the same size and shape as those already set up. 6. Proprietors are prohibited from allowing interments to be made in their lots for a remuneration; neither can they legally transfer or assign, in whole or in part, any lot which has once been used for interment purposes, except as pro- vided for in Section 5 of Amendments to the Charter, ap- proved March 19, 1866 (as found herein), nor will the Asso- ciation recognize the rights of any party claiming burial in any lot transferred or assigned, unless the permission of the original owners, or their legal representatives, is entered of record on the books of the Association. The Board will consider any such division, transfer, sale, or permit made or given for a remuneration a breach of con- tract on the part of the lot owner, and will prohibit any fur- ther use of the lot for any purpose whatever, and will return the purchase money upon the vacation of the lot and surren- der of the deed. A lot is intended as the family burying ground of the purchaser, and therefore while he may permit the interment in his lot of one not of his family, an heir cannot, except by the unanimous consent of all the owners. 7. To insure the proper regulations of the grounds, the grade of all lots will be determined by the Superintendent, as the authorized agent of the Association. 8. The owner of each lot shall have the right to erect thereon any proper stones or monuments, under the general supervision of the Superintendent (but the Association re- serves the right to construct all necessary foundations for the same at the owner’s cost) ; and to cultivate trees, shrubs and plants on the same; but no trees, shrubs, plants or flowers growing within the lot or border shall be cut down, trimmed, destroyed, or taken away without consent having first been I EULES AND.EEGULATIONS. 23 obtained from the Superintendent’s office on the Cemetery grounds. 9. If any trees or shruhs, situate in any lot, shall, by means of their roots, branches, or otherwise, become detri- mental to the adjacent lots or avenues, or dangerous or incon- venient to passengers, it shall be the duty of the said Trustees, and they shall have the right, to enter the said lot, and remove the said trees and shrubs, or such parts thereof as are detri- mental, dangerous or inconvenient. 10. If any monument, effigy or inclosure, or any struc- ture whatever, or any inscription, be placed in or upon any lot, which shall be determined by the major part of the Trus- tees, for the time being, to be offensive or improper, or injur- ious to the appearance of the surrounding lots or grounds, the said Trustees shall have the right, and it shall he their duty, to enter upon such lot and remove the said offensive or improper object or objects. 11. It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees, from time to time, to lay out or alter such avenues or walks, and to make such rules and regulations for the government of the grounds as they may deem requisite and proper to secure and promote the general objects of the Association. 12. The proprietors of lots, and their families, when presenting their cards of admission, shall be allowed access to the grounds at all times, obser\ung the rules which may be adopted for the regulation of visitors. 13. No lot shall be used for any other purpose than as a place of burial for the dead. 14. Legacies and deposits for the care of lots wiU be re- ceived and the amount necessary for the care of the shrubbery and turf, not exceeding the sum of 4 per cent, per annum of the deposit, will be expended on the lots so endowed. Legacies and deposits for the care of monuments will be re- ceived and interest at the rate of 2 per cent, per annum al- lowed to he applied to the care and preservation, and, when necessary, the principal will be expended in the care of monu- ments so provided for, until the fund is exhausted. 24 BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. 15. No transfer of title to any lot once used for burial, shall hereafter be permitted on the records, without first hav- ing the sanction of the Executive Committee, to whotn all ap- plications of the kind (which must be in writing) shall be re- ferred by the Secretary; and no recognition of transfer of title in cases sanctioned by said Committee shall be allowed by the Secretary on the books of the Association, until the full two years have elapsed from date of the removal of the dead in such lot, of which removal proper notice shall be filed with the Secretary. 16. On the decease of any owner or part owner of a lot in the Cemetery, the heirs or devisees of such decedent must file in the office of the Association full proof of their heirship or proprietorship, for the purpose of being duly recorded in the books of the Association. Without such proof and record, the right to the lot cannot be recognized by the Association or its Officers. 17. Lot owners should keep diagrams of their lots show- ing interments, that they may be able to give explicit instruc- tions as to where to open graves when it is necessary to use their lots. Blank diagrams will be furnished on application to the City office. 18. Persons owning old lots in partnership should file a written agreement at the City office as to which part of the lot each shall use, unless they wish to use it indiscriminately. Each of two or ndore ibint owners will be entitled to his undi- vided interest only afid will not be allowed to use more space than his proportionate part of the lot. 19. The Trustees reserve the right to do all gardening on, and to give care to, all lots, to the exclusion of all persons not in the employ of the Association. 20. Lot owners wishing their lots graded and sodded, and placed under special annual care, should leave their or- ders at the City Office, No. 514 Security Building. A deposit of money for perpetual care may be made with the Associa- tion at the same place. RULES AND REGULATIONS. 25 21. A fee of five dollars shall he required by the Secre- tary, to be paid at the time of any recognition of transfer of ownership. HEIRSHIP. First : To children and their descendants. If no children, Second: To father, mother, brothers and sisters and their descendants, in equal interest. If none, then. Third : To wife or husband. Fourth: To grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts and their descendants, in equal interest. A husband or wife may be buried in the lot of the other although he or she does not inherit it ; but the survivor cannot order interments in it, unless it comes to him or her by will or inheritance. (See Third above.) Lots will not be sold in joint o^vnership. The experi- ence of all cemetery associations shows that in the lapse of time complications arise beLveen the descendants of joint owners, although they may be of the same blood. In ease of the death of an OAvner, immediate notice should be sent, giving the name of heirs ; and in case the lot has been disposed of by will, a transcript of the clause, properly at- tested, should be filed at the office of the Association. RULES CONCERNING EMPROYEMENTS, Etc. 1. The proper care and regulation of the grounds of the Cemetery, the location and grade of lots, walks, avenues and drives, and the general control of all improvements made therein, are in the hands of the Trustees, as directed by their agents, the Superintendent and his subox’dinates. 2. All workmen employed in the construction of vaults, erection of monuments, etc., must be subject to the control and direction of the agents of the Association ; and any work- man failing to comply to this regulation will not be permitted afterwards to work on the grounds. 26 BELLEPONTAINE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION. 3. The Trustees have no wish to interfere with the taste of individuals in regard to the style of their improvements; but yet, in justice to the interests of the whole, they reserve to themselves the right of preventing or removing any erec- tion or inclosure which they shall consider injurious to the immediate locality, or prejudicial to the general good appear- ance of tlie grounds; and, also, of removing or pruning any trees or shrubbery which may obstruct or mar the effect and beauty of the scenery, or may otherwise prove injurious, un- sightly or detrimental. 4. No vault shall be erected, wholly or in part, above ground without permission of the Association, and all such must be furnished with shelves, having divisions, allowing interments to be separately made, and perpetually sealed; such portions as are above ground must be of stone, granite or marble. 5. Foundations of hollow construction, such as are made by two or more piers with earth space between them, cannot be allowed. 6. Gardeners, masons, stone-cutters, marble-workers, and all others having work to do for the proprietors, will, on application to the Superintendent, be furnished with cards of admission, permitting them to follow their calling in the grounds, on such conditions as he may consider necessary, and as will insure the strict observance of the Rules, Regula- tions and proprieties of the place, any violation of which will, in the discretion of the Superintendent, forfeit the privilege and compel the positive exclusion of the offender. 7. All workmen will be required to conduct their opera- tions with compactness and neatness, confining themselves to the lot for which they are engaged, and such additional limits as may be assigned them, carefully avoiding any encroach- ment upon adjoining lots. 8. Masons and stone-cutters will not be permitted to bring into the grounds material in large quantities in advance of its immediate use, nor in an unprepared condition. Blocks St. Louis, April 24, 1905. TOMBS, MAUSOLEUMS AND MARKERS. No tomb or mausoleum shall be erected on a lot in an old established neighborhood. Persons contemplating erecting such structures must make their intention known when select- ing a lot, and a clause permitting this will be put in their deed. No structure in the nature of a tomb or mausoleum shall be erected of any material but granite, and no part of such structure shall come within ten feet of the boundaries of any lot. No shafts or other monuments of any material but gran- ite shall be erected upon the grounds, except upon permis- sion of the Executive Committee. Concrete foundations will be allowed for markers having a rough butt of six inches. Bellefontaine Cemetery Association, 514 Security Building. Insert page 36. , .:'.vV:v4) Vi'ljsi. . t - \ -,