A pioneer cemetery is plowed up

Your scrapblog editor, who loves pioneer cemeteries, found herself editing a story by one of her reporters last week that made her indignant. Then she noticed that the story's hero was none other than Bill Hoffmeyer, friend of our extended family (and possible distant relative), and that he'd just e-mailed her about what had happened. (Thanks, Bill!) Here is the story as printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on May 23: Bill Hoffmeyer's photo of the recently tilled land shows only a small bare patch amid rows of cornstalks. The Hoffmeyers hope a fence or other markers will someday commemorate the children’s graves. Plow disturbs family members' final rest

A county is investigating and a family is angry after a farmer tilled over graves of three distant but dear relatives in southern Minnesota.

By ABBY SIMONS Star Tribune staff writer

For Bill Hoffmeyer, it's an appropriate weekend to fight for family memories.

South of Wilbert, Minn., near Ceylon, the final resting places of three distant cousins who died in childhood more than a century ago were recently plowed over by a farmer expanding his corn field.

"You cannot disturb a cemetery, no matter where it is, and that's what this guy has done, he tore it up," said Hoffmeyer, 75, of Hampton, Minn. "They're still relatives of mine and I'm dumbfounded that somebody could do this or would do this."

The Martin County Sheriff's Office is now investigating whether the farmer acquired the proper permits before plowing over the remnants of the 19th-century cemetery on the site of what was once the German Evangelical Church.

Hoffmeyer's grandfather had helped found the church in 1895.

The graves of three young children who died between 1898 and 1903 remained when most of the cemetery was relocated when the church was moved to Ceylon in 1905. Until recently, their headstones remained as well.

Detective Matt Owens of the Martin County Sheriff's Office wouldn't release the name of the farmer, but confirmed that headstones had been removed from the small site, which measures about 60 by 100 feet. Owens said some of the headstones have since been replaced.

If proper permits and family permission for the tilling weren't arranged, the farmer could face charges of disturbing human remains, which range from gross misdemeanor to felony charges. A report will be forwarded to the Martin County attorney by the end of next week, Owens said.

Hoffmeyer first heard about the incident from a cousin who lives in Ceylon. Since then, family members across the country have scoured historical records and continued research on the ancestors whose bodies remained in the small plot. A photo of the recently tilled land shows only a small bare patch amid rows of stalks. The Hoffmeyers hope a fence or other markers will someday commemorate the children's graves.

"It's somebody's final resting place," Hoffmeyer said. "This is something that shouldn't happen."