CHAPTER 235
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 138
AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NOS. 1, 3 & 4
AND HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT ARRANGING FOR THE REINTERMENT OF JOHN COLLINS, A FORMER GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, AND CERTAIN MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY, AND PROVIDING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION THEREFOR.
WHEREAS, it is right and proper that patriots and devoted public servants, namely former Governors of the State of Delaware, should be especially honored and the remembrance of their good deeds preserved for the encouragement of public service in future generations; and
WHEREAS, the bodies of former Governor John Collins (1821-1822), his wife Jane, the daughter of former Governor David Hall (1802-1805), and their son Theophilus (1808-1857) lie in a plot near Coverdale Crossroads, practically lost from sight and memory; and
WHEREAS, Governor Collins' grave is and has been for some time neglected, being open to the elements and falling into decay; and
WHEREAS, such conditions should be deplored by all loyal Delawareans; and
WHEREAS, these state of affairs especially sadden Governor Collins' only known descendant, Miss Mary Catherine Collins of Laure; and
WHEREAS, legislative precedent has been established in such cases with the reinterment and monument erection for Governor Caesar Rodney (1778-1781) in 1887 and the reinterments of Governors George Truitt (1808-1811) in 1903, Daniel Rogers (1797-1799) and Joseph Haslet (1811-1814; 1823-1823) in 1917 and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware should not be derelict in her duty to those who have served her faithfully.
NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. A joint committee consisting of Sherman W. Tribbitt, Governor representing the State; J. Donald Isaacs, representing the Senate; John F. Kirk, representing the House; and Senator Thurman Adams, Jr., representing the senatorial district in which Governor Collins is to be reinterred, be and are hereby appointed to arrange for the repair of the Collins family graves at Collins Millpond, that an appropriate marker be erected along Route 18 denoting the nearby graves of the Collins family, that an appropriate stone be erected in the Collins family plot, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Laurel, Delaware, to the memory of Delaware's 22nd Governor and indicating the actual location of the Governor's grave at Collins Millpond, Sussex County, Delaware.
Section 2. The sum of $1,000 is hereby appropriated to the Department of State, Division of Archives and Cultural Affairs for the purpose of carrying out this Act.
Section 3. Funds appropriated herein shall be paid by the State Treasurer from the General Fund monies not otherwise appropriated.
Section 4. This is a Supplementary Appropriation Act, and funds appropriated herein which remain unexpended on June 30, 1974, shall revert to the General Fund.
Approved January 24, 1974.