CHAPTER 171
AUTHORIZING ST. ANDREWS CHURCH TO DISINTER BODIES
AN ACT AUTHORIZING "ST. ANDREWS CHURCH, WILTON, DELAWARE", A DELAWARE CORPORATION, SITUATE AT EIGHTH AND SHIPLEY STREETS IN THE CITY OF WILMINGTON, NEW CASTLE COUNTY, STATE OF DELAWARE, TO DISINTER AND REMOVE FROM THE OLD AND LONG UNUSED CEMETERY OF SAID CHURCH THE BODIES NOW BURIED THEREIN AND REINTER SAID BODIES IN CONSECRATED GROUND UNDER THE SAID CHURCH.
WHEREAS, at Eighth and Shipley Streets, in the City of Wilmington, in New Castle County, State of Delaware, there is a very small and very old cemetery on the property of and belonging to St. Andrews Church, Wilmington, Delaware, a Delaware corporation, immediately adjoining the Church Building of said Church; and
WHEREAS, the said cemetery has not been used for burial purposes for a great many years; and
WHEREAS, the said Church desires to make the said cemetery lot available for enlarging or rebuilding its Church Building or its Parish House or both, the said cemetery lot being very small and so closely situated as to prevent any enlargement or rebuilding of the Church Building or Parish House without the use of said cemetery lot for such purpose; and
WHEREAS, there are not more than twenty-five or thirty graves in the said cemetery, all very old and in which the bodies have been buried for many years, and it is the intent and purpose of the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of the said Church, with the consent and approval of the relatives of the deceased persons therein buried, carefully to disinter the bodies of the deceased persons buried in said cemetery and reinter said bodies in consecrated ground under the said Church; NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. The Rector, Wardens and Vestry of St. Andrews Church, Wilmington, Delaware, a Delaware corporation, are hereby authorized and fully empowered carefully and properly to disinter and remove all the bodies from the said cemetery and carefully and properly reinter the said bodies in consecrated ground under the said Church.
Section 2. Before removing any of the said bodies from the said cemetery, the said Rector, Wardens and Vestry shall first make reasonable effort to get the consent in writing of the relatives of the said deceased persons whose bodies are therein buried and which bodies they propose to remove; and if said Rector, Wardens and Vestry are unable to find such relatives or any of them, they shall advertise in at least one daily newspaper in the City of Wilmington, at least once a week for three successive weeks, that they propose removing said bodies in accordance with this Act; and if, after such advertising, or as a result of such advertising, the said Rector, Wardens and Vestry are, not able to find said relatives or any of them, and no objection is made by any known relative, then and in such event, the said Rector, Wardens and Vestry shall be presumed to have secured the consent of any and all of such relatives as provided in this act.
Section 3. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are repealed to the extent and only to the extent of such inconsistency.
Approved June 23, 1953.