A Tragic Event in Spencerport...Part 2

I wanted to share parts of the article that started the mission of Joanie and myself to bring proper recognition to the Pioneer Cemetery, aka Campion-Wright Cemetery. In order to see why we are passionate about it, you must read what fueled the fire. The following is from the April 3, 1955 edition of the Democrat and Chronicle.
Century-old Cemetery Stirs Spencerport Fuss
It was, but is not now, and as a result Spencerport is all agog over an old cemetery.
It all started about six weeks ago when property in South Union Street, just south of the Matheos Brothers Ice Cream Co. plant, was sold by Mrs. Marion Brown to RI Page, an appliance dealer in the village. The property contained an old cemetery, whose history is buried so deeply in time that nobody has been able to find out about it.
Page, who plans to build on the property, put a bulldozer to work grading the site last week. The bulldozing operations included levelling off the old cemetery and there were immediate cries of protest.
Villagers who took interest rallied round to stop the Page operations. Those who did not take an interest said that they did not care what Page did with the old property. Town and village fathers who looked into the situation said that they did not see what could be done.
There was talk of sacrilege and desecration. At least two veterans of the War of 1812 were reported to have graves in the old spot. There were 15 graves in all, according to estimates. What headstones remained long ago gave up the last vestiges of lettering. Yesterday the leveled plot showed no signs of a cemetery, headstones, graves or a fence said formerly to have surround the cemetery.
Regardless of protests, Page had gone ahead with his leveling project. Reached yesterday at his place of business and asked whether he had leveled off the old cemetery, Page replied: “I guess I did.”
But he refused answers to further questions, saying he would not have anything to say.
Mrs. Brown, who sold him the property, was more voluble. She characterized the whole uproar over the old cemetery as “a joke.”
“The cemetery had been there for years,” she commented. “We held the property for 17 years and when we bought it lawyers made a thorough search and could find nothing about it. I understand the last burial there was 103 years ago (others place it at more than 130 years), but I never before heard any sentiment expressed for the place.
“While we held it, the children used to make a playground of it. They chopped down trees and started fires. Once they trimmed a pine tree up and made a totem pole out of it. People thought it was cute, and they just laughed about it.
“Some time ago we offered the cemetery to the Historical Society and offered ground for a driveway to it, but nothing came of it. Only last night I was called by a member of the American Legion who wanted a list of those buried there. Where such a list would be, I don’t know.”
Joseph B. Boyle, legal advisor for Monroe County, had been drawn into the controversy, but in a letter to town officials says that he does not feel his office has any responsibility in the matter. The last burial there, he said , was in 1823. While his office is still studying the matter, it is doubted if any state laws have been interfered with, Boyle said.
“I’ve heard about the argument,” said Charles H. Ballard, Spencerport chief of police, “but I don’t think there’s much to it. I understand the man (Page) had plenty of legal advice before going ahead.”
That Page had legal advice was vouched for by a town official, who preferred to remain anonymous. In the meantime, the village is waiting for (1) start of a new building on the site scheduled for tomorrow, (2) further word from Boyle’s office as to clarification of some rather obscure state laws, () any action at all.

What effected us the most was the nonchalant and uncaring attitude in regard to the demolition of the cemetery. My biggest question is, if the town and village officials were waiting for Boyle’s office to get back to them on whether or not the removal of the cemetery broke any obscure laws, why did they allow it to be demolished? The whole thing doesn’t sit well with me. Also, when I read the article, I found so many non-truths about the situation, which I will go through in the next post.
Since it was said that there hadn’t been a burial in over 100 years, many people viewed it as abandoned. Let me leave you with a statement I found from 1906 that pertains to basic laws of cemetery protection…
“A cemetery is not abandoned as long as it is kept and preserved as a resting place for the dead with anything to indicate the existence of graves, or as long as it is known and recognized by the public as a graveyard. The fact that for some years no new interments have been made and that the graves have been neglected does not operate as an abandonment and authorize the desecration of the graves, where the bodied interred in a cemetery remain therein and the spot awakes sacred memories in living persons.” See Dangerfield vs. Williams, App. D.C. 508