USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of the cemetery of Mount Auburn. > Part 11
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Section 7. Be it further enacted, That any person who shall wilfully destroy, mutilate, de- face, injure, or remove any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure placed in the Cemetery aforesaid, or any fence, railing, or other work for the protection or ornament of any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure aforesaid, or of any Cemetery lot, within the limits of the Garden and Cemetery aforesaid, or shall wilfully destroy, remove, cut, break, or injure any tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of the said Garden and Cemetery, or shall shoot or discharge any gun or other firearm within the said limits, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
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shall, upon conviction thereof before any Justice of the Peace, or other court of competent juris- diction within the county of Middlesex, be punished by a fine not less than Five Dollars nor more than Fifty Dollars, according to the nature and aggravation of the offence ; and such offender shall also be liable, in an action of trespass, to be brought against him in any court of competent jurisdiction, in the name of the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, to pay all such damages as shall have been occasioned by his un- lawful act or acts ; which money, when recov- ered, shall be applied by the said Corporation, under the direction of the Board of Trustees, to the reparation and restoration of the property destroyed or injured as above, and members of the said Corporation shall be competent witnesses in such suits.
Section 8. Be it further enacted, That the lots in said Cemetery shall be indivisible; and upon the death of any proprietor of any lot in the said Cemetery containing not less than three hun- dred square feet, the devisee of such lot, or the heir at law, as the case may be, shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership as aforesaid ; and if there be more than one devisee or heir at
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law of each lot, the board of Trustees for the time being shall designate which of the said devisees or heirs at law shall represent the said lot, and vote in the meetings of the Corporation ; - which designation shall continue in force, until by death, removal, or other efficient cause, another designa- tion shall become necessary ; and, in making such designation the Trustees shall, as far as they con- veniently may, give the preference to males over females, and to proximity of blood and priority of age, having due regard, however, to proximity of residence.
Section 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Corporation to take and hold any grant, donation or bequest of property, upon trust, to apply the income thereof, under the direc- tion of the board of Trustees, for the improvement or embellishment of the said Cemetery or of the Garden adjacent thereto, or of any buildings, structures, or fences erected or being erected upon the lands of the said Corporation, or of any indi- vidual proprietor of a lot in the Cemetery, or for the repair, preservation, or renewal of any tomb, monument, gravestone, fence, or railing, or other erection in or around any Cemetery lot, or for the planting and cultivation of trees, shrubs,
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flowers, or plants, in or around any Cemetery lot, according to the terms of such grant, donation, or bequest ; and the Supreme Judicial Court in this Commonwealth, or any other court therein having equity jurisdiction, shall have full power and jurisdiction to compel the due performance of the said trusts, or any of them, upon a bill filed by a proprietor of any lot in the said Cemetery for that purpose.
Section 10. Be it further enacted as fol- lows : - First, That the present proprietors of lots in the said Cemetery, who shall become mem_ bers of the Corporation created by this Act, shall henceforth cease to be members of the said Horti- cultural Society, so far as their membership therein depends on their being proprietors of lots in the said Cemetery. Secondly, That the sales of the Cemetery lots shall continue to be made as fast as it is practicable by the Corporation created by this Act, at a price not less than the sum of sixty dollars for every lot containing three hundred square feet, and so in proportion for any greater or less quantity, unless the said Horticultural So- ciety and the Corporation created by this Act, shall mutually agree to sell the same at a less price. Thirdly, That the proceeds of the first
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sales of such lots, after deducting the annual ex- penses of the Cemetery establishment, shall be applied to the extinguishment of the present debts due by the said Horticultural Society on account of the said Garden and Cemetery. And after the extinguishment of the said debts, the balance of the said proceeds, and proceeds of all future sales, shall annually, on the first Monday of every year, be divided between the said Horticultural Society and the Corporation created by this Act, in manner following, namely : - Fourteen hun- dred dollars shall be first deducted from the gross proceeds of the sales of lots during the preceding year, for the purpose of defraying the Superin- tendent's salary and other incidental expenses of the Cemetery establishment; and the residue of the said gross proceeds shall be divided between the said Horticultural Society and the Corporation created by this Act, as follows, namely : - One fourth part thereof shall be received by and paid over to the said Horticultural Society, on the first Monday of January of every year, and the re- maining three fourth parts shall be detained and held by the Corporation created by this Act, to their own use forever. And if the sales of any year shall be less than fourteen hundred dollars,
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then the deficiency shall be a charge on the sales of the succeeding year or years. Fourthly, The money so received by the said Horticultural So- ciety shall be forever devoted and applied by the said Society to the purposes of an experimental garden, and to promote the art and science of Horticulture, and for no other purpose. And the money so retained by the Corporation created by this Act, shall be forever devoted and applied to the preservation, improvement, embellishment, and enlargement of the said Cemetery and Gar- den, and the incidental expenses thereof, and for no other purpose whatsoever. Fifthly, A Com- mittee of the said Horticultural Society, duly appointed for this purpose, shall, on the first Monday of January of every year, have a right to inspect and examine the books and accounts of the Treasurer, or other officer acting as Treasurer of the Corporation created by this Act, as far as may be necessary to ascertain the sales of lots of the preceding year.
Section 11. Be it further enacted, That any three or more of the persons named in this Act shall have authority to call the first meeting of the said Corporation, by an advertisement in one or more newspapers, printed in the City of Boston,
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seven days, at least, before the time of holding such meeting, and specifying the time and place thereof. And all proprietors of lots, who shall before, at, or during the time of holding such meeting, by writing, assent to this Act, shall be entitled to vote in person or by proxy at the said first meeting. And at any such meeting or any such adjournment thereof, any elections may be had, and any business done, which are herein authorized to be had and done at an annual meet- ing, although the same may not be specified in the notice for the said meeting. And the first Board of Trustees, chosen at the said meeting, shall continue in office until the annual meeting of the said Corporation next ensuing their choice, and until another Board are chosen in their stead, in pursuance of this Act.
Section 12. Be it further enacted, That the said Cemetery shall be and hereby is declared exempted from all public taxes, so long as the same shall remain dedicated to the purposes of a Cemetery.
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AN ACT IN ADDITION TO "AN ACT TO INCORPO- RATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN."
1850.
BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :
The Corporation known as the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, may purchase and hold in fee simple, or otherwise, any real estate or any interest in any real estate situate and lying in the towns of Cambridge and Water- town, in the County of Middlesex, anything in the act of this Legislature passed March thirty- first, A. D., eighteen hundred and thirty-five, entitled " An Act to incorporate the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn " - to the contrary notwithstanding ; Provided always, that such real estate by the said Corporation so pur- chased, holden and possessed, as aforesaid, under the provisions of this Act, shall not, at any one time, exceed one hundred acres in extent, in ad- dition to whatever the said Corporation now holds, or is entitled to hold, by virtue of the Act to which this Act is in addition as aforesaid.
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AN ACT IN ADDITION TO AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE MASSACHUSETTS
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY."
1831.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court as- sembled, and by the authority of the same, That the Massachusetts Horticultural Society be and hereby are authorized, in addition to the powers already conferred on them, to dedicate and appro- priate any part of the real estate now owned or hereafter to be purchased by them, as and for a Rural Cemetery or Burying Ground, and for the erection of Tombs, Cenotaphs, or other Monu- ments, for or in memory of the dead : and for this purpose to lay out the same in suitable lots or other subdivisions, for family and other burying places ; and to plant and embellish the same with shrubbery, flowers, trees, walks, and other rural ornaments, and to enclose and divide the same with proper walls and enclosures, and to make and annex thereto other suitable appendages and conveniences, as the Society shall from time to time deem expedient. And whenever the said
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Society shall so lay out and appropriate any of their real estate for a Cemetery or Burying Ground, as aforesaid, the same shall be deemed a perpetual dedication thereof for the purposes aforesaid ; and the real estate so dedicated shall be forever held by the said Society in trust for such purposes, and for none other. And the said Society shall have authority to grant and convey to any person or persons the sole and exclusive right of burial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments, in any such designated lots and subdivisions, upon such terms and conditions, and subject to such regulations as the said Society shall by their by-laws and regulations prescribe. And every right so granted and conveyed shall be held for the purposes aforesaid, and for none other, as real estate, by the proprietor or proprie- tors thereof, and shall not be subject to attach- ment or execution.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, That for the purposes of this Act, the said Society shall be and hereby are authorized to purchase and hold any real estate not exceeding ten thousand dol- lars in value, in addition to the real estate which they are now by law authorized to purchase and hold. And to enable the said Society more effect-
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ually to carry the plan aforesaid into effect, and to provide funds for the same, the said Society shall be and hereby are authorized to open sub- scription books, upon such terms, conditions, and regulations as the said Society shall prescribe, which shall be deemed fundamental and per- petual articles between the said Society and the subscribers. And every person who shall become a subscriber in conformity thereto, shall be deemed a member for life of the said Society without the payment of any other assessment whatsoever ; and shall moreover be entitled, in fee simple, to the sole and exclusive right of using, as a place of burial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments, in such lot or subdivision of such Cemetery or Burying Ground, as shall, in con- formity to such fundamental articles, be assigned to him.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the President of the Society shall have authority to call any special meeting or meetings of the said Society, at such time and place as he shall direct, for the purpose of carrying into effect any or all the purposes of this Act, or any other purposes within the purview of the original Act to which this Act is in addition.
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AN ACT IN ADDITION TO "AN ACT TO INCORPO- RATE THE PROPRIETORS OF THE CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN."
BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :
Section 1. The Corporation known as the Proprietors of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn may grant and convey to the heirs at law, devi- sees, or trustees of any deceased person, any lot or lots, and additions to the same, in said Ceme- tery, for the purpose of burial, or of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments, in and upon the same, to be held by the grantees in ac- cordance with the provisions of Section Eight of the Act creating said Corporation.
Section 2. Said Corporation may grant and convey to any other corporate body, its successors and assigns, any lot or lots, and additions thereto, for the purposes aforesaid, which lot or lots, if containing more than three hundred square feet, may be represented by the president, treasurer, or such other officer as may be designated by such corporate body.
April 6th, 1859.
BY-LAWS.
THE code of By-laws contains regulations for the most part additional to, or explanatory of, those contained in the Act of Incorporation.
PROPRIETORS AND PRIVILEGES.
ART. 1. A proprietor holding not less than three hundred feet of land is a member of the Corporation, and, as such, is entitled to vote at meetings, and to hold a ticket admitting himself and his household to drive into the Cemetery. A proprietor holding less than three hundred feet is entitled to hold a like ticket of admission, but has not the right of voting.
MEETINGS.
ART. 2. The annual meeting of the Corpo- ration shall be held in Boston, after due notifica-
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tion, on the first Monday in February, in the afternoon. At this meeting, the report of the Trustees for the preceding year shall be read, also the reports of the Treasurer and Superin- tendent. The Trustees for the ensuing year shall be elected by ballot, and other business specified in the advertisement may be transacted. If the Secretary neglect duly to call the annual meeting, a special meeting shall be called in the manner prescribed in the Act of Incorporation, and said special meeting shall be the annual meeting for the year in which it is held.
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS.
ART. 3. The first meeting of the Trustees shall be called by the Secretary, and be held within two weeks after the annual meeting of the Corporation. At this meeting there shall be chosen by ballot, a President, Secretary, Treas- urer, a Committee on Finance, a Committee on Lots, a Committee on Grounds, and a Committee on Regulations and Records of Interments, for the ensuing year. A Superintendent and Super- intendent's Clerk, a Gate-keeper, and a Gardener, shall also be chosen by hand vote ; and all salaries ยท for the ensuing year shall be fixed. The Trus-
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tees shall meet at least once a month, and five Trustees shall constitute a quorum. No order of the Board, except to adjourn, shall be valid, unless it has received the votes of at least five Trustees.
The President shall call a special meeting of the Board, whenever requested in writing so to do by five Trustees.
No Trustee shall receive any salary, contract, or other emolument, for services rendered by him, while holding the office of Trustee; and neither the Superintendent, Gate-keeper, nor any other paid servant of the Corporation, shall have any interest whatever in any work or materials fur- nished for the Cemetery.
PRESIDENT.
ART. 4. The President shall preside at meet- ings of the Corporation and of the Trustees ; he shall fix the time and place for special meetings ; he shall nominate all committees not otherwise provided for; and shall report in writing at the annual meeting the doings of the Trustees for the preceding year. In the absence of the President, his place shall be supplied by a temporary chair- man.
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SECRETARY.
ART. 5. The Secretary shall notify and attend all meetings, and shall record the doings of the Corporation and of the Trustees. He shall pre- pare and superintend the advertisements and other publications of the Trustees and Corporation. He shall prepare all legal instruments, and shall give legal opinions on all subjects required by the Trus- tees. He shall have charge of the delivery of tickets, of Catalogues, and other publications of the Trustees. He shall prepare, countersign and
record, in a book kept for the purpose, all deeds of conveyance of land in the Cemetery, and shall insert and keep in a portfolio, all plans duly made of lots for proprietors, and shall number the same, and keep an index by which they may conveni- ently be found.
The Secretary shall receive such salary as the Trustees may vote, together with the special fees designated for services to proprietors.
TREASURER.
ART. 6. The Treasurer shall give bonds in the sum of three thousand dollars for the faithful performance of the duties of his office. He shall
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have custody of the funds of the Corporation, under the direction of the Trustees. He shall collect dues and pay bills approved by the Presi- dent, or by the chairman of any committee duly authorizing an expenditure. He shall keep the funds deposited in a bank to the credit of the Cor- poration, and draw the same as Treasurer. He shall sign all conveyances. He shall preserve and file all papers relating to his official duties, and shall report at the annual meeting the receipts and disbursements for the last year, and the ex- isting state of the funds of the Corporation.
The Compensation of the Treasurer shall consist in a commission on sales, to be fixed annually by the Trustees.
SUPERINTENDENT.
ART. 7. The Superintendent shall reside near the Cemetery, and, under the direction of the Trustees, shall have the general care and custody thereof; shall keep the avenues, paths, and grounds in neat and satisfactory order; and, as agent for the Trustees, shall have the sole power to engage and discharge workmen on the ground, also to order and arrange their respective duties, and to pay their wages not otherwise provided for.
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He shall see that the rights of the Corporation are respected by artists, mechanics, and laborers em- ployed on the ground by individual proprietors. He shall see that all regulations with regard to interments and the construction of tombs be duly complied with. He shall fulfil all contracts made with proprietors for the repair of lots, and perform such other duties as the Trustees may require. He shall have the power to remove from the Cemetery improper and disorderly persons, also to abate nuisances, and remove rubbish and un- necessary incumbrances. He shall keep, in books provided for the purpose, regular and accurate records of all interments, including the names and ages of persons interred, and the place and date of their interment ; also of all monuments erected, and lots inclosed, sodded, or otherwise improved ; also of all moneys received or disbursed by him, whether for wages, fees, improvement of lots, sales of wood or other articles, purchases made, or services rendered. On the first day of every month, or oftener if required by the Trustees, he shall render to the Treasurer copies of said ac- counts, with proper vouchers, and pay over to him all moneys remaining in his hands. The compensation of the Superintendent shall be a
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salary, and the use of a house, with no other perquisites.
SUPERINTENDENT'S CLERK.
ART. 8. The Superintendent's Clerk shall assist the Superintendent by keeping the books, and performing such other duties as the Superin- tendent may require, and as are not incompatible with other duties required by the Trustees.
GATE-KEEPER.
ART. 9. The Gate-keeper shall attend the gate from sunrise to sunset, every day in the week, and see to the enforcement of the rules respecting admittance.
GARDENER.
ART. 10. The Gardener, under the direction of the Superintendent, shall take charge of and keep in repair, the lots of such proprietors as may apply to him for that service, and on such terms as may be agreed on between the parties ; he shall also keep for sale at some convenient place designated by the Trustees, shrubs, trees, and flowers, and be ready to furnish, plant, or cultivate the same at his own expense, and for
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such price and remuneration as may be agreed on with the purchaser.
COMMITTEES.
ART. 11. Standing Committees shall be cho- sen by ballot, other Committees may be chosen by hand vote. Vacancies occurring in any Com- mittee shall be filled in the same manner as that in which said Committee was chosen, and vacan- cies in Standing Committees shall be filled at a meeting subsequent to that in which the vacancy is announced. No Committee shall. expend more than one hundred dollars on any one object, unless authorized so to do by vote of the Trustees.
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE.
ART. 12. The Committee on Finance shall consist of two Trustees. They shall direct the Treasurer in regard to all sales and all invest- ments of the funds of the Corporation not other- wise provided for, or any part of the same. They shall also act as auditors, and shall examine the Treasurer's accounts before each annual meeting, and satisfy themselves in regard to the correctness of said accounts, also in regard to the safe preser- vation of all evidences of property belonging to
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the Corporation ; and they shall annex their re- port to the annual report of the Treasurer.
COMMITTEE ON LOTS.
ART. 13. The Committee on Lots shall consist of three Trustees. They shall have the general supervision of all sales, locations, and enlarge- ments of lots, also of all questions of right between individual proprietors, or between proprietors and the Corporation. No transfer or conveyance of land by the Corporation shall take place until it has received the approval, in writing, of a majority of the Committee on Lots. If an appeal to the Trustees is made by any party in interest, before the delivery of a deed, the Secretary shall delay acting until the case has been brought before the Trustees, and acted upon by them. The Com- mittee on Lots shall have power, subject to the concurrence of the Trustees, to contract with any proprietor for the repair of his lot perpetually, or for an indefinite time. They shall at least twice in each year inspect the lots which the Trustees have undertaken to keep in repair, and see that the trust is duly executed.
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COMMITTEE ON GROUNDS.
ART. 14. The Committee on Grounds shall consist of five Trustees. They shall have general charge of the grounds, trees, avenues, and paths in the Cemetery, with power to make such altera- tions, repairs, and improvements therein, as they shall deem expedient. But no avenues or paths shall be changed in situation, without the consent of the Trustees expressed by vote.
COMMITTEE ON REGULATIONS AND RECORDS OF INTERMENTS.
ART. 15. The Committee on Regulations and Records of Interments, shall consist of two Trus- tees. They shall superintend the general subject of interments, and see that the laws of the Com- monwealth and those of the Cemetery, in relation thereto, be complied with. They shall, from time to time, inspect the records and accounts of the Superintendent, and see that the same are suitably kept.
INTERMENTS.
ART. 16. No interment shall be made at Mount Auburn until such a permit as may be
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required by the laws of the Commonwealth, or of the city or town from which the deceased may be brought, together with an order from the proprie- tor of the lot in which such interment is to be made, or from his legal representative, shall have been presented at the gate, nor until the fees shall have been paid.
Until otherwise ordered, two dollars and fifty cents shall be charged for digging a grave and making an interment, and fifty cents additional for recording the same. A deduction of one dollar shall be made from the above charges for a child under ten years of age. For each interment in a tomb, a charge shall be made by the Superin- tendent, according to the amount of service ren- dered in the case.
The particulars and amounts of fees for burial shall be printed on the back of the order from the proprietor, together with the words, "payable at the time of interment."
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