Historical review of Riverside Cemetery Association, Cleveland, Ohio, Part 2

Author: Riverside Cemetery Association (Cleveland, Ohio)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Cleveland Print. & Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 118


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VISITORS.


I. Visitors will be admitted to the grounds daily. The en- trance will be opened at 7 A. M. and closed at sunset.


2. No children will be admitted unless attended by some person who will be responsible for their conduct.


3. No rapid driving will be permitted, nor driving on the lawns.


4. All persons are prohibited from picnicing, from hunting or fishing, feeding or disturbing the fish, fowls or birds within the Cemetery.


5. All persons are forbid sitting, lounging upon, or otherwise occupying any private lot within the cemetery not their own.


6. Horses must not be left, unless fastened where posts are provided for that purpose.


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7. Neither refreshments nor liquors will be allowed upon the grounds.


8. No person with fire-arms or dogs will be permitted to enter the grounds.


9. All persons are strictly prohibited from throwing rubbish on the avenues or any part of the grounds, plucking any plants, whether wild or cultivated, breaking or injuring any tree or shrub, marring any monument or landmark, or in any way defacing the grounds of the Association.


Io. No person will be permitted to enter the Cemetery except through the entrance.


II. No person will be permitted to use boisterous or profane language, or in any way to disturb the quiet and good order of the Cemetery.


12. No money shall be paid to the attendants at the entrance or on the grounds. The entire time of the laborers regularly em- ployed on the grounds belongs to the Association. Visitors and lot owners must not otherwise engage them. All orders, inquiries and complaints must be left at the office.


13. The officers and employes of the Cemetery having been appointed under an act of the Legislature of Ohio, special police officers, with power to arrest summarily all trespassers and persons who violate any of the rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees, all persons therefore are reminded that the grounds are sacredly devoted to the burial of the dead, and that the provisions and penalties of the law, as provided for by the statute, will be strictly enforced in all cases of wanton injury, disturbance and dis- regard of the rules.


REMARK .- It is of the utmost importance that there should be a strict observance of all the proprieties due the place, whether em- braced in these regulations or not, as no impropriety will be tolerated.


All well-disposed persons will confer a favor by informing the Superintendent of any breach of these rules that may come under their notice.


FORM OF DEED OR CONVEYANCE OF LOT.


All conveyances of lots shall be substantially as follows :


THE RIVERSIDE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION HEREBY CER- TIFIES That is the owner of Lot


No .. .in Section on the plat of the grounds of saia Cemetery Association, in the County of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, containing .square feet ; for which the said.


has paid the sum of.


.dollars. And the said.


heirs and assigns are and shall be entitled to the use of said lot in fee simple, for the use of sepulture only, subject to the provisions of an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, entitled, "An Act making provisions for the incorporation of Cemetery Associations, passed Feb. 24, 1848," and the several acts amendatory and supplementary to the same ; and subject also to the conditions and limitations, with the privileges specified and contained in the Rules and Regulations that are now or may hereafter be adopted by the Board of Trustees for the regulation and government of their said Cemetery.


IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, The said Riverside Cemetery Association has caused its corporate seal to be hereto affixed, and the same to be attestea by its President and Clerk this. day of. ....... one thousand eight hundred and.


President.


Clerk.


a. a. Cartright.


BY-LAWS.


ARTICLE I. Any person can become a member of this Associa- tion by purchasing a family lot in the grounds of the Association, and shall continue a member so long as he or she is the owner of said lot, and shall during such ownership be entitled to one. vote for each fifty (50) dollars or fractional part thereof to the amount of twenty (20) dollars invested in lands of the Association, at all meetings of the Association. .


ART. 2. The annual meeting of the Association shall be held on the second Monday in December of each year, after notice has been given of the place and hour of said meeting by publication for five days in one or more of the newspapers published in the city of Cleveland. At this meeting the Trustees and Clerk shall be elected, and to this meeting shall the President, Treasurer, Super- intendent and Clerk make report of the business transactions of the past year. Any other business thought necessary may be trans- acted at this meeting.


ART. 3. At the first annual meeting twenty Trustees shall be elected, who shall be divided by lot into five classes of four each, who shall hold their offices for one, two, three, four and five years respectively, and shall elect a Clerk for one year. At each annual meeting thereafter four Trustees shall be elected to hold office for five years, and a Clerk for one year, or until their successors are chosen. All such elections shall be by ballot. All vacancies occurring in officers, committees, or Board of Trustees, from any cause, may be filled by the remaining members of the Board of Trustees until the next annual meeting for the election of officers


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takes place. Any extra meeting of the Association or Trustees may be called by the President, or by a call signed by a majority of the Trustees.


ART. 4. The Board of Trustees shall meet on the second Mon- day in March, June, September and December, and seven members shall constitute a quorum. The Trustees shall, within two weeks after each annual meeting of the Association, elect by ballot a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Superintendent and Execu- tive Committee, and such other standing committees as may be deemed necessary to serve for the ensuing year, or until their suc- cessors are elected and qualified. The Trustees are also empow- ered to make all necessary rules and regulations governing the Cemetery not inconsistent with these By-Laws.


ART. 5. No Trustee shall receive any compensation or salary by virtue of his office as such Trustee, nor shall any Trustee, Superin- tendent, Clerk or other officer of the same have any interest in any contract work or material for such Association.


ART. 6. The President, or in his absence the Vice President, shall preside at all meetings of the Trustees and of the Association, and shall report at the annual meeting the doings of the preceding year, and perform such other duties as may be required of him by the Board of Trustees.


ART. 7. It shall be the duty of the Clerk to attend and record the proceedings of all meetings of the Association, Trustees and standing committees. He shall cause to be published, according to law, notices of annual and other meetings of the Association, shall solicit for the Association in the sale of lots, and shall sell the lots at the prices and upon terms authorized by the Board of Trus- tees, and shall keep a strict record of all such sales made by him, and shall collect and pay over to the Treasurer any and all monies due or coming to the Association, taking the Treasurer's receipt therefor, and of all orders drawn upon the Treasurer, of which he shall keep a strict account, and shall also promptly furnish the Treasurer the number of lots sold, and perform such other duties as may be required of him, for which services he shall receive an annual salary, to be fixed by the Board of Trustees.


ART. 8. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the funds of the Association, under the direction of the Trustees. He shall


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keep an account of all receipts and disbursements, and report the same to the Trustees at each of their regular meetings, and as often as they may require. He shall also keep an account of all sales reported to him by the Clerk, and perform such other duties as may be required of him by the Board of Trustees. He shall make no payment except upon order of the Clerk, countersigned by the President. He shall receive such compensation as the Board of Trustees may direct.


ART. 9. The Superintendent shall, under the direction of the Trustees, have the general care and custody of the grounds of the Cemetery. All improvements and work done on the avenues and grounds generally shall be under his supervision and care, and he shall engage and discharge all laborers and other employes on the grounds, and order and arrange their respective duties, unless otherwise ordered by the Trustees. He shall keep such books and registers, and make such reports to the Trustees and officers, and generally perform such duties as the Trustees may require. His salary shall be fixed annually by the Trustees.


ART. 10. The Executive Committee shall consist of five Trus- tees, of whom the President shall be one and ex-officio chairman. It shall, during the recess of the Board, have the same power as the Board of Trustees, under such limitations as the Board may from time to time prescribe, but shall submit to each regular meeting of the Trustees a report and record of its acts and proceedings. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to cause the books of the Association to be thoroughly examined at least once a year, and report their condition to the Association at each of its annual meetings.


ART. II. All sales of lots shall be by contract or deed, attested by the President and Clerk, and seal of the Association, the form of which contract and deed, the terms and conditions of same, shall be fixed by the Trustees ; but only the use of lots in fee, for the purpose of sepulchre, subject to the laws of the Association and State of Ohio, shall be sold and conveyed to purchasers.


ART. 12. The Clerk, Treasurer and Superintendent shall each, before entering upon his duties, give bonds in such sum as may be fixed by the Trustees, conditional for the faithful discharge of duty and honesty while in office.


ART. 13. Each officer, at the expiration of his term, shall turn


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over to his successor in office all books, papers, monies and other property in his hands.


ART. 14. Any officer of the Association may be removed upon charges against his character or official capacity, after due and impartial trial before the Board of Trustees, by a three-fourths vote of the same.


ART. 15. These By-Laws may be amended or added to by a three-fourths vote of the members, voting at any annual meeting of the Association, or at a special meeting of the Association, if such intended change is mentioned in the notice calling such meeting.


A TIMELY SUGGESTION.


In most large Cemeteries the thoughtful lot owner with means at command sets apart in his or her life-time, or in their wills, a trust fund placed at the disposal of the Cemetery Trustees for the perpetual care and adornment of their plat or lots. If neglect is not eventually to follow, this wise provision must certainly be adopted at Riverside.


37800


TRUST MORTGAGE.


THE RIVERSIDE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY, TO THE SAVINGS AND TRUST COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, TRUSTEE.


THIS INDENTURE OF MORTGAGE, made at Cleveland, Ohio, this 27th day of December, A. D. 1888, by and between the Riverside Cemetery Association, of Cuyahoga county, a corporation duly organized under the laws of the State of Ohio, party of the first part, and the Savings and Trust Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, party of the second part, as Trustee, witnesseth :


THAT, WHEREAS, The said Riverside Cemetery Association is the owner of lands containing 102 457-1000 acres of land, being the land conveyed by Titus N. Brainard to said Riverside Ceme- tery Association, and recorded in vol. 299, page 220, Cuyahoga Records.


THAT, WHEREAS, Said Riverside Cemetery Association, as it might lawfully do, has contracted debts for the purchase of said described property, and for laying out, protecting, preserving and embellishing the grounds and avenues therein to the extent and amount of $70,000.00 for cemetery purposes only, and


THAT, WHEREAS, In order to liquidate and pay off said indebt- edness, the members of said Association being lot owners in said described property, did, at their annual meeting, held at the office of said Association, the roth day of December, A. D. 1888, unanimously pass the following resolutions, to-wit :


Resolved, That the Trustees of Riverside Cemetery Association be, and are hereby authorized to issue and sell at par bonds of the Association, duly signed by the President and Treasurer, to the


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amount of $70,000,00, the proceeds of which shall be applied solely to the retirement of outstanding bonds; said bonds to run from five to twenty years, at the option of the Association, from the Ist day of January, A. D. 1889, and bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, and to be receivable at all times in payment for cemetery lots. Said bonds to be secured by trust mortgage on all lands and property of the Association, executed by the President to the Savings and Trust Company, as Trustee for bondholders," and,


WHEREAS, At a meeting of the Trustees of said Association held the 24th day of December, A. D. 1888, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :


" Resolved, That the President of this Association be, and is hereby authorized and instructed to sign and have properly ac- knowledged and deliver the trust mortgage authorized by resolu- tion of said Association at its annual meeting, held December 10, 1888," and,


WHEREAS, in pursuance of said resolution, said bonds to the full amount of $70,000.00 have been duly executed, and are now ready to be negotiated and delivered, and described as the First Mortgage Bonds of the Riverside Cemetery Association, being a series of seventy bonds, consisting of seventy bonds of one thous- and dollars each, numbered consecutively from "1" to " 70," inclusive, bearing interest as specified in the aforesaid resolution, and payable at the bank of The Savings and Trust Company, Cleveland, Ohio, each and every bond, for its better identification, bearing a certificate duly signed by the President and Secretary of said The Savings and Trust Company, Trustee, as aforesaid, and that it is one of the identical bonds included in the $70,000.00 authorized by said Association and secured by first mortgage.


Now, THEREFORE, Under and in pursuance of the aforesaid resolutions, and the power and authority thereby conferred, and for the purpose of securing to the holders of said bonds the pay- ment thereof and interest thereon as the same shall mature, and in consideration of the premises, and the sum of one dollar ($1) in hand paid by the said Savings and Trust Company, said Riverside Cemetery Association has granted, bargained, sold, assigned and conveyed, and by these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, assign and convey unto the said Savings and Trust Company, Trustee for the


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holders of said bonds, and to their successors as herein provided, all and singular the property herein before described, with the ap- purtenances thereunto belonging, saving and excepting, however, from this conveyance, so much of the above described property as is contained in all lots heretofore sold by said Riverside Cemetery Association, and conveyed by deed or certificate, and also saving and excepting from this conveyance so much of the above described property as has been dedicated as right of way for the extension of Jennings avenue, by resolution of the Trustees of said Riverside Cemetery Association, adopted on the third day of December, A. D. 1877.


To have and to hold the lands, tenements and hereditaments hereinbefore granted, together with the appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the said second party, and its successors as Trus- tee on the trust, and for the uses and purposes and upon the con- dition herein provided.


Now, if the said Riverside Cemetery Association, party of the first part, shall well and truly pay to the legal holders thereof all of said bonds, principal and interest, to the amount and extent issued, as hereinbefore set forth, as the same shall mature and become due as therein provided,


Then and in that event this deed shall become void and of no effect ; otherwise to remain in full force and virtue in law. .


And it is hereby further expressly stipulated, covenanted and agreed by and between the parties hereto that the said Riverside Cemetery Association shall have the right and privilege, and the same is hereby reserved to said Association, to convey, when selected and fully paid for, to the purchasers thereof, such lots as have been sold and partially or fully paid for, but not selected or conveyed, such lots as have been contracted to be sold but not conveyed by deed or certificate, and all lots which said Riverside Cemetery Association may hereafter sell for cemetery purposes from out of the property herein described, the right being expressly reserved hereby to said Association to sell cemetery lots just as fully and freely as if this mortgage had not been made, and each and every such lot when paid for and conveyed by deed or certifi- cate as above, shall, by the operation of such conveyance, be released and discharged from the lien of this mortgage without any formal discharge thereof, or record being made of the same, but in consideration of the foregoing right and privilege reserved to said


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first party, said Riverside Cemetery Association hereby expressly covenants and agrees to and with said second party that it will not sell any of said lots at a less price than thirty cents per square foot, and also that, from the proceeds of all lots sold while this instru- ment remains in force, it will cause to be set aside two-thirds thereof as a permanent sinking fund for the payment of said bonds and the interest thereon until the same are fully paid, and which fund shall, after paying the semi annual interest upon said bonds, be safely and securely invested in United States bonds, or other first class interest bearing securities to the satisfaction of said Trustee at the end of each and every six months from the first day of January, A. D. 1889, if said surplus shall amount to the sum of $1,000.00 or over; otherwise to be deposited in some good savings bank, where it will draw interest, which said sinking fund shall, however, be at all times kept separate and apart from the other funds of said Association, and shall not, under any circumstances, be used for any other purpose than herein specified. And for the purpose of


ascertaining the condition of said sinking fund and as to the fulfill- ment of said obligation by said Association, said Trustee, party of the second party, herein, or the holder of any of said bonds, shall have access at all reasonable times and hours to the records and books of said Association. And the President, Clerk and Treasurer shall make a full and explicit report of the condition and amount of said sinking fund at each and every annual meeting of said Associ- ation held after the first day of January, A. D. 1889.


And it is hereby further expressly stipulated, covenanted and agreed by and between the parties hereto that, in case default shall be made by said Association in the payment of the principal or interest, or any part thereof of said bonds as the same shall become due, or within ninety days thereafter, or in case said Association fails to comply with the obligations of this instrument as to the creation and investment of the sinking fund as hereinbefore pro- vided, then and in that event said second party shall have the right, and is hereby empowered, at the request in writing of the holders of at least one-third in amount of said bonds, to take possession of property, and proceed to sell at public or private sale to the best advantage, but in no case at less than twenty cents per square foot, lots for cemetery purposes only, as laid out by said Association, until a sufficient amount shall be realized therefrom to pay such principal and interest thus in default, or to restore said sinking


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fund to the amount and condition it should be in, under the pro- visions of this mortgage, and for all lots thus sold by said second parties, said first party hereby agrees to make and deliver at time of sale a conveyance of said lot or lots in due form of law to the purchaser thereof, hereby authorizing and empowering said second party to make such sales and ratifying and confirming the same, and in case of failure of said first party to make such conveyance, the said second party, or its successors, are hereby authorized to make the necessary conveyance. The proceeds of such sales to be first applied to the payment of interest, and the sum then due and unpaid on said bonds, the remainder thereof to be placed in such sinking fund for the ultimate payment of the debt secured thereby. Or, if, in case of the non-payment of this principal or interest for the period aforesaid, the parties holding at least three-fourths in amount of said bonds so request, then the second party shall pro- ceed by legal process to subject said premises to sale in the ordi- nary way of foreclosing mortgages under such directions as the courts may order.


It is further agreed that the Savings and Trust Company, Trus- tee, or its successor, is in no way made liable by any of the pro- visions of this instrument or by its undertaking herein, to any of the holders of the bonds secured hereby, except for willful neglect of some duty to be performed by it ; and that, in the event that it shall become necessary to take possession of said property, as hereinbefore provided, or in the event that it shall be necessary to foreclose this mortgage, the said trustee shall be allowed, from the proceeds to be derived from any sale of the property herein con- veyed, fair compensation for its services, including an allowance for the services of such counsel as shall be required.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The Riverside Cemetery Association, by its President, in pursuance of the authority hereinbefore recited, hereunto affixes its signature, and causes the same to be attested by the signature of its Treasurer and the affixing of its seal.


Done at Cleveland, O., this 27th day of December, A. D. 1888. Signed, Sealed and Delivered in


the presence of


A. E. DAVIS. JAY COMSTOCK.


THE RIVERSIDE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, By J. M. CURTISS, President.


Attest : F. W. PELTON, Treasurer.


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THE STATE OF OHIO,


SS.


CUYAHOGA COUNTY,


Personally appeared before the undersigned, a Notary Public within and for said State and County, J. M. Curtiss, who is per- sonally known to me as being the President of The Riverside Cemetery Association, and who acknowledged that he did execute said instrument as the President of said Company, and attached thereto its signature for the purpose therein named, and that the same is his free act and deed and his free act and deed as such Pres- , ident.


And I further certify that said instrument was attested by F. W. Pelton, to me known to be the Treasurer of said Association, and the seal of said Association thereto affixed in my presence.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and affix my official seal at Cleveland, Ohio, this 27th day of December, A. D. I888. JAY COMSTOCK, Notary Public.


The Savings and Trust Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, hereby accepts the obligations imposed upon it by the terms of the fore- going instrument.


THE SAVINGS AND TRUST CO. C. G. KING, President.


H. R. NEWCOMB, Secretary and Treasurer.


[Recorded.]


The Rhodes Monument.


Cemetery Laws of Ohio.


AN ACT further supplementary to the "Act making Provisions for the Incor- poration of Cemetery Associations," passed February 24th, 1848.


SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That it shall be lawful for the trustees of any cemetery association, that is now, or may hereafter be organized under the laws of this state (in any county con- taining a city of the first class), to purchase, or take by gift or devise, and hold lands, exempt from execution and from appropriations for public pur- poses, for the sole and exclusive use of a cemetery, not exceeding five hun- dred acres in extent, three hundred acres of which shall be exempt from taxation. And it shall be lawful for said trustees, whenever, in their opinion, any portion or portions of their lands are unsuitable for burial purposes, to sell such portion or portions and apply the avails thereof to the general pur- poses of such association ; provided upon such sales being made, the lands so sold shall be returned by said trustees to the auditor of the proper county, to be by him placed upon the grand duplicate for taxation.


SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, that all the receipts and income of such association, whether derived from the sale of lots, from donation or other- wise, shall be applied to the payment of the purchase of said lands, to the laying out, preserving, protecting and embellishing the cemetery and the avenues within the same, to the erection of such buildings as may be neces- sary, and to the general purposes of such association, and no debts shall be contracted in anticipation of future receipts, except for the original purchase of the land, and the laying out, enclosing and embellishing the grounds and avenues therein, provided no part of the proceeds of lands sold, or any of the funds of any such an association shall ever be divided to its stock- holders or lot owners, but all its funds shall be used exclusively for the purpose of such association, as herein above specified, or invested in a fund, the income of which shall be used and appropriated as aforesaid.




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