Madison County court authorizes removal and reinterment of six graves at John Reed Cemetery; two related petitions tabled for more research

Madison County Fiscal Court on Oct. 28 issued an order declaring the John Reed Cemetery abandoned and authorized removal and relocation of six graves, following statutory procedures in KRS 381.755 and state administrative rules. The court also heard extensive public comment and agreed to postpone action on two additional petitions while county staff, funeral directors and historical groups pursue further research and descendant outreach.

Attorney Preston Worley and representatives of Oldham Robertson Powell Funeral Home explained the statutory process for privately initiated removals under KRS 381.755: a fiscal-court finding that graves are abandoned is the required first step before a state permit for disinterment and reinterment can be issued. Worley said the statute requires evidence that graves have been unattended for at least 10 years to the knowledge of the property owner. "...If a private individual wants to remove a grave, they have to operate under KRS 381.755, which says you seek the fiscal court to deem the graves abandoned," he told the court.

Descendants, the Bluegrass Memorial Cemetery advocacy group and the Madison County Historical Society urged caution, additional outreach and, where possible, preservation in place. Brenda Burton, president of Friends of Bluegrass Memorial Cemetery and a descendant, described a family connection to the Reed site and said the grounds were in poor condition: "Currently, the cemetery is covered with debris, old tires. It looks like somebody took a stone and threw it against a tree. It's in terrible, terrible shape," Burton said, and asked for dignity in any handling. Other commenters noted the possibility that enslaved people or unmarked graves could be present and asked for expanded notice and consultation with historical groups.

After considering the testimony, the court adopted Resolution 2025-100, finding that the John Reed site contains two marked and four unmarked graves that have been unattended for at least 10 years, and authorizing removal and relocation following the required 60-day notice (already published) and state permitting. Court members instructed the applicants and funeral directors to consult further with the historical society and the Friends of Bluegrass Memorial Cemetery and to insure dignified, individual reinterments rather than mass burials. The court accepted a staff request to table the other two cemetery petitions and asked applicants to return with further genealogy, outreach and documentation.

The next step for the successful petitioner is to include the fiscal-court order and supporting materials in a permit application to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (Vital Statistics) and comply with 901 KAR 5:090. County officials emphasized that the court's role under the statute is limited to determining abandonment; the state agency reviews and issues disinterment/reinterment permits.

The court's action authorizes removal but does not itself execute disinterment; removal requires a state permit and licensed funeral directors to perform the work.