SUMTER, S.C. — Confusion at the cemetery is what’s happening right now in Sumter County. News19 heard from a man who says his family’s graves are being disturbed by a local business, and we’re On Your Side with what we found.
“That’s my father there. That’s my uncle right there. And my grandmother and grandfather back over by that tree,” Clarence Greene pointed out. “And all these people here, this is family members also.”
Greene remembers burying his father at the cemetery, which was surrounded by farmland when he was a kid. Now, a locally owned furniture store sits right next door. Looking through records online, News19 found that the business owner also owns the property where the store was built in the mid-1990s.
“I know there was other graves out here also,” Greene said of the land his family has been buried on for generations. “But, now, this is all that’s left. And what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to save what we have in memories of our ancestors.”
The business agreed to build half a wall, which Greene said he paid for, to protect the marked graves. Greene said he’s worried about other areas, which he has marked with yellow flags to represent unmarked graves.
News19 spoke with the business owner, who declined an interview but did speak about his hesitation. The owner said he’s unsure if those sites are unmarked gravesites since there has been no verification.
According to online records, the store has been a family-owned business in the community since 1900, although it wasn’t established at the current site until 1995. The owner said that until now, there has been no issue with the family and the business being able to coexist on the plot of land.
Without verifying the unmarked graves, the business owner said he doesn’t want to build a wall because it would prevent trucks from easily accessing the warehouse.
“This is unique, right?” local attorney Harriet Lampkin said. “I've been practicing law for 14 years and never heard of it. I’m a country girl, so people bury their relatives on family land all the time, but this is definitely unique.”
Lampkin owns Lampkin Law Firm in downtown Sumter, and while she is not affiliated with this situation, she did provide her objective legal perspective on the issue.
“Can a business owner own a cemetery, or can they own property that has graves? Yes. In South Carolina, there's no rule that you can't bury someone on private property,” Lampkin said. “But what do you do here when we have unmarked graves? Who's responsible? Good question! And the law is never black and white. It’s always gray. Right? So is it the family who's taking care of the graves? Is it the business owner? Who does it? So there is no clear answer, right? You would hope that the two parties could have a sit-down and a meeting of the minds and come to an agreement. But that's in a perfect world. The world isn't always perfect.”
When it comes to extending the wall, Greene said that’s a cost he would cover.
“We’re not asking for them to spend not one dime. We’ll take care of all of that. And we just want his permission to do that so there won’t be no confusion,” Greene said. “And we also have a guy to come in and maintain the cemetery and everything.”
Neither party said it wanted to pay someone to survey the land and check for unmarked graves. That’s where Lampkin said a magistrate judge can make the final decision in court.
“That's why you will make a magistrate or whatever committee they designate will make a hard decision,” Lampkin detailed. “This is why we have courts of law and judges and all them: to make the decisions that the humans can’t.”
Greene said he tried to go directly to court but hit a roadblock.
“The big court told us before they can do anything, it’d be best I get a lawyer,” Greene said. “And we don’t have the money for a lawyer. All we want to do is just save our family.”
Lampkin said a lawyer isn’t necessarily necessary, although she said “lawyers make things easier.”
“No one has to have a lawyer in situations, but it would be helpful if someone knew what the code of law and statutes were for these types of matters,” Lampkin said. “So, who knows South Carolina preservation and cemetery laws? I would get a lawyer that specializes in that and is aware of that and can help make this challenging process much smoother for you.”
There’s also another solution, Lampkin said.
“Graves can be moved. Let's say that, right? But you have to identify them and get some permission,” Lampkin explained. “Usually, those are local governing boards, right, the municipality where the land is located. Some counties put together a three-person board: somebody from the town, somebody from the family, somebody from the property owner to talk about it. But those are things to be discussed. Because of preservation laws, you have to do it a certain way.”
Lampkin said they must follow the legal framework if both parties decide to relocate the graves. She said it doesn’t sound like anyone has violated any laws. The biggest question, she said, is determining who would be responsible for the cost.
“I don't know if the parties will split it, right?” Lampkin asked. “Who is it most important to? It would be important to me if I was the landowner. I don't want to disturb anyone’s final resting. But as a business owner in this economy, I don't want to expend unnecessary costs. So who's responsible? I don't know. Who can afford it? Who's willing to do it? What would the court say?”
Regardless of how the situation resolves, Greene said he’s looking for answers for his family “because this is all we have left of them.”
“Memories,” Greene shared. “And this is part of our memories.”
In the end, Lampkin said she’s hoping Greene and the business owner can come to an agreement.
“Being a southern girl, a country girl, a hospitable person, I would hope the parties can work together to come to a decision that's best for everyone involved,” Lampkin said.
News19 spoke with the manager of the Sumter County Cemetery, who said he’s willing to survey the land as soon as the ground softens to help verify whether the plots are unmarked graves.