HOLMDEL Police officials said Tuesday they are investigating whether the five-member Beau Ridge Homeowners Association board had the right to remove tombstones from a 257-year-old burial ground once part of a historic family farm.
But at least one descendent contends that no matter the legalities, the association's failure to notify them of the intention to remove some 60 headstones is an affront.
"This is criminal misconduct," said Dr. Andrew Hendricks, a descendant of Dutch immigrants who settled in Monmouth County 300 years ago.
"This is a violation of sacred ground, you just can't do this sort of thing," Hendricks, a dermatologist, said from Fayetteville, N.C., where he lives.
The homeowners association said in an e-mail addressed to its 250 members that it was working in the behalf of the family, some descendants of which use the name Hendrickson."The association is in the process of removing many of the old monuments, cleaning out the area of any additional debris, and resetting brand new 16" x 8" flat black granite markers on top of new concrete foundations," said the letter written by property manager Barbara Strubel.
"We were able to salvage a number of the names from some of the graves, and those that had no name visible will be marked as "Hendrickson Relative.' By doing this, we are restoring the cemetery per a Hendrickson's family member's request back in 2000 and also eliminating a huge safety hazard. We assure you all that all of this work is being completed in the utmost respect for those buried there."
But Hendricks said, "I can promise you they have no family authorization to do this."
The matter came to light over the weekend when Beau Ridge resident Terence Wall's 9-year-old daughter told her father repeatedly that the headstones were missing.
Wall, who had often brought her to the small grave site as a tutorial on area history, said he was surprised to find all 60 headstones were removed and that no markings had been placed to represent the graves.
"This has to do with how we treat history," Wall said. "How we as a culture are responsible for the dead, and a homeowners association run amok."
Association officials said the matter was discussed at three consecutive monthly meetings open to all Beau Ridge residents before the action was approved June 29.
"The board approved removing damaged headstones and replacing them with granite grave markers," Strubel said in the e-mail. "Not all tombstones are being removed."
Township officials said the graveyard has a separate block and lot number from the rest of the development and is listed as Hendrickson Family Grave.
I think it's outrageous," said Judy Bretzger, Monmouth County Genealogy Society member.Bretzger said the society's records show there are at least two Revolutionary War soldiers and a senator buried in the cemetery, which dates to 1753.
"You don't go around removing historic artifacts," Bretzger said.
Township Committeewoman Janet Berk said that when the association approached the municipality for approval it was told the township had no authority over the property.
Association board member Peter Esposito said the agreement with the Beau Ridge developer was that the homeowners association would maintain and manage the cemetery. Esposito said that many of the gravestones, made of sandstone, had disintegrated and could not be repaired. Coupled with vandalism at the site over the years, "it came to the board's attention that it started to look shabby."
Hendricks said a family reunion held in 1999 resulted in family members working with Beau Ridge residents to refurbish the site.
"I just cannot believe it," Hendricks said. "I thought the cemetery was preserved."
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