"Saving Graves"

This site does not seem to have been updated since 2004, but it is interesting to note its assessment of "Bell View Cemetery" in 2000.

It claims 1500 grave sites and that the oldest was 1839? Maybe that's just a typo? Listed key problems includes "apathy," (I agree). Also claims to have contacted local news station and "authorities". The Sac Bee article on a community meeting was at the end of 2000, so perhaps is listing coincided with the December meeting?

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/bell%20view.htm

Saving Graves

Bell View Cemetery

Sacramento, Sacramento County, California

Date: December 19, 2000

Cemetery: Bell View Cemetery
Street: 9899 Elder Creek Rd.
City: Sacramento
Township:
County: Sacramento
State: CA
Nation: United States
Zip: 95829-9305
Nearby: Bradshaw Rd.
Land Type: Private
Status: Active
Accessible: Yes
Unmarked graves: Yes
Graves within: 1500
Oldest grave: 1839
Newest grave: unknown
Records: Unsure
Inventory: Yes
Records location:
Owner: The Bethany Slavic Church
Condition: Cemetery destroyed
Vandalism
Apathy
Broken Headstones
Fallen Headstones
Previous contacts: Channel 40 and the authorities
Work Status: The current status of this cemetery is: Unknown

Submitted by / Contact for additional Information:

name: Tawney Mitchell
Email: TotalyTawney@aol.com [still active?]

Archived email from a genealogical volunteer

This message seems to have some misinformation and a lot of misspellings but it is valuable because the volunteer in question had spoken to the cemetery owner in 2004 and was told that there were records for both cemeteries (in this case meaning Bellview in the back and "Quiet Haven" near the road) but the records were in disorder. If the records for these cemeteries exist, then why haven't the misplaced markers been put back on their associated graves?

From: [email suppressed]
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 7:04 PM
To: transcriptions@myroots.net
Subject: Information and entrance photos for Quite Haven & Bellview Cemetery

Hi Peggy,
I thought I would drop you a line to update you on some cemeteries here in Sacramento,
Sacramento County, California. There appears to be a lot of confusion on both these
cemeteries and since I recently went through that confusion myself, I thought I would
share with you what I did find in hopes no one else has to go through that experience.

The Cemetery's are that of Bellview Cemetery (also spelled Bellevue or Belleview by many)
and that of Quite Haven Memorial Park Cemetery - AKA - Arlington Memorial Cemetery.
The confusion I found lays in that many think they are all 1 cemetery. NOT TRUE! Indeed,
both Cemeteries are on the same property and own by the same owner, but they are 2
different cemeteries all together with different names. Arlington Cemetery might have been
the old name but the new name is Quite Haven Memorial Park Cemetery. It is located at
9899 Elder Creek Road in Sacramento. It is clearly seen from Elder Creek Road and has a
sign and address on the gate. The Russian Slavic Church now owns BOTH cemeteries.
The contact person for the cemeteries is Victor. Victor's phone number is 369-5520.
Victor says that they have cemetery records for both Cemeteries but the records are not in
order and will not do look up's at this time. He suggests that one just walk the cemetery to
find a grave. He says the Church will be working on these records and will have them available
on there website he hopes soon. Here is their website for both cemeteries. http://quiethaven.org/

Next confusion. The Bellview Cemetery is on the same property as the Quite Haven Memorial
Park Cemetery, but is NOT visible from Elder Creek Road and no sign is posted on the gate of
Quite Haven Cemetery, thus one would never know there is even another cemetery on the property.
Therefore, I thought I would give one some directions to the Bellview Cemetery. One would go to
the Quite Haven Memorial Park Cemetery and drive through the gate into the parking lot. Keep
driving through the parking lot until it dead ends and then turn left. Keep going until it dead ends
again and turn right. Go pass a house that is sitting on your right into another gate and you will
see the Bellview Cemetery. There, in the middle of the cemetery, is a lovely maker which explains
about the Bellview Cemetery which I took a photo of and have attached for you viewing. This part
cemetery is not as well cared for as the Quite Haven Cemetery. Although I did see some
improvements upon my second visit. Lots of critters running around, so be careful is my word of
caution. Ground gophers, Rabbits, flies, and yes, even some snakes. It is very isolated except for
the house near the cemetery entrance I suggest one take someone with them and not go alone.
Very little shade, so take a hat and lots of water. And watch for the holes that the gofers have made
under headstones.

You website adds to the confusion and lists Old Belleview Cemetery as part of Arlington
Cemetery - AKA Quit Haven Cemetery. Indeed, I am interest in old names and new names of
cemeteries as well but I feel more should be added on your website to limit the confusion of these
two different cemeteries. I hope you agree! Maybe you did not have this information before, therefore
I am in hope that my information to you in this E-mail is helpful.

Thank you so much Peggy for all your efforts and God Bless you & yours....

Sincerely,
[name omitted]

Sacramento Bee article December 21, 2000*

*Wherein "new" owners accidentally break/move markers, admit incompetence, and pledge to do right by the dead. Over a decade later, has anything improved?

Cemetery Cleanup Leads to Mix-Up
Workers Knock Over Old Bellview Headstones; Managers Seek to Correct Problem

A 30-year period of mismanagement had things at Old Bellview Cemetery looking pretty grim, but when the new owners tried to spruce things up, they stirred up a storm of criticism. While trying to clean up an area of the cemetery with a small tractor, workers knocked over some headstones, said Valintin Kalinovskiy, the cemetery's executive director. Old Bellview Cemetery is a small portion of Arlington Cemetery which was bought by Bethany Missionary Slavic Church less than two years ago. "We were cleaning up," said Kalinovskiy.The problem was not easily solved, however, because the cemetery does not have an accurate map of where all the headstones belong or where all the bodies are buried, Kalinovskiy said. Critics and cemetery management met Wednesday in an attempt to solve the problem. The two groups are looking for family members of those buried at the old cemetery to come forward and help figure out where the headstones belong. "Unfortunately for them," said Bob LaPerriere, chairman of Sacramento's Old City Cemetery Committee, "they inherited a cemetery with 30 years of problems." The cemetery on Elder Creek Road between Bradshaw and Excelsior roads "had been vandalized, unkempt, and in really poor shape before the Slavic Missionary Church bought it," LaPerriere said. Kalinovskiy said that the number of headstones disturbed by the cleanup efforts had been grossly exaggerated and that most of the displaced stones had been out of place before the church took ownership. "Only two headstones were moved by us," Kalinovskiy said. The cemetery is looking forward to working with the families to correct matters, he said. "We want to work together and do the right thing," Kalinovskiy said. Margie Porteous is one of the handfuls of Sacramento residents who attended the meeting with the church. Porteous said she has many family members buried in the cemetery, including her grandparents and great-grandparents. She was among those upset with the condition of the cemetery."You would not be happy if you went into the cemetery and found that grave markers were not in the right spot. It is very upsetting," Porteous said. She repeated the call for those with family members buried in the cemetery to come forward to help identify grave sites and eventually rehabilitate the cemetery. She also said there ought to be better laws governing cemetery record-keeping. "There is really nobody to oversee what is going on," she said. LaPerriere said there was no malicious intent on the part of the church. "I don't think the church meant to do anything out of bounds. They weren't aware of how to approach this. They have done some good out there," he said. LaPerriere said he thinks that ultimately more good than bad will come from the situation. "Sometimes it takes something like this to draw enough public attention so some good can come from it," he said.Anyone with a family member buried in Old Bellview is asked to call the Old City Cemetery Committee at (916)448-5665.

Following the internet crumbs

This poor cemetery was the victim of mismanagement for decades, long before the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church took ownership. Unfortunately because it is now under church ownership, it is no longer subject to state regulation.

This post is useful because it relates perhaps some answers to questions associated with this particular cemetery: Bellview Cemetery itself seems to be split in half (this is not including the "Quiet Haven Memorial Park" section visible from Elder Creek road), and another known old name for it was Arlington Cemetery. (There are Arlingtons buried in the cemetery- whether this is the reason it was called this, similar to how it became known as "Bellview" because of the Bell family, I have yet to uncover.) There is a lawn portion of the cemetery containing the majority of historic graves (some more modern graves include children's graves from the late 60s and early 70s, and a row of very new ostentatious Russian/Slavic graves) and an entire section that seemed an afterthought- a shadeless gravel pit of tree stumps and poorly cared for markers. (There is one marker that says "Urn Garden" on the side opposite the Sacramento County historic marker for Bellview Cemetery, though it is apparent there are depressions on the gravel side where it appears full bodies were interred.)

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CASACRAM/2004-07/1089907636

From: "Sue Silver"
Subject: Fw: [CASacramento] Re: Finding Belleview, (Bellview, Bellvue) Cemetery
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 09:07:16 -0700

Errata:
I have been advised that the church that now owns Bellview Cemetery is a Slavic church, not a Russian Orthodox Church as I wrote in the message below.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sue Silver"
To: ;
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 7:40 AM
Subject: Re: [CASacramento] Re: Finding Belleview, (Bellview, Bellvue)
Cemetery


Bellview Cemetery was begun around the year 1862. The land on which it
was located and used by the public was donated by Jasper Bell. The cemetery
became owned by the Bellview Cemetery Association under the 1859 Act of the
legislature allowing the incorporation of Rural Cemetery Associations.

Sometime around 1950-1960, the Association purchased new ground to expand the cemetery BECAUSE THE OLD SECTION WAS FILLED to capacity. They called the new land Arlington Cemetery. Shortly after, the Association became defunct and the cemetery was sold for delinquent property taxes by the Sacramento County Tax Collector. (This even though the State Constitution exempts cemeteries from taxation if not used or held for profit.)

The cemetery was purchased at the tax sale by a new owner who operated it but did so unscrupulously. The State took the cemetery under conservatorship. Finally, the county again sold the cemetery for delinquent taxes and it was purchased, with approval by State by a Russian Orthodox Church. (Because the land is owned by a religious entity, it is no longer under state regulation.)

The Church changed the name of Arlington Cemetery to Quiet Haven. When it first took ownership, it began to use portions of Bellview Cemetery which, as previously stated, had already been filled to capacity by the 1950s-1960s. As far as I know they continue to use Bellview Cemetery today. It is not known how many unmarked and unknown graves exist in Bellview and it is my opinion that there is overburying occurring with new burials.

At one point after the Church took ownership, some families found that markers had been removed from the graves of their loved ones. The Church maintained it had moved them in order to perform maintenance and tree removal. How many markers were actually affected is unknown.

For more information about the present status of Bellview Cemetery, Arlington Cemetery or Quiet Haven Cemetery, contact Dr. Bob LaPerriere with the Sacramento County Cemetery Advisory Commission (SCCAC). Email address: chca@winfirst.com.

Sue Silver, State Coordinator
California Saving Graves
www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/

Questions

Outright, there are some curious aspects about this cemetery.

1) Quiet Haven Memorial Park is comprised of two sections joined together by a road. Bellview Cemetery itself seems to be divided in half, with a lawn section of mostly historical graves and a gravel section of markers from the 1960s and early 1970s. The gravel section in particular seems to be in exceptionally bad condition- full of holes, mounds of dirt and weeds hiding grave markers, ugly tree stumps (why were all the trees cut down, and when?) and some markers appear to have been moved like tiles as there is nothing anchoring them down. There also to be two graves here that may have been exhumed and re-interred as one is lined in slowly decomposing plastic and the other is surrounded by a short green flimsy plastic border.

2. Bethany Slavic Missionary Church acquired this land only in the late 1990's, before which it was apparently already mismanaged and subject to vandalism. It has been in use as a burial site since at least 1856. It is clear that it must have had been under different jurisdictions/owners over the century and a half of use.

3. Older references to this cemetery also note that it was called Arlington Cemetery.

4. All the recent Slavic burials are ornately decorated with silk and plastic flowers. The older graves (comprising the majority of the "population) are unadorned, and more often than not, in desperate condition. There are headstones laying along the fence (obviously not on graves) and markers that are covered in mounds of dirt and weeds (thus unreadable). Why the striking disparity? If this land is indeed owned by a church, why is it not their "Christian" duty to show the same respect for all interred here for eternity?

5. There are a lot of broken markers. This could be due to age, vandalism, "graveyard malpractice", or a combination.

6. There are a lot of markers with a "do it yourself" look to them. Were people buried here because they had limited means and this cemetery outside of the city limits offered cheaper burial services than most of the nicer cemeteries in Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, and other nearby communities?

7. The monument left by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors notes that 800 people were laid to rest in Bellview Cemetery between 1961 and 1973. In the entire cemetery, including the historical markers, there are maybe 200 markers at most, and that's being generous. Where are the missing 600+?