CHAPTER LV I I. OF BURYING GROUNDS. SECTION 1717. How Corporation may be organized. 1718. Power to acquire and hold Lands for Burial Grounds. 1719. What a Right of Burial shall be. 1720. Transfer of Rights of Burial. 1721. Who to be deemed Stockholders. 1722. Call of Meeting to Incorporate Society. 1723. Affidavit of Notice of Meeting to be made and filed. 1724. Officers, and their Election; Future Meetings. 1725. Officers, how chosen; Time of Meetings to be prescribed by By-Laws. 1726. Vacancies, how filled. 1727. Officers to file Acceptance, and Bond if 1 required. 1728. Notice to Officers elected. 1729. Treasurer to give Bond. 1730. Compensation of Officers. 1731. Corporation may make By-Laws. 1733. Burial Ground to be laid out and Maps SECTION 1734. Corporations may sue, etc., and have 1735. Existing Corporations may organize under 1736. Rights in, not impaired by this Act. 1738. Forfeited rights, how disposed of. for fifty years. 1740. Stockholders may make Assessments. 1742. Notice of Assessment to be published; 1743. Duties of Officers to be defined by By-. 1744. Treasurer's Duty. 1745. Form of Record of Right of Burial. 1748. Receipt for payment therefor. An Act Relating to Burying Grounds. (a) [Approved February 12, 1855. Laws of 1855, p. 167.] may be organ (1717.) SECTION 1. The People of the State of Michigan enact, How Corporation That any five or more persons of lawful age may organize them-ized. selves into a Corporation, by such name as they shall adopt, for the purpose of acquiring land for a burial ground for the (a) For prior enactments on the same subject, see Laws of 1840, p, 155; Revised Statutes of 1846, p. 210. Power to acquire and hold Lands for Burial Ground. What a Right of Transfer of Rights of Burial. Who to be deemed Stockholders. Call of Meeting to Incorpor atë Society. Affidavit of No dead, to dispose of rights of burial therein, and to fence, improve, ornament and keep the same in suitable condition, in the manner hereinafter provided. (1718.) SEC. 2. Such Corporation shall have power to acquire and hold in fee, in their corporate name, so much land as may be necessary for their burying ground: Provided, That no land thus held shall be in any way encumbered by such Corporation: And Provided, further, That the purchase price thereof and interest, and cost of fencing, improving and platting the same, shall be paid out of the funds first realized from the sale of rights of burial. (1719.) SEc. 3. A right of burial under this act shall be, in respect to any Corporation organized under this act, the right to bury the dead in and upon a parcel of land of the size specified in the by-laws of any Corporation organized under this act. (1720.) SEC. 4. Any stockholder in any Corporation organized under this act, wishing to dispose of any right of burial owned by him, shall procure for the purchaser a grant of such right from said Corporation; and at the same time such stockholder shall also relinquish to such Corporation all claim he may have to such right of burial. (1721.) SEC. 5. Any person owning a right of burial derived from any Corporation organized under this act, and having the right to use the same, shall be deemed a stockholder, and, shall have the right to vote at all meetings of the stockholders of such Corporation. (1722.) SEC. 6. Upon application in writing of any three of the persons aforesaid, to any Justice of the Peace of the county in which such burying ground is to be situated, he shall issue his warrant to either one of said applicants, directing him to call a meeting of the persons wishing to become incorporated, which warrant shall contain the substance of the application, and shall state the time and place of holding the meeting; and such meeting shall be called in obedience to such warrant, by posting up notice thereof, containing the substance of the warrant, in at least two public places in the township, city, or village, in which such burying ground is to be situated, at least ten days before the time of holding such meeting. (1723.) SEC. 7. The person to whom the aforesaid warrant tice of Meeting is directed, shall, after having called said meeting, attach to filed. said warrant a copy of the notice accompanied by his affidavit, to be made and showing that it is a true copy of the notice posted up by him, and also showing when and where such notices were posted; and the same shall be presented to such meeting, and filed by the clerk elected thereat. Election. (1724.) SEC. 8. Any five or more persons who shall meet in officers, and their pursuance of such notice, may choose a President, Clerk, Treasurer, Sexton, and such other officers as they may deter mine to be necessary, and may also provide for calling future Future Meetings. meetings and filling vacancies. chosen. (1725.) SEC. 9. The officers named in the next preceding omcers; how section shall be chosen by ballot, and the person having the highest number of votes for any office shall be deemed elected. All the other officers of the Corporation shall be chosen in such manner as shall be prescribed by such Corporation in their by-laws. The time and place of holding meetings for Time of Meetings the election of officers and for other purposes, shall also be by By-Laws. prescribed in said by-laws. to be prescribed filled. (1726.) SEC. 10. A majority of the officers required to be Vacancies; how chosen by ballot, in any Corporation organized under this act, shall have power to fill any vacancy in office by appointment. Acceptance, and (1727.) Sec. 11. All persons elected or appointed to any officers to file office under any Corporation organized under this act, shall, Bond if required. within ten days after such election or appointment, file with the clerk a written acceptance of the office, together with a bond, if required, or said office will be vacant. elected. (1728.) SEC. 12. Any person attending any meeting for the Notice to Officers election of officers of any Corporation organized under this act, and elected thereat to any office, shall be deemed to have been duly notified of his election; the Clerk of such Corporation shall, within two days after the election of any person to office, who was not present at the election, notify such person of his election. Bond. (1729.) SEC. 13. The Treasurer shall give a bond to the Treasurer to give Corporation, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the President thereof, for the faithful discharge of his duties, which bond shall be filed with the clerk. Officers. (1730.) SEC. 14. The officers of any Corporation organized Compensation of under this act, shall receive such reasonable compensation for their services as shall be allowed by such Corporation at any regular meeting of the stockholders, and no more. (1731.) SEC. 15. Corporations organized under this act shall make By-Laws. Corporation may have power to make all needful by-laws and regulations, not inconsistent with this act, as may be necessary to enable them to manage the affairs of such Corporation. Certificate of organization to and recorded in Clerk. Burial Ground to be laid out and before issuing Rights of Burial. (1732.) SEC. 16. Within one week after the organization of be made, filed any Corporation organized under this act, the clerk shall make office of County out a certificate of the organization of such Corporation, specifying the corporate name thereof, the officers chosen at the first meeting, which certificate shall be signed by the President and Clerk of such Corporation, and forthwith record such certificate in the office of the clerk of the county in which such burying ground is, or may be situated, in a book to be provided and kept by him for that purpose, who shall be entitled to receive seventy-five cents for recording the same. (1733.) SEC. 17. Before any Corporation organized under Maps made, etc., the provisions of this act shall issue certificates of rights of Certificate of burial, they shall cause their burial ground to be laid out in such form as they may choose, and cause two maps thereof to be made, which maps shall accurately describe the land belonging to such burying ground, its boundaries and location, with the lots or subdivisions named or numbered thereon, and also their size, situation and extent, with the width, extent and location of all the streets, alleys, or walks in such burying ground, which maps shall be prepared under the supervision and direction of the President and Clerk of such Corporation, and certified by them to be a correct map of their burying ground. One of the above maps shall be filed with the Clerk of the Corporation, and the other with the County Clerk of the county in which such burying ground is situated; whereupon said clerk shall give said Corporation a certificate, under his hand and seal of office, showing that such map has been received and duly filed by him, which certificate shall be filed with the Clerk of said Corporation. Corporations may sue, etc., and Seal. (1734.) Sec. 18. All Corporations organized under this act, have Common shall be capable in their corporate name, of suing and being sued, appealing, prosecuting, and defending, to final judgment and execution, in any of the Courts of this State or elsewhere, and to have a common seal which they may alter at pleasure. (1735.) SEC. 19. Any burying ground Corporation hereafter ize under this [heretofore] organized under any law of this State, upon complying with the provisions of the preceding sections of this act, shall possess all the powers, and be subject to all the restrictions, of Corporations originally organized under this Existing Corpora tions may organ Act. act. paired by this (1736.) SEC. 20. Any right that may have accrued to any Rights in, not immember or stockholder of a burial ground Corporation hereto- Act. fore existing in this State, shall not be affected or impaired by reason of this act. may be vacated (1737.) SEC. 21. Whenever it may become necessary to Burying Ground vacate any burying ground, the property of any Corporation by Circuit Court. organized under this act, such Corporation may, by a majority and notice. of its stockholders present at any regular meeting, direct the President and Clerk of such Corporation to petition the Circuit Petition therefor, Court for the county in which such burying ground is situated, for leave to vacate the same; and such Circuit Court may make such order in the premises as shall be just and proper: Provided, No final order shall be made within six months from the time of filing such petition, and due proof of publication of notice of such petition, for twelve successive weeks, in such newspaper as may have been designated by said Court for that purpose. how disposed of. (1738.) SEc. 22. It shall be lawful for any Corporation Forfeited rights, organized under this act, to dispose of that part of any forfeited right of burial, which has not been actually used as a repository of the dead, in like manner as if the same had never been granted. fifty years. (1739.) SEC. 23. Any Corporation organized under this act, Rights how sold may be authorized by the Circuit or District Court of the ments unpaid for county, upon the like petition and notice as are required in the twenty-first section of this act, and after six months from the filing of such petition, to redispose of burial rights on which assessment shall have remained unpaid for fifty years or more. make assess (1740.) SEC. 24. A majority of the stockholders of any Stockholders may Corporation organized under this act, at any regular meeting ments. thereof, shall, when necessary, have power to make an assessment upon the stockholders of such Corporation. ments to be (1741.) SEC. 25. After an assessment has been made, as Record of assess provided for in the next preceding section, such Corporation made. shall cause a record to be made of such assessment, and showing the day when the same was made, with a list of the names of all the stockholders in such Corporation, and the amount assessed to each stockholder; a copy of the assess- Copy for Treas ment shall be furnished by the Clerk to the Treasurer of such Corporation. urer. ment to be pub (1742.) SEC. 26. Within one month from the time of making Notice of assens. any assesssment, the Clerk of the Corporation making the lished." |