'Let Noah Aldrich . . . lie in peace'

Effort to move graves stirs up trouble in Vt.

Noah Aldrich, who died in 1848, is buried in this cemetery in Hartland, Vt., with two granddaughters. The other stones are presumed to be grave markers of family members. (Caleb Kenna for The Boston Globe)

HARTLAND, Vt. - When a former Wall Street analyst from Greenwich, Conn., set his sights on a lush parcel of 150 acres here, he knew he wanted to live atop its highest peak, surrounded by panoramic views and rippling meadows studded with red clover, Vermont's state flower.

There was only this hitch: A short distance from the site where J. Michel Guite envisioned building a house was a white picket-fenced burial ground with the graves of a War of 1812 veteran, Noah Aldrich, his two granddaughters, and several stones presumed to be grave markers of other family members. Guite was concerned that the cemetery would trouble his children when they played in the tall-grass fields.

The cemetery, he decided, had to go. He gave notice that he intended to move three of the marked grave sites.

The move has inflamed this rural town, prompting a lawsuit, criticism in a local paper, a resolution at Town Meeting denouncing Guite's plans, and a protest banner in the July Fourth parade that said, "Let Noah Aldrich continue to lie in peace." In many ways, the bitterness and anger vented on Guite are about more than one man and reflects a mounting wave of resentment against outsiders seen as snapping up valuable Vermont land with little respect for its heritage.

"People get here and they say, 'I love the land.' Then they purchase it and move in and they want to change things," said Elaine Brousseau, a retired critical care nurse who lives down the street from the parcel with the cemetery. "Many times, they want to change things a lot."

Guite, who worked for Salomon Brothers for 20 years and is an owner of Vermont Telephone Co., did not return phone messages; his lawyer, George Lamb, declined to comment.

Guite has had his way. Last month, a judge ruled that Guite could move three of the graves, after a six-month court battle that produced a 2-inch-thick file filled with cursive-penned 19th-century property records and letters of protest from members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Pilgrim Society.

But the judge, Joanne Ertel, noted that she had little choice but to permit the move because of a restrictive Vermont law. She went on to say: "Despite the fervent and far-reaching opposition to his plans, Mr. Guite has persisted in his quest. The court finds it difficult to fathom his persistence in the face of such widespread and heartfelt opposition. It's hard to imagine introducing yourself to a community with an action that the community finds abhorrent."

Guite told the Valley News in February that the best spot to build a farmhouse is 15 feet from the grave plot, and he expressed concern that the proximity of the house would ruin the serenity of the cemetery. "My feeling is, let's take that history that happened so long ago, let's bring in archeologists and come back with more history and relocate them to a more peaceful place, far from the house and barn."

Cemetery officials say Guite's request is a novel one for Vermont, where cemeteries have been dug up to make way for roads and buildings, but not for a personal residence. Some fear that the Guite petition is the first of more to come.

"With the lust and greed for development breathing down the necks of some of the most beautiful and special places in Vermont, it is our responsibility to protect and preserve the sanctity, integrity, and history of our cemeteries," Joy Fagan, president of the Vermont Cemetery Association, wrote in a letter to the court.

The cemetery in Hartland sits at the crest of the hill, under the shade of black cherry and sugar maple trees. It contains the graves of Aldrich who died March 15, 1848. His two granddaughters succumbed to a flu epidemic in 1850. There are several other stones presumed to be grave markers of other family members, including his wife, Lydia. There is also a memorial stone marking the cremated remains of a couple, the Kings, who owned the land in the 20th century.

As of last week, the cemetery remained intact.

Many in Hartland said that they are appalled by a man who would ignore the community's wish to leave the deceased undisturbed and that he will have few fans if and when he moves to town (his purchase of the 150-acre parcel from the Unified Buddhist Church of Vermont was contingent on gaining the right to move the grave sites).

"When somebody is buried, you'd think that the future generation would not even think about moving it for personal gain," said Richard Brousseau, a retired photographer in Hartland and Elaine's husband.

Guite "is completely out of line," said Shirley Robinson, a 76-year-old retired teacher who is also a prospective neighbor of Guite. "I don't care who he is and where he came from. I don't know the guy, but I don't like his attitude."

Residents say they are worried about what Guite will do next. Some speculate that he will petition to have additional graves in the plot moved as well.

Residents are also dismayed with Marcia Neal, an Aldrich descendant who stepped forward following the proposed move of the grave sites. Her great-great-great-grandparents were Noah and Lydia Aldrich. Neal, of Grand Junction, Colo., said she discovered her connection to the Aldriches only months before Guite petitioned to move their grave sites, and learned of the petition from the Hartland Historical Society, whose members had helped her to trace her roots. At the historical society's urging, she said, she lodged her official opposition to Guite's moving the grave sites.

But she said that over time her opinion changed.

She said the possibility that Aldrich's descendants could visit the cemetery disturbed her Western-bred belief in the sanctity of private property, and she became increasingly concerned that the headstones of her relatives would further disintegrate if left alone on the hilltop.

"I developed a rather strong feeling for these people, who once were nothing more than names on a chart, and I thought: 'Is it worse to move them or have the cemetery cease to exist?' " said Neal, a retired history teacher.

Neal said she reached a deal with Guite under which she agreed to remove her opposition to his plans, and he agreed to move the graves to one of two nearby sites. Neal said she received no monetary compensation.

She said she feels bad that so many in Hartland are dismayed with her, but said she hoped they would come to understand her feelings.

"It's just my judgment," she said. "Who am I to say that I'm right and they're wrong?"

Following the court ruling, local opposition has remained strong. Jerome King of Hanover, N.H., a retired professor of political philosophy whose parents' remains are interred in the cemetery plot, said he is considering further legal action.

Meanwhile, calls have gone up for the Legislature to revise a Vermont statute - which permits only a narrow band of immediate relatives to object to a cemetery move. Ertel also urged the Legislature to take up the matter.

"Perhaps, it is time for the Vermont Legislature to consider protecting the sanctity of old cemeteries because of the strong community sentiment expressed so eloquently by so many Vermonters who continue to have that strong sense of community, faith, and tradition," she wrote in her decision.