Exhuming the Dead. Warning: images may be disturbing to some people.

The exhumation of graves is never something done on a whim. The process, if done correctly, is a careful and meticulously documented endeavor. Not just the moving of stones...

This blog will walk you, the reader, through the exhumation process of an entire family that was conducted in Rochester, N.H.

The site of the original Legro Cemetery and exhumations.
Plastic was used to preserve the area. 

During the fall of 2009, an archaeologist on a state-sponsored excavation project for the NH Highway Department, exhumed the remains within the Legro and Leighton cemetery which was located in middle of the on/off ramp of Exit 15 off the Spaulding Turnpike in Rochester, NH. The removal of the cemetery was to make way for the new highway ramps.

Years before the exhumation project all of the headstones had been removed from the cemetery, for what was called "safe keeping" by a local cemetery enthusiast. This person made a hand written map, using tree locations as measurements to mark where the headstone once stood. This ultimately posed a huge challenge for the archeological team since some of the trees had been removed since the making of the map. The true size of the family cemetery and position that the markers had been in were now not properly documented. It would be a game of guess work to locate exact positioning for all of the remains. All this extra work for the team, due to the actions of a person who wanted to "help".

Carefully removing soil from the remains.

Elihu Legro's remains

The workers started their day at 7 am and worked through the day until 5 pm.



Most of the team's day was spent bent over on their knees in the dirt performing painstaking work. This made for very long days.  








At the end of their work day the workers would secure their tools, stretch plastic sheeting over the site and secure them with sandbags.


A tractor would then bring in large sheets of metal to be laid on top to keep anyone from tampering with the site. 




The team typically didn't work past 5 pm unless they found new remains, then they all concentrated their time on quickly and carefully exhuming and documenting the newest finds before it became too dark. 

A Leighton Child

Pieces of glass were found on top of some of the children's skulls, this would have allowed for a closed casket funeral where the child's face was visible. These coffins were known as a viewing coffins. The glass had the unintended consequence of creating a "microenvironment" that allowed for better preservation of some of the remains. The children's remains are from the 1840s or '50s, while the adults may have been buried as late as 1871.

One of the many great finds was the original headstone that belonged to Elihu which was thought to have been removed to make way for his Civil War Military stone. 

It was buried under 8 inches of soil and three feet from his resting place.

Mary Legro remains. Notice the hairpin used to hold her hair back is still present on the skull.

Researchers found elaborate buttons near the remains of Mary Legro. Also present was a hair pin and a frock button which would have been a part of her dress.

A collection of burial artifacts including buttons, nails and a coffin handle.

The whole process took approximately two weeks to complete.


The final archeological report showed the Legro Cemetery measured 25 rods and contained the remains of David and Joanna Legro, Elihu and Mary Legro, their son Elihu Jr., 2 of  Elihu’s siblings, as well as four children from the Leighton Family.


On May 8^th 2010 under rainy skies, Elihu Legro a Civil War veteran was reburied with full military honors at the Rochester Cemetery.
 

Small handmade pine caskets.

Prior to Elihu's burial, the rest of the family was reburied.

All were reburied in the same order they were found in. 

All were given new handmade caskets as seen in this photo to the right.

Pine caskets placed in eco-vaults.

As you can see, this was a massive undertaking.  Not just a quick shuffling of gravestones from one location to another. Officials from the governor's office to state and local government agencies were involved.

Daniel Meehan a Son's of Union Veteran's official and a Civil War reinactor with the 12th New Hampshire single-handedly orchestrated the entire funeral.

Final Footnote:

It was noticed that Elihu's and Mary's heads were tipped to the sides. The result was that each was  looking at the other.

Prior to being placed within their newly made coffins, straw was laid down and they were placed the same exact way, so they will continue to look at each other through the ages.

May they finally rest in peace.

This photo shows how they were found.