Carroll v. Cave Hill Cemetery Co.

189 S.W. 186, 172 Ky. 204, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 183
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedNovember 15, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 189 S.W. 186 (Carroll v. Cave Hill Cemetery Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carroll v. Cave Hill Cemetery Co., 189 S.W. 186, 172 Ky. 204, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 183 (Ky. Ct. App. 1916).

Opinion

[205]*205Opinion op the Court by

Judge Hurt

Reversing.

The Fidelity Trust Company, as the executor of the last will and testament of Fannie Castleman Eastin, instituted this action in the Jefferson circuit court for a settlement of its accounts, and for a final settlement of the estate of decedent, and a distribution of the assets of the estate to the devisees, in accordance with their interests. The testatrix died about, the 20th day of February, 1912, and her will was admitted to probate in the Jefferson county court very shortly thereafter. By the first clause of the will, the Fidelity Trust Company was appointed executor of it. The second clause; of the will is as follows:

‘ ‘ Second: I direct my executor to set apart twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) to appropriate same in the erection of a mortuary chapel, which is to be located in Cave Hill Cemetery just beyond the present basin, which is directly opposite to and in front of the, gate of entrance to this cemetery, and at the end of the avenue leading from this gate. The said chapel I wish erected immediately after my death, in a. substantial but artistic gothic style of architecture, with seating capacity for not less than one hundred and fifty persons. Over the entrance door of this chapel I wish distinctly carved in raised' letters the following inscription: “To the Glory of God, and in the Memory of my Dear Husband, George B. Eastin, and our only child, ‘Dear Little George.’
“I, also, desire that behind the pulpit of said chapel there shall be placed in the wall two tablets of stone, one in memory of my dear husband, the other in memory of our ‘Dear Little George,’ with name and date of 'birth and death of each, carved distinctly in raised letters. When said chapel is completed, it shall be the property of Cave Hill Cemetery, and shall be preserved and maintained by said Cemetery Company.”

The other provisions of the will have no relation to^ the question for decision upon this appeal.

Neither the testatrix, nor the executor of her will, having the ownership or control of the grounds of the Cave Hill Cemetery Company, the bequest to. erect a mortuary chapel upon its grounds could not be carried into effect without the consent of the Cemetery Company. Upon the request of the executor to be permitted [206]*206to carry into effect the bequest, the Cemetery Company demanded that the exact location for the erection of the chapel should be designated and approved by the chancellor, and that the plans and specifications of the proposed chapel be prepared by a competent architect, and the costs of the erection of the chapel and any changes necessary to be made in the grounds by the Company be ascertained and furnished to the Cemetery Company, before giving its consent to the erection of the chapel. The executor then filed a petition in its suit for a settlement of the estate, in ’which it sought the advice of the court as to the definite site for the erection of the chapel. Thereupon, an issue was joined, between the heirs of the testatrix upon the one side, and the executor and the Cemetery Company upon the other, as to where under the terms of the will of the testatrix, the mortuary chapel should be erected. The heirs contend that the will requires its erection upon the piece of ground designated upon the diagram, which follows, by the letter “A.” The executor and Cemetery Company contend that its erection at any point to the east of the dotted circle, marked “Basin” and between the parallel lines, which are drawn tangent to the north and south sides of the “basin,” will comply with the requirements of 'the will, and have selected the point indicated by the letter “ C ” upon the diagram, as the suitable and proper place for the erection of the chapel.- To make the references to the objects mentioned, intelligible, it will be necessary to make an explanation of the diagram. The circle of dots represents the “basin,” which is a depression in the ground to the depth of six feet below the level of the encircling road beds, and is covered with trees and shrubs. The “basin” is two hundred and fourteen feet in diameter from north to south. The parallel lines, which extend from the point marked '“Gate Entrance” to the “basin,” describes the road which extends from the entrance to the “basin,” and when it arrives at the “basin,” it passes around it upon ■either side and around plat “A,” as the parallel lines ■.indicate. The roadway upon either side of the “basin” is twenty feet in width. To the southeast and east of the roadway, which encircles the “basin” upon the east, around the plat “A,” and on toward the north, the cemetery is divided into burial lots as indicated upon the diagram, the most of which are occupied. The point [208]*208“C” is situated about midway of a wooded reserve, which extends from the roadway to the outside boundary wall of the cemetery grounds upon the north. “C” is eighty feet from the rim of the “basin,” and at that point the ground declines rapidly from the level of the roadway to the depth of ten or twelve feet. “0” is thirty-four feet from a line drawn along the center of the entrance avenue and continued through the “basin” to a point where a line from “C” would intersect it, at right' angles. In addition to the roadway between the “basin” and “0,” there is, also, a walkway, and a space of ground covered with grass, about fifteen feet in width. Plat “A” lies contiguous to the “basin,” • and is about one hundred feet in width upon the line of the rim. of the “basin,” and extends about one hundred and fifty feet back to its apex, where the roads which encircle the “basin” come together. Plat “A” is somewhat elevated and is a very conspicuous point in- the grounds of the Cemetery, and a building upon it would be visible from nearly all points in the Cemetery. To the east of plat “A,” and beyond the roadway in that direction, are' many fine tombs, mausoleums and monuments, which have been erected by the owners of the burial lots, in the memory and honor of the dead, whose remains occupy the lots. Much thought, care and labor have been expended, in the adornment and beautification of the burial lots and reserves in the cemetery, and the roadways have been laid out through the grounds with an eye to the promotion and preservation of their scenic beauty, and the entire cemetery, wherein about forty-eight thousand persons have been buried, is filled with beautiful trees and shrubs.

[207]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
189 S.W. 186, 172 Ky. 204, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carroll-v-cave-hill-cemetery-co-kyctapp-1916.