Officials with Metro's cemeteries program say they are close to releasing another list of 450 names of owners of vacant and possibly unclaimed graves, another step in the process to resolve their ownership for good.
So far, Metro has released 100 names of owners of unclaimed graves, most of which were purchased in the 19th century. One person has started the process of trying to claim ownership of a gravesite.
Nearly 30 people have checked with Metro about its efforts to resolve ownership of unclaimed graves. Many, said Metro Parks and Environmental Services Department director Paul Slyman, "simply wanted reassurance that Metro would honor their existing interment rights."
About 2,000 empty graves at Metro's 14 cemeteries have outstanding ownership claims dating back more than 75 years, and a recently-revamped procedure in state law is guiding Metro staff as representatives try to declare those graves abandoned.
Oregon law requires that Metro advertise a list of names of owners of unclaimed spaces in a newspaper for four straight weeks – after Metro sends certified letters to the last known address of the graves' owner.
That means trying to track down the last known address of Samuel Sherlock, for example. Sherlock bought three graves in 1865, and Metro, if it can find his address, has to mail him a certified letter.
To wrap up the effort, Slyman is asking the Metro Council for an additional $73,890 to pay for a staff member to finish the work this fiscal year. The council is scheduled to vote on the proposed budget amendment next week.
The work to finally clarify the ownership of the unclaimed graves serves several purposes, Slyman said.
"One, it minimizes the risk of reselling things again," Slyman said, referencing poor record keeping that led to owned graves that were re-sold before this process was put into place. "And two, it makes any of this inventory available to the community that might want to be buried in our cemeteries."
At the end of the day, though, it's about trying to get people their property back, Slyman said.
"If someone is owed a burial space, we want to make sure they get that," he said.