The Remains of Colonel Francis M. Wynkoop.
The Remains of
Colonel Francis M. Wynkoop.

LOCAL AFFAIRS.

    Point to rightThe Remains of Colonel Francis M. Wynkoop.--In the Supreme Court, at Philadelphia, on Tuesday last, the case of Angeline C. Wynkoop vs. Anna McK. T. Wynkoop was argued on an appeal from the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County, and it involved a very interesting question as regards the rights of relatives in the disposition of the body of a deceased member of the family. The history of the case disclosed the following state of facts:--Col. Francis M. Wynkoop died suddenly, from an accidental gunshot wound, at his residence, at Valencia, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, on the 13th day of December, 1857. His body, very shortly after his decease, was removed to the residence of his brother-in-law, Thomas I. Atwood, at Pottsville, and from there buried in Mount Laurel Cemetery, in the borough of Pottsville, with military honors. Colonel Wynkoop had commanded a regiment during the Mexican war, composed in part of volunteer companies from Schuylkill county, and those whom he commanded, together with those with whom he served in Mexico, as far as practicable, attended his funeral and formed part of his military cort�ge. The blood relatives of the deceased were desirous that the funeral should take place in Pottsville, and the remains deposited in the lot of ground in the Mount Laurel Cemetery, owned by the mother of the deceased (Angeline Wynkoop). To this, the widow, Mrs. Anna McK. T. Wynkoop, yielded a reluctant ascent, with the understanding, as she claims, that the body might afterwards be removed to Laurel Hill Cemetery, at Philadelphia, but a portion of the relatives, however, whose ascent is thus claimed, controvert this allegation.--Mrs. Anna Wynkoop, the widow, some time after the burial, made arrangements for the removal of the body to Philadelphia, and this coming to the ears of Mrs. Angeline Wynkoop, the mother, she in writing, requested one of the wardens of Trinity Church, Pottsville, to forbid any trespass or opening of the ground, in any way, in her lot in Mt. Laurel Cemetery, without the written order of her daughter, Mrs. Atwood, or her son, John E. Wynkoop, until further notice, &c. In consequence of this order the keys of the Cemetery were refused to the undertaker employed by Mrs. Anna Wynkoop. The widow then, on the 30th of November, 1858, filed her bill of complaint, setting forth the desire expressed by Col. Wynkoop, in his lifetime, to be buried, after death, at Laurel Hill Cemetery, near the monument there erected to the memory of Mrs. Wynkoop's father, Major Twiggs; that she consented to his burial at Pottsville only after earnest solicitations by her husband's relatives, and after solemn assurance from the relatives that she should be permitted to remove the remains to Philadelphia, whenever she pleased to do so. In the bill she asserts that, as widow and administratrix, she has the legal right to remove the remains to Laurel Hill Cemetery, and an injunction was prayed to prevent the defendants (Mrs. Angeline Wynkoop and others) from interfering with the complainant in the removal of the body.
    The answer to this bill of complaint, filed in the Common Pleas, at Schuylkill county, among other things, denied that Col. Wynkoop had ever expressed a wish to be buried at Laurel Hill; on the contrary, so early as the year 1847, the following passage was written by him on the fly leaf of his bible, when he was in command of his regiment in Mexico, and just before he was to set forth upon a duty which was regarded by the army as extremely hazardous:

    "MOUNTAIN PASS, forty miles from Vera Cruz, Monday Evening, April 12th, in my tent, at Camp.
    "Santa Anna is within forty miles, with 15,000 troops. I go to reconnoitre to-morrow. I may fall there, and most probably will on the next day. I care but little where my bones lie, but have an idle fancy which looks beyond dissolution, and points out a green spot in the cemetery at Pottsville, where those I love might raise a simple stone, and visit it occasionally. It is a silly thought, but it is written here because I like the recollections it brings forth. I remember dear Anna's verses: 'Let Neddy plant the Willow, &c.'"

    It was further alleged that the deceased had frequently expressed a desire to be buried by his regiment at Pottsville. The answer further set up that as Mrs. Angelina is the owner of the burial lot in Mt. Laurel Cemetery, she has the absolute and unqualified right to control the removal of the remains deposited therein, and to prevent the lot from being invaded or disturbed in any way.
    With these different allegations before the Court, the Common Pleas at Schuylkill County, granted the injunction asked for by the widow, and this decree of the Court was brought to the Supreme Court for revision. The case was fully argued on Tuesday, by F. W. Hughes, Esq., for Appellant, and by Benj. W. Cumming, Esq., for Appellee. It was argued on behalf of the mother of the deceased, that unless the widow could show, after the burial, she has property or right in the mortal remains of her deceased husband, she cannot enter upon the admitted right of burial and right to protect inviolate the graves made under that right, vested in the mother of the deceased. Blackstone holds: "But though the heir has a property in the monuments and escutcheons of his ancestors, yet he has none in their bodies or ashes, nor can he bring any civil action against such, or indecently, at least, if not impiously, violate and disturb their remains, when dead and buried."
    On behalf of the widow, it was urged that the claimant as administratrix, has a legal right to remove the remains of the deceased. The right is derived from the duty of burial. The equitable right belongs to her as the widow of the deceased. Husband and wife while living are regarded as one person in law. She is therefore, more than next of kin. The rights and duty were imposed on her by the wishes of her deceased husband expressed in his lifetime. The right was conceded to her by all the parties to this suit who are now estopped by their agreement. In regard to the wish of the deceased, expressed on the leaf of the Bible, the fact was referred to that this was written when he was an unmarried man, and no weight was attached to it. Decision was reserved.


Source:

Unknown, "Local Affairs, The Remains of Colonel Francis M. Wynkoop," The Miners' Journal and Pottsville General Advertiser, Pottsville, Pa., Saturday, 1 March 1862, page 2, col. 4.


Notes:

    The "Anna," whose verses Frank referred to, in the above noted inscription in his bible, was his sister, Anna Maria Wynkoop, and not his wife, Anna McKnight Decatur Twiggs, whom he did not marry until 1850, and presumably only met after the Mexican War was over. The writing of verses seems to have been something Frank shared in common with his father and sister. The "Neddy" mentioned in the verse is probably their youngest brother, Edward Wanshaer Wynkoop, commonly known to his friends as Ned. He would have been 11 years old in 1847.

    Chris

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