By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- By a 4-0 vote on Tuesday night the township board of trustees authorize the township attorney to proceed with filing action to clear thetitle on the Atlas Cemetery, and to budget no more than $10,000 for the process. Township Supervisor, Tere Onica was absent with notice.
The cemetery, located on a 1/4 acre tract of land just behind the now vacant Atlas Baptist Church, 6396 S. Gale Road, near the intersection of Gale and Perry roads in Atlas is, by default abandoned.

The township must now file action to clear the title in circuit court and receive an easement to access the cemetery.
Ownership of the Atlas Cemetery has been a question for many years.The township and the old Atlas Baptist Church were thought to have ownership of the cemetery. The church maintained the grounds and at a cost of about $5,000 per year the Atlas and Horton cemetery grounds were maintained by the township. Then in about 2015 a title search on Atlas Cemetery discovered that neither the township or the church had clear title or ownership to the cemetery. However, since that time area historian and local resident Dawn Bastian researched the Atlas Cemetery beyond the title search to establish ownership that the property has never left the Davison family.
Bastian discovered that, in 1837 the cemetery was listed as a public square, and owned by Norman Davison—a former New York State resident and War of 1812 veteran where he served as a lieutenant part of the Atchinson’s regiment, N.Y. Militia.
“He came to Michigan in 1831 and settled in the area northwest Atlas near Gale and Perry roads,” said Bastian.
On Feb. 13, 1837, Norman’s daughter—Sarah G. Mantor (Davison) died at the age of 29.
“He had no place to bury her,” said Bastian. “So he created the public square to bury his young daughter. They had to make a cemetery for her. Then over the years the cemetery remained only for his family and friends—later on part of the property, along Gale Road was donated for a school and a church.”
“Therefore, the church has never been part of the cemetery—although it boarders on the west side beind the church,” she said. “The cemetery property is still deeded to the Davison Family.”
The last known burial at the Atlas Cemetery was Gertrude Hide in 1937.
“Many of the headstones are missing,” added Bastian. “The headstones that remain and the wood markers are in pretty good condition, however the dates and names have worn off.”
Unique to the cemetery are the graves of Mary Hebbard, a direct descendant of William Bradford, Plymouth Colony and Oliver Palmer, son of Colonel John Palmer of the Continental Army are just two historical interments at the Atlas Cemetery.
“The historical Atlas Cemetery is an important cultural, genealogy and architectural resource to our community’s history,” she said. “The graves of our founding pioneers are worthy of our care and the cemetery can be established on the National Register of Historic Places.”
The Atlas Cemetery and others statewide that are without owners are under Act 113 (Chapter 128.61) of 1915. According to the Act, the township board of each township shall have the authority and it shall be its duty to cause all cemeteries within its township, except private cemeteries and cemeteries owned by cities and villages located in such township, to be property taken care of.
“It’s been 83 years since the last burial, it is now mostly abandon,” said Bastian. “No one can start or plan for the preservation of the historic Atlas Cemetery without an owner.”