A documented family gravesite on the Tashmoo Overlook that dates from the end of the 18th century has been disturbed, and a Tisbury man is facing charges of destroying or defacing a grave. Tisbury Police were alerted to damage at the gravesite by Tisbury DPW director Kirk Metell.
When Police Chief Mark Saloio arrived on scene on June 16 with Sgt. Max Sherman, they found a makeshift camp and evidence of destruction.
“Upon arrival,” a police report states, “there was a mirror, a golf club, a folding beach chair, a backpack, some shovels, rakes, a jug of water, and a Ziploc bag full of what looked like cheese with the label ‘parm’ on it. You could also see that trees and limbs had been freshly cut, and appeared to have been used to make a fire near the tree line of the gravesite. The headstone belonging to Seth M. Daggett was also dug up, and placed against one of the trees.”
Metell told police he saw MacAleer Schilcher at the gravesite the day before, and he received a gravestone image from Schilcher the same day, the report states. Metell noted Schilcher “was talking about this burial site at town meeting …”
According to the police report, Schilcher is being charged with destroying or defacing a grave. He was not arrested.
Among those interred at the site are Elizabeth and Seth Daggett, ancestors of the Packer family. Members of that family said they were upset at what was done to the gravesite. “I’m named after Elizabeth Daggett,” Liz Packer said. “It was upsetting.”
Packer said she spent a lot of time in the area as a child, and would pay her respects to the graves from time to time. “This guy maybe thought [this] was doing the right thing,” she said. “It’s not.”
Her brother, John Packer, said, “I have faith in Randy Jardin to put things back the way they should be.”
Jardin, a burial site expert for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), is named in police reports as an official consulted on the matter.
Ralph Packer, father of John and Liz, described Seth Daggett as a “landsman,” both farmer and fisherman, and also a husband and father.
Packer said he spoke with Schilcher over the telephone, but still can’t put his finger on why the site was meddled with. “What’s the reason? We don’t know,” he said. “We should respect the burial grounds of people.”
He said he hopes restrictive covenants are placed on the area to hedge against something like this ever happening again, and to prevent the land from being transferred.
Reached by The Times by phone on Wednesday, Schilcher did not answer questions posed to him about the incident.
Schilcher made repeated references to a gravesite at Tashmoo during Tisbury’s annual town meeting, in what appeared to be an effort to draw attention to its historic significance. He has also posted images of the gravesite on Facebook.
Sherman spoke with Schilcher later on June 16, after Schilcher called about the whereabouts of his belongings at the gravesite.
“We discussed why he cut down the trees, dug up a headstone, dug up the earth, and had a fire there,” the report states. Schilcher stated it was his ancestors that were buried there, and since the town was not maintaining it, he felt he needed to restore it to how it was originally. I informed him that he destroyed town property (trees) and dug up a gravestone. He insisted that the headstone was purely ‘decorative,’ and there weren’t actual bodies under it. I told him I would look into that aspect of his complaint, but then asked why he felt he could destroy another’s property, Schilcher stated that he lives by colonial law and that he is allowed to cut down trees in the woods and take what he wants out of the ocean …”
Sherman inquired if he felt free to take from the sea, why does he then have “an active shellfishing permit,” the report states. Schilcher “had no answer.”
On the evening of June 16, Sgt. Jeff Day was on routine patrol when he encountered the aroma of woodsmoke near the Tashmoo Waterworks, a supplemental report states.
Day called in Officer Edward St. Pierre for backup, and the two, upon exploration, discovered a man inside a copse of trees who identified himself as Schilcher, the report states.
“As we got closer, I saw that he had a campfire burning inside a metal box,” the report states. “He was cooking meat over the fire. There were freshly cut pieces of wood and a wood-cutting handsaw laying on the ground. I noticed several headstones inside the campsite. There also appeared to be unmarked headstones and footstones recently unearthed. These are commonly found in post-European-contact-period Native American gravesites. He was camped amongst these burials. The ground in a 15-foot-wide area had been disturbed. He had ropes marking the perimeter of the graveyard off. I told him that he cannot have an open fire here on town property. He told me that it was legal as long as he was cooking food, and it was contained. He told me that he even had a fire extinguisher. He motioned to a large 32-oz. or larger drink container.”
The report indicates Day called the fire chief to see if a fire was permissible and learned it wasn’t. However, Schilcher refused to put the fire out upon being informed he wasn’t allowed to have one burning.
“He began to read me sections of the Town Charter, from a 1906 book he had, to prove that he could by law have a campfire,” the report states.
Schilcher was described as “uncooperative” and “unreasonable,” and “trying to provoke a confrontation.”
Day recommended the incident be reported to the state’s historic preservation officer.
On June 18, Sherman noted in a supplemental report Schilcher posted on Facebook that the gravesite might be the first site in the Americas where colonists were buried with native inhabitants. It was noted this seemed contradictory to Schilcher’s argument the headstone was decorative and didn’t have the dead beneath it.
The entry goes on to allege Schilcher reburied a headstone in a different spot at the gravesite.
On June 20, the DPW posted a sign that said the site was closed and under construction. State and Wampanoag officials told police the gravesite was of archeological, historic, and cultural importance, and is also classified as a public cemetery.
Tisbury select board member Jim Rogers said Wednesday more awareness of the gravesite would be desirable. Rogers described the area as previously “overgrown.” He said he hopes folks could visit the site in the future, but “not touch it, not disturb it.”
Sounds like VH police had an axe to grind against this young man. I’m just going on a whim, but I’d be interested in MVTimes looking into this further to see if there are any personal vendettas or alternative motives going on behind the scenes. Mac doesn’t sound like the type of person that would knowingly break the law… couldn’t they have just given him a warning? Would like to know if there is a pattern of them harassing this gentleman.
Loyalty is an admirable quality, but don’t be ridiculous.
It was obvious from the fellow’s somewhat crazed comments at Town Meeting that he had a strange obsession with this site. It is really a shame that a loyal friend did not notice his obsession and take steps to restrain him from his time-flight to Colonial days with the intention of rearranging and “saving” ancient graves and markers. The place is now a mess.
This is what “defunding” the police is about. I don’t know what the story is behind this particular man’s behavior, but imagine if there was town funding where someone with training could go talk to this person to figure out what was going on, BEFORE the damage was done. If it is a mental health issue, there should be someone to call before Jeff Day shows up. Even regular “wellness checks” have to involve the police when a family member is concerned over a loved one. I’m sorry to read the site was damaged. I agree this is a shame and someone could have stepped in well before it came to this, but really, how do you get someone help without involving the police? Not a political question, but a serious issue.
Defunding police is not advocating to do away with police departments. We need the police! Defunding is the suggestion to use some of the tax money that funds police departments in other areas that don’t really require armed intervention, like social workers who are more professionally equipped than police for things like wellness checks.
Jackie, a serious question and a good one. Truth is what the professionals know you can not tell , especially on a social media site due to laws that protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. I would say that the training the police receive addresses this and I think Officer Day did an exemplary job like this article wrote about. https://www.mvtimes.com/2019/08/10/police-use-taser-knife-wielding-man/ People in the comments there praised him but now they want to tear him down? (not you Jackie) but I think it’s the time we’re living in. We don’t know the facts because we were not there and I would encourage you to call the police chiefs in your town to speak with them to see what they do in cases like this. Education is key for commenters to have before they start telling everyone what “should” have been done. It most likely was done.
Well there is something we can agree on, well stated.
I don’t condone burial sites being damaged by any means, this is just a really bizarre report and I am sure there is more to this story.
I suppose the VHPD could have just as well taken his keys and driven him home.
What ?
Seth Daggett died of small pox, which I recently read about. He volunteered to test a vaccine. The testing was done in a hospital, (near the present one), the house which is under renovation in the curve, OB side, before the MV Hospital entrance. The character of a man, who would test a vaccine with risk of death, so that others might be protected, is exemplary.
‘parm’
It is well appreciated to see such a robust response from law enforcement regarding this grave desecration. I don’t often compliment them, as you well know.
Also to see the other sectors of our community work to protect this history.
I worked for a time grounds keeping at Abel’s Hill Cemetery and I still cannot forget the shocking damage to very old colonial grave markers. Take a trip there anytime, and the damage is plain to see.
Negligence on the part of Chilmark BOS and Cemetery Commission, refusing to provide meaningful oversight, allowed this to continue for too long.
There were situations of a very wide riding lawnmower racing through narrow lanes of colonial grave markers, shearing some off to the ground.
As if that destruction were not bad enough, then the markers lay where they were smashed, slowly crumbling and overgrown with vegetation.
Personally, I don’t think the BOS cared about the place, remembering it only when a burial was taken place.
You can always count on unceasing efforts to maintain Belushi’s marker, but good luck to our colonial burial area.
The Facebook page “Abel’s Hill Cemetery” documents much of this effort to preserve our island history.
Oh, my goodness, I am absolutely smitten with sadness that this type of nefarious activity should be happening, i do not know, nor will I ever understand, the impulse to destruction in many people. Destroying what? Tearing down what? Is it envy? Is it the desire to destroy?
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