By 1839, there was a growing desire to change the way Green-Wood was run. There was an increasing dissatisfaction with the present “joint-stock” model of running the cemetery among the leaders of the cemetery company, as this inherent incentive for profit was believed by these leaders to be in conflict with the “philanthropic” nature of the mission of Green-Wood (Richman, ed., 2013, page 20). Thus, these leaders petitioned the New York State Legislature to amend its charter to change how the cemetery’s organizational structure (Richman, ed., 2013, page 20). Hopefully, an amended charter would reflect the benevolent image that Green-Wood’s leaders wanted to project to the public. The end result was the transformation of the identity of Green-Wood from a joint-stock corporation was a profit motive to a more public-spirited non-profit trust run by a Board of Trustees.
Item #23: A Draft Proposal to the New York State Legislature, 1839
This Memorial (a summary of the Committee from Greenwood Cemetery, including Henry E. Pierrepont, that addressed the State Legislature) to the New York State Legislature recounts the argument that the Directors of the Green-Wood Cemetery gave for justifying their desire to change the identity of the group running the cemetery from a for-profit to a non-profit entity. They argue that they originally thought a joint-stock company was the only way to make this venture feasible, but they see this now as an error, and they want to change the Green-Wood Cemetery into an “incorporated trust” (and their stockholders are willing to relinquish their shares in order to do this). In addition, they strongly emphasize that the cemetery will exclude the for-profit mentality entirely from the way it is run, and asks the Legislature to grant them the same powers to maintain their cemetery as have been granted to other similar institutions, and to make the cemetery tax-exempt. This document is important for two reasons. First, the Memorial itself documents the argument of the speech that the Committee from Green-Wood presented to the Legislature, showing evidence of their views on changing Green-Wood to a non-profit entity. Second, the document shows that the leaders of the Green-Wood Cemetery also wanted to maintain their tax-exempt status and have the same powers granted to other cemetery associations.
This Memorial (a summary of the Committee from Greenwood Cemetery, including Henry E. Pierrepont, that addressed the State Legislature) to the New York State Legislature recounts the argument that the Directors of the Green-Wood Cemetery gave for justifying their desire to change the identity of the group running the cemetery from a for-profit to a non-profit entity. They argue that they originally thought a joint-stock company was the only way to make this venture feasible, but they see this now as an error, and they want to change the Green-Wood Cemetery into an “incorporated trust” (and their stockholders are willing to relinquish their shares in order to do this). In addition, they strongly emphasize that the cemetery will exclude the for-profit mentality entirely from the way it is run, and asks the Legislature to grant them the same powers to maintain their cemetery as have been granted to other similar institutions, and to make the cemetery tax-exempt. This document is important for two reasons. First, the Memorial itself documents the argument of the speech that the Committee from Green-Wood presented to the Legislature, showing evidence of their views on changing Green-Wood to a non-profit entity. Second, the document shows that the leaders of the Green-Wood Cemetery also wanted to maintain their tax-exempt status and have the same powers granted to other cemetery associations.
Printed transcription of Item #23 (Cleaveland, 1866, pages 176-178):