WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Future of mysterious tombstone is unclear

Future of mysterious tombstone is unclear

Martel LeSueur was one of the first Huguenot settlers back in the 1700s.  He lived part of his life in Manakin Towne, an early settlement near Richmond. 

It is believed he was buried in Franklin County.

You can currently find his tombstone inside Finder's Antiques & Collectables in Roanoke.

While part of the stone's history is clear, much of it remains a mystery.

Rick Long from the antique store says he got the stone from men working on an urban renewal project in Manakin Towne.

They located the stone underneath a house.  How it got to Manakin Towne, however, remains a mystery.

"When I got it, it didn't have any stains on it," says Long.  "It was just like they had cut and laid it back... It appeared it had never been planted at all, or never set up."

But Pete Hamilton, a family spokesman, disagrees.  He says the photographs show the stone has been on a grave for many years.

The tombstone is scheduled to be auctioned at the antique store on Williamson Road next weekend.  However, the auction may not even take place.  The two sides still have time to come together to determine the fate of Martel LeSueur's headstone.

LeSueur's relatives say they just don't want it to end up the wrong the hands.

"He earned that stone by virtue of his service, regardless of how he paid for it," says Hamilton.  "It should not be sold as a trinket at an auction... That is disrespectful."

Rick Long says it would be all right to give the tombstone back to LeSueur's family members if they can prove it really belongs to them.