Robert W. McCoy, president of council, who had served as the only superintendent of the North Graveyard since the post was established in 1834, resigned from council in July of 1853, at the age of sixty-six. He completed the current term as graveyard superintendent, however, and on April 10, 1854 he was re-elected to the position, the only non-member of council ever to serve in such capacity.³³ In 1855 he was replaced by John Noble.

On July 14, 1856 two petitions were presented to the council by councilman/superintendent Noble:

Mr. Noble presented the petitions of Jesse Hibbs & others and Samuel Brush & others for the prevention of interments in the Graveyard situated in the North east part of the City.³⁴

Though not so named in the council records, these petitions referred to the Catholic Cemetery at Washington and Mt. Vernon avenues. The petitioners³⁵ claimed that the decomposition of the dead affected the water and that the grounds were a great objection to the settlement of the neighborhood and the improvement of the adjoining lots. Interestingly, Samuel Brush was the same developer who had sold the site to the Catholic committee for the cemetery in 1846.³⁶ Council added a provision that the closing of the North Graveyard also be considered and referred the petition to a committee.

On July 21, the committee reported back the following proposed ordinance:

Sec. 1. Be it ordained and enacted by the City Council of Columbus, That it shall be unlawful to deposit or bury any dead person in any graveyard within the present corporate limits of said city, or in the enclosure commonly known as the North Graveyard.

Sec. 2. Any person or society of persons violating any provision of this ordinance, shall, on conviction thereof, before the Mayor, be fined the sum of twenty-five dollars and the costs of prosecution.

Sec. 3. This ordinance to be in force from and after the first day of November, 1856.³⁷

Council was so favorable to this ordinance that the rules requiring readings at subsequent meetings were suspended and it was passed immediately; three councilmen voted against the ordinance while all the others, inclucing the only Catholic on Council, Jacob Reinhard, voted in the affirmative.³⁸

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