Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Roanoke antique dealer Rick Long bought a marker bearing Martel LeSeur's name from a group of construction workers in 1971.

For more than three decades, Rick Long and Martel LeSueur have shared an unconventional link.

Long, 60, is a Roanoke antique dealer.

LeSueur was a Huguenot Revolutionary War veteran from Franklin County who died in 1843.

Observant visitors to Long's shops over the years, however, might be vaguely familiar with the Colonial-era soldier -- Long owns and displays a headstone that bears LeSueur's name and his dates of birth and death.

He has had it for years, but his possession of it has recently become a point of contention with LeSueur's descendants and a local historical society. Long says he bought it legally and has taken care of it; the family argues that he's not entitled to the stone and should give it to them.

According to Long, he bought the marker from a group of construction workers on Williamson Road in 1971. Long said the men, who were carrying the stone on the back of their truck, told him they found it under the floorboards of an old house near Richmond.

It was an interesting item, Long thought, so a deal was quickly struck and he took it home with him.

The marker, 42 inches high and about a foot across, weighs between 300 and 400 pounds and seems to be a type of upright headstone manufactured after the Civil War but prior to World War I.

"It's been in seven businesses and service stations," said Long, who now operates Finder's Antiques and Collectibles on Williamson Road. "I've had all kinds of people look at it. There's never been a problem with it."

Last year, he began to receive inquiries about the marker from distant relatives of LeSueur, including Pete Hamilton.

Hamilton, a retired chemical engineer from Rockbridge County, is a fifth-generation descendant of LeSueur's brother. Last year, he said, someone from the Huguenot Society visited Long's shop and saw the stone. "What Mr. Long told us at the time was, 'This is not for sale. I really like it. I'm never going to sell it.' So the family did not get upset."

But last spring, facing health problems, Long and his wife, Diane, decided to get out of the antique business and put his entire inventory up for auction.

Long contacted Hamilton in early June and told him the headstone would be available for sale after all. Hamilton e-mailed other relatives, who he said decided against purchasing the object. When Hamilton got back in touch with Long, he learned the issue was moot anyway: The headstone was already under contract to the auctioneer, and Long believed it would fetch $500 to $1,000 at auction.

The impending sale prompted LeSueur's descendants, and the Franklin County Historical Society, to ask Long to turn the headstone over to the family.

It also touched off a debate about Long's claim to the stone and the legality of selling such an object.

Virginia Code 18.2-511 prohibits the sale of a military grave marker unless, among other stipulations, it's offered for sale prior to its installation or dedication. But because the exact location of LeSueur's grave is unknown, it's hard to verify whether the stone ever marked a plot.

Linda Stanley, special projects coordinator for the historical society, believes LeSueur is buried somewhere in the Prillaman-Turner Cemetery, about 15 miles outside Rocky Mount.

That cemetery, Stanley said, borders LeSueur's original 132 acres and also holds the graves of some of his neighbors and relatives. While there's not a marker for his wife, there are unmarked graves that Stanley is investigating.

Jim Self, a fourth-generation descendent of LeSueur's, said he has a witness statement that shows that LeSueur's widow and grandson and a Franklin County neighbor were present at the burial of LeSueur. The document does not name the location of the grave, but it was signed in Franklin County seven months after the funeral.

There's also some debate over whether the stone has ever been in the ground at all. There are mud stains near its base, but Long said the discoloration occurred when he was between store locations and the stone sat under a tree.

"We believe the bottom of the stone clearly shows that it was once in the ground," said Stanley. "I have a suspicion that a forensic scientist could find bits of Franklin County red clay there."

"I hope they do test it," Long said. "That's not Franklin County dirt. It's Williamson Road dirt."

Long has also said he believes the stone might be a duplicate or a reject that was never used. But he has offered to turn the headstone over to the family if they can prove the location of the grave.

"It's a shame that the family is so interested but have no idea where he's buried," he remarked.

Burnt Chimney Auction Gallery, the company handling the sale, decided to drop the headstone from the auction.

"We knew according to every indication it was legal and still is," said Whitman Sink, the auction gallery's owner. "But since the family and the organizations and the societies were talking about it, we figured we'd just get out of the way."

Although the stone is no longer on the market, LeSueur's descendents still think Long should turn it over to them or to the historical society.

"He offered to sell it," Hamilton said. "To put a price on it is to demean it."

Self said purchasing it is out of the question and that he would pay "not a dime. Because I'm almost positive it's under government property and we'd be party to the same thing he's doing."

They believe it's unlikely that the construction workers found the marker in LeSueur's birthplace of Manakin, because he was a Franklin County landowner when he died. Even Long concedes it's possible the construction crew lied about where they found it and simply read "Manakintowne" off the stone's inscription.

"Why should we buy something that doesn't belong to him?" Self asked.

Were Long to relinquish the headstone he bought 30 years ago, Self said, "We would thank him."

Stanley continues to explore the legal aspects of the case and has been in touch with the U.S. Attorney's office.

Jo Schuda, a public affairs specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said records about the stone may exist.

"In order for us to render any decision, we would have to verify it was a government headstone," Schuda said. "If we see what's inscribed on it, we can look up where it was set.

"They do have some records, but it's hard to know if they'll still have this one."

If the debate is resolved and the society receives the stone, Stanley said they would conduct a marker ceremony in the Prillaman-Turner Cemetery.

Long said that, if satisfied with the evidence, he'd go along with that plan.

"I'll deliver it to Franklin County myself," he said. "Because it'll have to be planted there."