Emancipation committee hosts reinterment of remains of historic Anna Heegaard

Anna Heegaard is at a final resting place, thanks to the family of H.C. Ruparelia.

Late last month, the 175th Emancipation Commemoration Committee, chaired by Carol Burke, a descendant of Heegaard, hosted a transfer and reinterment of her Heegaard’s remains. Ruparelia, owner of Innovative Asset Group, and whose late wife was of Danish descent, donated the burial ground to the V.I. government.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ State Historic Preservation Office and St. Croix Friends of Denmark Society also played pivotal roles in the effort, according to a released statement.

Heegaard, born on St. Croix on Jan. 25, 1790, was of mixed race and is believed to have influenced Danish Governor-General Peter von Scholten, who on July 3, 1848, emancipated slaves on St. Croix. Heegaard and von Scholten are said to have been having a relationship for at least two decades, and she is credited with improving conditions for the enslaved residents of the then-Danish West Indies.