When Dolores Prout returned to her home state of Rhode Island in 1984, she decided to research her roots. But when she discovered the grave of her great-grandfather, the late Captain Antone Coelho, was beneath a dirt road, Prout realized research wasn’t enough.

More than two decades later, she’s now determined to honor his memory.

“My great-grandfather was an honorable and well-respected man for all he had done, and now he is buried, perhaps in the most disrespectful way, under a dirt road,” she said.

Captain Coelho was born in Cape Verde in 1842, but is a fixture in Rhode Island history. After purchasing a vessel, the Nellie May, he provided transportation between Cape Verde and America through the Packet Trade. Packet ships were considered a lifeline between immigrants and those left on the Cape Verdean islands.

“He was a man of vision considering what was happening at that time with people of color,” said Prout. “He not only became a liaison for those who came here feeling lost and frightened being in unfamiliar land, but he devoted much of his time to the Cape Verdean community.”

His legacy has been on display at the Rhode Island Children’s Museum, and in 2006, Coelho was entered into the Cape Verdean Hall of Fame.

Toward the end of the 19th century, however, Coelho’s plans hit a snag when the Nellie May was beached and put on auction by his captain. Although Coelho appealed to the State Department in Washington, D.C., and wrote to Presidents Cleveland and McKinley, he was unsuccessful in his efforts to regain rights of Nellie May. According to his Hall of Fame entry, this correspondence lasted for 23 years, until 1915, with no results.

From there, the tribute goes on to explain how Coelho continued to devote his time to fellow Cape Verdeans, helping them to locate housing and employment.

“He served as an interpreter during naturalization procedures and other official functions. He had political connections with then R.I. Governor Norman S. Case and worked with a few lawyers,” the program reads.

Despite her great-grandfather’s advocacy work and former success, Prout discovered that Coelho ended up in the old State Institutions/Alms House in Cranston, alone up to his death, in 1941. He had been in the poor house for three months.

When Prout learned of his unfortunate end, she became even more determined to find his gravesite. After reading about bodies being washed out at the old State Farm Cemetery several years ago, she contacted Michael Hebert, the supervising historic preservation specialist and archaeologist for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

“She thought that her grandfather might be one of the individuals to be reburied. He was not among them,” Hebert recalled.

Delving deeper into the case, Hebert found a copy of Coelho’s death certificate at the State Archives that listed his resting place as grave number #1773 in the Historical Knight Cemetery off Pontiac Avenue. The historic cemetery is located in both Warwick and Cranston and is under the domain of the Pawtuxet River Authority (PRA).

Hebert says the 577 individuals buried there were removed from their original location in June of 1975 due to development and hastily reburied in a mass grave at the Historical Knight Cemetery.

When Hebert met Prout and her husband George at the site, he saw firsthand how important his research was to Prout.

“That’s when she became very upset and vowed to do something about the lack of respect for the reburial area,” the archaeologist said.

Prout soon spoke with Rita L. Holahan, vice chair and Cranston representative to the Pawtuxet River Authority.

“I spoke with Mrs. Prout and we are happy to work with her to recognize her great-grandfather at the cemetery,” said Holahan. “Because no one knows the exact location of his burial, we will assist her in finding an appropriate placement for a family marker similar to those situated by the RIDOT when they rededicated the cemetery last July.”

Holahan was referring to last year’s ceremony honoring those individuals from the former State Institution, whose burial remains had been disturbed and re-interred into Historical Knight Cemetery.

“I remember that day clearly,” said Prout. “I heard someone sing, ‘Please Keep My Grave Clean’ at that memorial and I cried.”

That, Prout said, is what she wants for her ancestor.

“That is all I am asking for; some respect for my great-grandfather’s burial site and recognition for all he has done for the Cape Verdean community and Rhode Island history,” she said.

Already, Holahan has said the PRA will do what it can to minimize vehicular access to the cemetery. Currently, cemetery maintenance personnel and public utility workers use the dirt road under which Coelho is buried.

“The PRA has begun developing this property as the ‘Howard Conservation Area,’ having completed a public access canoe launch in June 2009,” said Holahan. “We are now planning a system of walking trails along the river. As the trails are developed, directional signage will help ensure that visitors remain on designated footpaths and are respectful of the entire cemetery boundary.”

Although Prout remembers little about her great-grandfather, as he passed away when she was only 5 years old, she holds on to the vivid image she has of him sitting by an open window and smoking his pipe.

He always wore his Captain’s hat and Prout drew a Captain’s hat on the only photograph remaining of him.

“That is how I remember him,” said Prout.