#Auman’s Funeral Home

[frimleyblogger]

Corpse Of The Week (2)

Mummified #corpse is finally laid to rest after 128 years on display in #Reading in #Pennsylvania

It was a red letter day in Reading, Pennsylvania on October 7th when Stoneman Willie was finally laid to rest. He gave a false name when he was arrested for pickpocketing in 1895, and died from kidney failure while languishing in the local jail. Accidentally mummified by an undertaker who was experimenting with new embalming techniques, he has been prominently displayed in an open coffin in the…

[jingszo]

Pennsylvania mummy 'Stoneman Willie' to receive proper burial after 128 years

A mummified man known as Stoneman Willie will receive a proper burial after being on display at a funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania, for 128 years.

The unidentified man was an alcoholic who died of kidney failure in a local jail on Nov. 19, 1895. He was accidentally mummified by a mortician experimenting with new embalming techniques, according to Auman's Funeral Home.

Dressed in a suit with a bow tie, the gaunt man is displayed in a coffin with a red sash across his chest. His hair and teeth remain intact, and his skin has taken on a leathery appearance.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pennsylvania-mummy-stoneman-willie-receive-proper-burial-after-128-years-2023-10-02/

[bishop389540]

The mystery of the Stoneman Willie mummy, who will be buried after 128 years: the story of the man with no name

For over a century, one of the oldest mummies in the United States has found its home in the small town of Reading, Pennsylvania, at the Auman Funeral Home. This long period of exposure now comes to an end, as he prepares to give her a proper farewell and burial. This mummy was nicknamed “Stoneman Willie” by local residents. Stoneman Willie’s story dates back to November 19, 1895, when he died of…

[vbartilucci]

The Theo C. Auman Funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania had a long term tenant named "Stoneman Willie". Willie has been under the care of the home since November 21, 1898.

.Willie (real name James Murphy) was arrested in 1898 for burglary and drunken mischief. He was imprisoned where he soon died of alcohol withdrawal. He provided police with the fake name James Penn. Funeral home owner Theo C. Auman was experimenting with new embalming techniques at the time. Auman hoped to preserve the body long enough for a next-of-kin to be identified and notified. The technique ended up mummifying the body completely. No next-of-kin was ever found and Willie's body has been in care of the funeral home for 128 years. He was given the nickname Stoneman Willie.

.Decades of research have recently identified Willie as one James Murphy of New York.

This week was his last public viewing. Afterwards, he was given a funerary procession, buried and given a tombstone bearing his name.

via Justin Fornal (AKA Baron Ambrosia) on FB.

[andronetalks]

Pennsylvania mummy known as 'Stoneman Willie' identified after 128 years of mystery

ABC 6 Action News – Philadelphia By Ivan Pereira Thursday, October 5, 2023 6:06PM READING, Pennsylvania — More than 128 years after he died in a Reading, Pennsylvania, jail, a man who was accidentally mummified and left at a funeral home without any identification will finally get his long-awaited burial. Officials at Auman’s Funeral Home, the Reading funeral home that has displayed what is known…

[blogynews]

"The Enigmatic Tale of Stoneman Willie: Unveiling the Secrets of a 128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy"

128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy ‘Stoneman Willie’ To Be Laid To Rest In a Pennsylvania jail on November 19, 1895, a man known to locals as ‘Stoneman Willie’ passed away due to kidney failure. This petty thief inadvertently became the subject of an experimental embalming technique by a curious mortician. As a result, he was mummified and has since been displayed at Auman’s Funeral Home in the…

[blogynewz]

"The Enigmatic Tale of Stoneman Willie: Unveiling the Secrets of a 128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy"

128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy ‘Stoneman Willie’ To Be Laid To Rest In a Pennsylvania jail on November 19, 1895, a man known to locals as ‘Stoneman Willie’ passed away due to kidney failure. This petty thief inadvertently became the subject of an experimental embalming technique by a curious mortician. As a result, he was mummified and has since been displayed at Auman’s Funeral Home in the…

[blogynewsz]

"The Enigmatic Tale of Stoneman Willie: Unveiling the Secrets of a 128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy"

128-Year-Old Pennsylvania Mummy ‘Stoneman Willie’ To Be Laid To Rest In a Pennsylvania jail on November 19, 1895, a man known to locals as ‘Stoneman Willie’ passed away due to kidney failure. This petty thief inadvertently became the subject of an experimental embalming technique by a curious mortician. As a result, he was mummified and has since been displayed at Auman’s Funeral Home in the…

[recentlyheardcom]

By Kia JohnsonREADING, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A mummified man known as Stoneman Willie will receive a proper burial after being on display at a funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania, for 128 years.The unidentified man was an alcoholic who died of kidney failure in a local jail on Nov. 19, 1895. He was accidentally mummified by a mortician experimenting with new embalming techniques, according to Auman's Funeral Home.Dressed in a suit with a bow tie, the gaunt man is displayed in a coffin with a red sash across his chest. His hair and teeth remain intact, and his skin has taken on a leathery appearance.Because the man gave a fake name when arrested for picking pockets, Stoneman Willie's identity was unknown for many years and local officials were unable to locate relatives.The funeral home had petitioned the state for permission to keep the body instead of burying it to monitor the experimental embalming process.But Auman's Funeral Home says it has now identified Stoneman Willie using historical documents and will reveal his name later this week when they lay the body to rest. Until now, not much was known about him beyond his Irish roots."We don't refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie," said Kyle Blankenbiller, funeral director. "He has just been become such an icon, such a storied part of not only Reading's past but certainly its present."Ahead of the funeral, the city of Reading will memorialize the man who has been part of the city's folklore for generations.On Sunday, local residents filed onto the streets to celebrate Reading's 275th anniversary with a colorful parade that included a motorcycle hearse carrying Willie's casket.All this week, Willie will be on display at Auman's Funeral Home. On Saturday, he will make his final journey through the streets of Reading and will be buried at a local cemetery, where his real name will finally be inscribed on his tombstone.(Reporting by Kia Johnson; Writing by Arlene Eiras; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

[beaglesarebad]

Stone Man Willy -Reading Pa

When i was a kid my Dad, and maybe my Mom and I am sure Doc (my grandmom's boyfriend who drove a Corvair) always alluded to some guy named Stone Man Willie. He as rumored to be in the bottom of the Court House in the middle of Reading Pennsylvania.

The Expanding past: As stories sink into the past they simply get bigger and bigger.

Well when we were kids we were told a story about some guy who turned to Stone when the embalming process took a drastically wrong turn. This guy was rumored to be made of stone and he was housed somewhere in Reading Pennsylvania.

Well I was always a little intrigued and to be quite honest a little bit afraid to actually view this monster that no way in this world was going to ever exist. Also as I got older I realized my Dad told crazy stories that had very little truth to them and my Mom somehow believed them and passed them on to us.

Amongst other great big alternative facts

If you can see the back of the leaves it is going rain. (My Mom)

Cows stand up when it is going to rain. (Grandfather Hoover)

Apples give you Carly Marbles. (GrandMother Hoover)

Swimming Lions will bite you when you go over a bridge. (I made that up and Zach passed it on)

Well I lived my entire life thinking Stone Man Willy was a fabrication of Dad's.

Well I hijacked this story from the internets...

STONE (MAN) WILLIE Stone (Man) Willie In the year of 1895, a body of a man was taken to the Auman Funeral Home in Reading, Pa. He died in the old prison that stood in Penn's Common which is now our City Park. Theodore C. Auman was intrigued with the possibilities of preserving the dead, other than placing them on a block of ice. He had found in an old German medical book a chemical formula for preserving meat. Until now, he had no means of experimenting. He seeked permission from state and local authorities to use the unclaimed body. In his first attempt, he used too much formula and the body became mummified. The identify of Stone (Man) Willie has to this day remained anonymous. He was thought to be Michael Phohonski, a man who hanged himself in the same prison. Pietro Buccieri, a man who killed a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in 1892. James Murphy from Wilkes-Barre, James Maypenny from Philadelphia, plus many more. When he was arrested Oct. 7, in West Reading, Pa, for burglarizing the Morris Brown Boardinghouse. He gave the name James Penn, admitting it wasn't his real name. To this day, no one knows where the name Stone (Man) Willie came from. The only time I saw Stone (Man) Willie was in 1972. He was in a lower part of the funeral home. He laid on a cot. There had been many myths about the dead man which were dispelled. His hair and fingernails do not grow. The body shrinks every year making the hair and nails longer. He was a white man , 37 years of age, 5' 10" and weighted 127 pounds. The formula that was injected into him has made his skin tone darker. We were told that every few years they give him a new pair of pajamas to ware. Around 1994, the Auman Family sold the business to Service Corporation International, the largest funeral and cemetery company in the world. Theodore C. Auman III remains as president and manager. It was rumored, Stone (Man) Willie would be buried. Last week a call was made to Auman's and they said Willie was indeed still there but he is no longer available to be viewed.

As they say in Berks County.

It don't matter.

Here are some classic berks County Quotes about the Stone Man