By Tim Binnall
The mummified remains of a man which have been kept at a Pennsylvania funeral home for the last 128 years will finally be laid to rest in a grand burial to be held later this week. The incredible story of the mysterious character known as Stoneman Willie reportedly began back in 1895 when he was arrested in the city of Reading for pickpocketing. He grew sick while in jail awaiting trial and, before ultimately passing away, steadfastly refused to reveal his true identity. The body of the alleged petty thief was subsequently transported to a local funeral home where mortician Theodor Auman injected the remains with an experimental cocktail of chemicals in an early attempt at embalming, which was then a nascent science.
The procedure proved to be wildly successful at preserving the mysterious man's body, and it became mummified over time. Amazingly, authorities allowed Autman to keep the corpse at his funeral home so that he could study it, though eventually, the mortician himself joined Stonemason Willie on the 'other side.' Since then, the bewildering body has remained on display at the site, becoming something of a legend in the city as a community curiosity. However, in conjunction with a celebration of Reading's 275th anniversary, the story of Stoneman Willie will soon come to an end as the mummified remains are set to be buried this coming weekend.
On Saturday, the body of the mysterious man from 1895 will be dressed in funeral-appropriate attire for his era and then ushered through the streets of Reading en route to his final resting place at a local cemetery, where one imagines a large crowd of people will pay their respects to Stoneman Willie one last time. Providing some dignity to the individual who captured the imagination of Reading residents for generations, the true identity of the iconic character will also finally be revealed at the ceremony as local researchers have managed to solve the mystery of his name, and it will be fittingly carved into a tombstone atop his grave.