Man who was ‘accidentally mummified’ has finally been buried 128 years later | US News

Caption: Accidentally mummified man ‘Stoneman Willie’ is finally buried
Provider: AFP

A man who was ‘accidentally’ mummified after his death in 1895 has finally been laid to rest as his true identity has been revealed.

James Murphy was known as ‘Stoneman Willie’ – although it’s thought the original director of the funeral home knew his real name and had been passed down through the company for more than a century.

Mr Murphy was from New York, of Irish descent, and was visiting Reading, Pennsylvania for a firefighters’ convention when he died of kidney failure on November 19, 1895.

The once unidentified man had been jailed after being accused of theft, and he was accidentally mummified by a mortician experimenting with new embalming techniques.

At the time, officials were unable to locate any relatives and nobody claimed Mr Murphy’s remains – and the funeral home was eventually given permission to keep the body instead of burying it to monitor the experimental embalming process.

He got the nickname ‘Stoneman’ from his embalmed skin, which had reportedly turned hard as stone.

But following further research from local historians, Mr Murphy’s true identity was finally confirmed and he has now been laid to rest.

Dressed in a period tuxedo, his generations-long public afterlife as the stuff of city lore and ghost stories ended with his funeral on Saturday.

James Murphy has now been laid to rest wearing a suit typical of the time period in which he lived (Picture: REUTERS)

Dozens of people attended his funeral (Picture: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The funeral home was able to keep his body to observe the experimental method of embalming (Picture: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

His coffin was carried by a motorcycle hearse (Picture: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

A group of funeral home employees and well-wishers, said in unison, ‘Rest in peace, James,’ as they unveiled his tombstone, with his real name in small letters below large type reading, ‘Stoneman Willie’.

His send-off included a colorful procession with a motorcycle hearse carrying his casket.

Pastor Robert Whitmire told the gatherers that to those who may have known him, ‘Stoneman Willie…at one time may have been a beloved friend and family member’.

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