Who was Stoneman Willie? Mummy set to be laid to rest 128 years later in Pennsylvania 

A mummified body, known as Stoneman Willie is set to finally be buried after being kept on display at a funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania, for 128 years. The unidentified man had died in a local jail, called Berks County Prison, due to kidney failure on November 19, 1895.

According to CBC, the man was accidentally mummified by a mortician who was experimenting with new embalming techniques at the time. He was then dressed in a suit and placed in a coffin with a red sash across his chest, for a final public viewing, and has continued to be kept that way ever since.

The Auman's Funeral Home will keep him on their premises for the locals to see from October 2 to October 6, and he will be buried on October 7 along with a gravestone with his name on it. His identity is expected to be revealed on the day of the burial.

Warning: This article contains images and videos of a human body.

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Stoneman Willie was arrested for theft before his death

Stoneman Willie is about to receive a proper burial 128 years after his death in Berks County Prison, Pennsylvania. The people of Reading honored the mummified body at their 275th anniversary, which included a colorful parade and a motorcycle hearse carrying Willie's casket on Sunday, October 1, 2023.

The identified man, named Stoneman Willie by the townspeople, was allegedly an alcoholic incarcerated at the Berks County Prison for public drunkenness and theft. He also had a reputation for picking pockets and committing petty theft, as per Fox News.

Stoneman Willie allegedly gave authorities a fake name, "James Penn," at the time of his arrest. However, he reportedly revealed the truth when he was close to his death, according to Berks Nostalgia. He told the prison doctor about his deception, adding that he gave the fake name in order to spare his brother's and sister's reputations.

After Stoneman Willie died of kidney failure, he was accidentally mummified by a mortician who was experimenting with new embalming techniques. During the late 1800s, the embalming process was a new practice in the United States. Theo Auman, the funeral home's first director, tested a new embalming recipe he found in a Philadelphia bookstore for preserving meat.

The Auman's Funeral Home kept his body to monitor the effects of the embalming technique for 128 years after his death on November 19, 1895, as per CBC. Willie still has his teeth and hair intact, and his skin has a hard, leathery appearance.

Not much was known about the unidentified body except for his Irish roots, and he soon became a part of Reading's history and folklore. Speaking about him, funeral director Kyle Blankenbiller told Reuters:

"We don't refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie. He has just become such an icon, such a storied part of not only Reading's past but certainly its present."

Stoneman Willie was honored by keeping him at the funeral home for a final public viewing from October 2 to 6.

According to CBC, Blankenbiller talked about the impact of the mummy on the town, saying:

"We have people viewing him today that are in their 80s that came and saw him with their classroom back when they were in fourth grade."

During his public viewing, he was dressed in 19th-century attire, with a suit and a red ribbon across his torso. The Auman's Funeral Home has only recently identified the body using historical documents and will reveal his name later during his memorial and funeral on October 7, 2023.