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 kidney failure in a local jail. His body was accidentally mummified by an undertaker who was experimenting with new embalming techniques. Due to the use of a fictitious name at the time of the arrest, Stoneman Willie’s true identity remained a mystery, and local authorities were unable to find any relatives. The Auman Funeral Home, which initially sought relatives before embalming the body, eventually obtained state permission to preserve the body to study the experimental embalming process. Now the funeral home has finally identified Stoneman Willie thanks to modern technology and research into historical documents. His real name will be revealed this week at his grave. Before this moment, the Reading community came together to commemorate the man who became a part of the city’s legend and identity. On October 1, marking the 275th anniversary of Reading’s charter, local residents participated in a lively parade that included a motorcycle hearse carrying Willie’s coffin. Throughout the week, the public had the opportunity to pay their respects to Willie at the Auman Funeral Home. On October 7, Stoneman Willie will make his final journey through the streets of Reading and be buried in a local cemetery, where his real name will finally be engraved on his headstone.

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