Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-07-04
A PETRIFIED CORPSE
Found in a Philadelphia Cemetery.
Philadelphia Record.

While the grave digger of the Phi
lantbropic Cemetery at PassYunk road
and Tasker street was exhuming a num-
Der of bodies the other day, preparatory
to the opening of Tasker street through
one corner of the grounds, he upturned
a curiosity which, for genuine surprise,
threw even old YOrick's skull in the
shade. The object which the spade
brought to the surface was petrifed hui
man form that had laid in the earth for
forty years. 1t was the body of a
two year old child, and had the frame
been carved out OF Parian marble it could
not have been nearer perfection. The
workmen and curious persons looking
on stepped back aghsst. but DeHart, the
grave digger, merely rolled his quid over
in his mouth to get leeway, and remark
ed: "Father used to say that some peo-
pie were too id mean to mingle with
the earth, and so when they were tossed
under the sod they were petrificd; but
guess this juvenile will rather stagger
him."
The transformed corpse was found in
lot which belonged to Charles and
Hannah Ware, who went to their final
account thirty or forty years ago, and
OF whom the only known direct descend
ant is George Ware, a First district
policeman. Four children had been laid
in turn in one grave, and the petrifed
body was at the bottom of the pit. It
was found lying in sandy earth, abound
ing in soft rock or stone of an extremely
friable nature. For some eight or ten
feet below the grave there was stratum
of very fine sand. The body itself was
a solid etfigy, presenting the appearance
of a human figure carved from a
block of wood or burnt lime
The outline was so perfect as to
make the sex easily dfstinguishable as
feminine. Strangest of all was the fact
that while the body was so well pre-.
served there was not a vestige of the
coffin or shroud left, and nothing re-
NAMED of the other three bodies but a
few bones that crumbled while being
handled. The eyes of the petrifed form
looked like statuary oculars. and the
slightly exposed teeth were blackeued.
The contrast of colOrs gave to the face a
rather hideous appearance. In all other
respects the figure resembled a piece of
well executed sculpture. There were
fifteen bodies in all in the Ware lot, and
in two or three other cases there were
evidences of petrifaction, but not of
such thorough nature as that described.
When the Phlanthropic Cemetery was
laid out in 1889 it was far removed from
the populous portion of the city, but for
a number of years the opening of Tasker
street through a small southern section
of the ground has been a crying neces-
sity. In October of last year Councils
were prevailed upon to take the initia-
tory step of passing an ordinance direct
ing the street to be opened, providing The
cost to the city should not exceed Sc 900
Under authority of this ordinance AttOr-
ney at law i. X Nichols instituted the
necessary legal proceedings, and
a jury, after visiting the locali-
ty, awarded the Cemetery Com
pany the amount stipulated in the or
dinance. The award was confirmed by
the Court of Quarter Sessions in May
last. Since then nearly two hundred |
bodies have been exhumed and renter
red, some in other portions of the same
ground, and the balance in other GENE
cries. The grave diggers will finish |
heir work in about week.
The finding of the stony corpse has |
illed the suparsttiOus residents OF the |
wi Ia awe, and frequently |
when the night is well advanced they can
zee robeless phantoms fitting among the |
in the shadows of the moon
light. The petrified body has been re
Inferred with It's disorganiged fellows in |
ne northwest corner OF the cemetery.