The Washington critic., 1888-09-05
BIG WINNIE,S BURIAL.
The Prize Fat CoIored Woman Laid At
Rest Yesterday.

Rest Yesterday.
Winnie Johnson better known as
Big Winnie" is no more Her obsc-
quies took place from her late home on
East street in Baltimore yesterday
afternoon.
"Big Winnico died of fatty dcgcn-
Grafton of the heart at 1 ! 80 L. NJ
Monday. She was wcll-lnown to the
public as the prize fat colorcd woman
and claimed 20 be the biggest woman
in the world, tipping the scales at $40
hounds. Evans ~ Spence, the under
takers who had charge of the funeral
experienced the greatest difficulty in
preparing the body for burial. They
searched every establishment in the
city to find colin large enough, but
without success, ana finally they wcrC
compelled 20 order special box from
the Maryland Burial Case Company.
The funeral case measured five feet
eleven inches in length linsidc), three feet
eight inches in width and two feet and
two inches in depth 1t was impossible
TO raise the woman from the bed, and the
box wus placed slantng against the bed
and the body rolled into it, None Of
Evans d Spcncc'S wagons were largo
enough to hold the box, and ono of Frcy's
theatrical express wagons was required to
carry the corpse to the cemetery
When IL was learned that Big Win
nle' would be buried at o clock, some
500 or 700 persons gathered on the street
about the house and stood cXpcctantly TO
see the huge box containing all that re-
maincd of Winnie carried to her last rest
ing place.
II took twenty pall-bcarers to lift the
coffin.
Even then it was found that it was
too large to pass through the door The
window of the store on the first floor was
removed and the sash knocked out be-
fore the aperture was large enough. Then
the express wagon was backed upon the
sidewalk and the huge coffin pushed out
and proceeded to Laurel Cemetery,
where the intermcnt was made
Fully 100 colOrcd people followed the
funeral, which consisted, besides the inn
promptu hearsc, OF two hacks containing
the two sons of the deceased and the un-
dertakcrs and 4. A. johnson. proprietor
Of the Baltimore Street Dime Museum,
where Big Winnie" had been on cXhibi-
tlon the greater portion of last season.
Arrived at the cemetery, the grave
which had been prepared for the remains
was found to he almost entirely filed with
water, and Manager Johnson refused to
allow the body to be laid at rest there.
Another grave had to be dug, and when
the excavation had been made night was
IuoU approaching. ut bTuNt was % lttl
G inches deep, feet in width and feet
2 inches long.
No minister had been brought along,
but Brother Walker, of the Sharp-strcct
Church, was found in the vicinity, and
he was willingly pressed into service
to cCr duct the ceremony. With the
burial OF Big Winnie" the biggest
woman known to the world has passed
away.
Winnie johnson was born in Henry
County, Kcntrciy, in the wear $50. As
a child she gave no signs of attaining
her wonderfully unusual size. When
she was fifteen years of age she married
a man of her own race by the name of
Johr son, and when twenty years Of age
she began to grow large, until Monday
night, at the time of her death. she had
amused the enormous weight of S41
pounds. She was the mother of ten
children, Of whom three survivc her.
Her husband died about six years
ago, and soon after she contra cted with
q Snowman to go on exhibition, and
has since then Travelled over consid.
crablc portion of this country. She was
in Baltimore nearly all last winter, and
left in June to visit her old home in
Kentucky. She returned to this city
on Tuesday, August %, and at the time
OF her death was under contract to &C
on exhibition at Johnson's Dime Mu-
scum in about one months time.