Clues from the dead help unearth history

  • Thomas Gaskin Special for The Herald
  • Friday, October 31, 2014 6:12pm
  • Life

What is more popular than zombies, especially this time of the year?

The American public seems to have an insatiable appetite for the unburied matched only by a zombie’s craving for human flesh. Whether it is the staggering zombies of George Romero’s 1968 “Night of the Living Dead” or the surprisingly nimble, choreographed undead of Michael Jackson’s 1982 “Thriller” or the 2004 zom-rom-com, “Shaun of the Dead” or the hyper fast flesh eaters in Brad Pitt’s 2013 “World War Z,” the dead are alive.

Zombies are now more popular than sports. The first two Sunday episodes of the fifth season of “The Walking Dead” in October were seen by more television viewers than the NFL games on those nights.

As a historian, I confess the unburied have always attracted my morbid curiosity. Throughout United States history there have been a disturbing number of gravesites from which prominent historical figures have risen.

Much of the unburying is like that of General “Mad” Anthony Wayne of American Revolution fame, who was interred in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1796. Twelve years later his son moved the remains to the family estate for reburial in eastern Pennsylvania. What makes this relocation of his father unusual was that the entire body did not make the journey. The son’s wagon was too small to cart the coffin, so out of desperation he decided to boil the flesh off his father’s corpse and only bring back the bones.

Less grisly were the circumstances of President Zachary Taylor rising from the grave. He died suddenly in 1850, although previously he had been considered in good health. Rumors abounded that he was poisoned by fellow southerners who disliked Taylor’s opposition to the extension of slavery to the western territories. Finally, in 1991 his body was exhumed and tested for arsenic. Minute amounts of arsenic were discovered, but not in quantities that could have caused his death. He was reinterred in his Louisville mausoleum.

Claims that the outlaw Jessie James had escaped death in 1882 and actually had lived to be over 100 in a Missouri town caused James’ body to be unearthed in 1995. DNA testing was conducted on the body and compared to James’ descendants. It was the outlaw. Back in the ground his remains went.

Other “grave doubts” swirled around Lee Harvey Oswald. Author, Michael Eddowes claimed a Russian agent substituted himself for Oswald when the ex-Marine defected to the Soviet Union, and years later was the real asssassin of JFK. Eddowses convinced Oswald’s wife to have the casket opened and the body examined. The autopsy conclusively revealed Oswald was Oswald, and he was promptly reburied.

It has not just been the well intentioned mystery solvers who have brought the dead from their graves or at least tried. In 1876 a counterfeiting ring planned to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body and hold it for ransom in exchange for one of their cohort’s release from prison. The theft was bungled, but in 1901 Lincoln’s son Todd fearing other grave robbers, had his father’s coffin enclosed in a cage 10 feet deep with 4,000 pounds of cement poured over it.

While it is unclear what, if anything, should be done about the Zombie apocalypse that is upon us, perhaps America’s notable historical figures should follow the lead of past communist nations, who have embalmed Lenin, Stalin and Ho Chi Minh and put them on display for public viewing. Wax museums have their place, put Americans seem to yearn to see the unburied in a live setting.

Dr. Thomas Gaskin is a retired Everett Community College U.S. History Instructor.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.