On March 10, 1876, at the Aveline house, the Fort Wayne College of Medicine was organized by Drs. C. B. Stemen and H. A. Clark, teachers in a medical college at Cincinnati, and Drs. B. S. Woodworth, I. M. Rosenthal and W. H. Myers, of Fort Wayne. The building, later occupied by W. F. Geller, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Washington boulevard, was fitted up as the college home. The original faculty consisted of Drs. Stemen, Woodworth,
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Clark, Rosenthal, Myers, J. H. Ford, M. M. Latta, H. D. Wood, A. M. Hunt, R. W. Thrift, H. Van Sweringen, S. H. Swan, A. E. Van Buskirk and E. Melchers. Two well-attended sessions followed the opening of the institution.
At the end of the second session, a controversy between factions of the faculty of the college resulted in a reorganization which endured for one year, after which period two institutions — the Fort Wayne College of Medicine and the Fort Wayne Medical college — came into being simultaneously. Each claimed the other to be an intruder and not legally established. During the three years of the existence of the latter institution, which was located at the southeast corner of Calhoun and Baker streets, the controversy continued, and wordy conflicts provided frequent and varied forms of entertainment for the non-professional portion of the population.
Added to the earlier internal troubles of the medical school was the hostile attitude of many people of the town, who failed to appreciate the advanced methods of the school in the teaching of certain branches through the means of dissecting human bodies. Dr. W. H. Myers, on the occasion of the graduation of the class of 1878, described the experience of the school as a purification "by passing through the refining quarantine of prejudice."
The grand jury, of which I. D. G. Nelson was the foreman, condemned the dissecting room of the college on the ground that it was "used for the purpose of depositing, concealing and dissecting human bodies, a portion of which, at least, are stolen from cemeteries or graveyards in this vicinity, in violation of law, common decency and the proprieties of life." The report added that the alleged practice "has produced and is producing great excitement, anxiety and indignation, especially among those who have families or have recently lost friends."
The report refers to several cases of the removal of bodies from Lindenwood and other cemeteries, which had resulted in the arrest of six physicians and one student. The investigation of the cases was replete with sensational features. In one instance, when the body of a Roanoke (Indiana) man was found within the college walls, a prominent member of the faculty declared that he believed that professional grave robbers in the employ of the enemies of the institution had placed the body there "with a view to bringing our college into disrepute." The physician added the information that within a brief period thirty graves had been robbed.
In 1877, ghouls removed the body of a prominent citizen from a grave in Lindenwood cemetery; the cemetery association offered a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the culprits.
It is of interest to note that the Fort Wayne College of Medicine survived the attacks made upon it and became recognized as one of the leading institutions in the middle west. During its later years and until the college was made a part of Purdue University, it occupied home of the late Judge Hugh McCulloch, on West Superior street, now the headquarters of the Fort Wayne Turnverein Vorwaerts. In later years the medical department of Purdue
"Resurrection men" or "resurrectionists" were men or women who stole corpses from graves in order to sell them to medical schools for dissection. In the 1870s, Allen County experienced a surge of body snatching after the formation of two medical schools in the area.
In the late 19th century, donating your body to science was a practice very few people did. This left medical colleges to find alternative avenues for securing corpses for students to dissect. The Fort Wayne Medical College and the Fort Wayne College of Medicine both opened in the 1870's, leading to a sharp increase in body snatching and public outcry against the practice. Eventually, seven people associated with Fort Wayne Medical College were arrested in connection with these illegal activities. Finally, in 1879, the General Assembly of Indiana passed the Anatomical Act of 1879 which provided a lawful means by which medical schools could obtain bodies.
January 21, 2023 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook stated: 1876: This brick building, corner of Washington St. & Broadway, housed the Remmel Bros., west-end druggists, on the ground floor; and the Medical College of Fort Wayne on the 2nd and 3rd floors. "It may not come as a surprise to many of you that body-snatching was carried on to a high degree during the 1870's and 1880's. At that time Fort Wayne gave great prominence of being an important medical center. The dissecting room was on the 3rd floor front." - (excerpts from) Fred J. Reynolds' Quest Club Paper, via ACPL: http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/.../p16089.../id/19704/rec/2 . One January 21, 2023 says only a pillar from building still exits.
A selection of newspaper articles from 1873 to 1902 indicating grave robbing was a serious problem for several decades. There are many more articles available but had to stop somewhere.
The Sexton of Lindenwood Cemetery Finds "Dr." Weisse's Body Missing.
It Has no Doubt Decorated Dissecting Table Long Ere This.
The Identity of the Gentlemen Who Make Graveyards Yawn Still in Doubt.
On last Wednesday morning the GAZETTE published some facts in reference to our cemeteries being rifled of their dead, which caused quite a sensation among our citizens at large, and especially among members of the medical fraternity. [ The online archive does NOT have the Wednesday, December 3, 1873 newspaper ] Among other statements made was that the body of " Dr." Weisse, the man who died recently in the calaboose, had been taken from the cemetery; if, indeed, it had been there. The sexton of Lindenwood, Mr. Doewell, was, of course, much surprised at this statement, and at once proceeded to investigate the matter. The grave was dug up, and it was discovered that
THE BODY WAS NOT THERE,
and that the coffin had been broken up by the ghouls. Mr. I. D. G. Nelson, the President of the cemetery company, made some further inquiries, and ascertained that at the time of the post mortem examination on Weisse's body two physicians had asked Coroner Webb how much he would take for a "lift of the body, He declined to give it up, however.
When the coffin was taken to Lindenwood for interment it was nearly dark, and there was only one person along. The grave had not been prepared, and it was hurriedly dug and the coffin deposited. On account of the lateness of the hour the men left the work of " trimming" the grave until the next morning, when they finished it, without, however, noticing anything wrong.
We have also learned that a number of circulars have been received here by physiciane from medical colleges offering
LIBERAL PRICES FOR GOOD SUBJECTS.
It is probable that Weisse's body has long since adorned the dissecting-room of some college.
To our certain knowledge this matter was talked over by the Grand Jury at their late session. The officers of Lindenwood are determined to protect their cemetery from the raids of these ghouls, and Fort Wayne saw-bones would do well, therefore, to let the matter drop now if they would avoid detection.
The Autumn of 1876 marked one of the most infamous grave-robbing plots in American history. President Lincoln and his three youngest sons were buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. A large monument and park were erected at the site. Only 11 years after his assassination, a plot was devised to steal his remains and hide them in the Indiana Dunes.
A Chicago counterfeiter, Benjamin Boyd, was imprisoned near the Chicago area in October 1876. One of his customers, crime boss “Big Jim” Kinealy, relied on Boyd for his business. To combat Boyd’s imprisonment, Kinealy persuaded two men, Jack Hughes and Terrence Mullen, to steal Abraham Lincoln’s remains. Lincoln’s body would be held for ransom to secure Boyd’s release, in addition to $200,000.
When an imposter—an informant working for the Secret Service—joined the two men, he revealed the plan to authorities. With the help of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, lawmen stepped in to prevent the theft. On November 7th, a plan was in place to catch the thieves in the act; however, the two escaped capture. Ten days later, they were found in Chicago and arrested.
Here's an interesting one, this device, known as a "cemetery gun," served as a very real deterrent to would be grave robbers during the golden age of body snatching. The weapon would be positioned on the deceased's grave, cocked, primed, and loaded, ready to fire upon unsuspecting thieves if they crossed any of it's three tripwires. Understandably, cemetery guns were outlawed in England in 1827. Another popular safeguard of the day was the "Grave Torpedo," an explosive device which would be buried and attached to the coffin. Any disturbance caused it to explode, killing the offending individual...
Grave Concerns originally with a video discussing grave robbing when In 1879 five physicians founded the Fort Wayne Medical College in the old Hugh McCulloch mansion on Superior Street. Students were required to pay tuition, study hard and provide their own cadavers for dissection. The need for medical cadavers inspired the very lucrative profession of grave robbing and no cemetery within fifty miles of Fort Wayne was safe. by Eric Olson, 21Country Featured Reporter originally published November 13, 2018 on 21AliveNews.com is now on Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Happy #Halloween ! In the mood for a spooky story? Check out our #IndianaHistoryBlog on the Hoosier undertaker Rufus Cantrell.
Rufus Cantrell was a lot of things: A driver. A porter. A clerk. An undertaker. In 1902, he added a new title to that list: The King of Ghouls. Along with approximately 7 other men, Cantrell ran one of the most successful body-snatching syndicates in Indianapolis. The thieves sold the corpses to medical schools willing to overlook the method of procurement. While a macabre and fascinating story, the grave robbing caused unimaginable pain trauma to the victims’ families.
