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Page 1 of 8 Grave Robbing is something you hear little about and much of what you do hear seems to be wild speculation or tall tales with little facts or truth behind it however as I have been studying the history of Ohio's cemeterys and researching various articles I have discovered that grave robbing is very much a part of Ohio's history and in fact was a part of everyday life in early America. It is believed that more than 5,000 of Ohio's deceased were stolen from their final resting places by grave robbers or Resurrectionists as they were often called back in the days when they were plying their trade. I have decided to include this topic on my website not because I have any fondness for this practice or any ghoulish tendencies in this direction but to raise awareness of this often overlooked subject that played a larger role in the history of our cemeteries and burial customs than many of us would ever realise otherwise. The first thing to understand is a majority of grave robbing incidents, contrary to popular belief, were fueled by the need for bodies for dissection for medical studies for Univerities of learning in early America. Ohio had many Universities with medical students in need of such bodies to learn from and no legal means to get enough bodies to satisfy the demand. Out of this need the body trade arose a new profession.... Grave Robbing NOTE: The following information contains articles written by other people who have been credited where possible. We did not create the following content, however some of our comments are mixed in. If you know a piece of information was developed by a specific person or persons and they haven't been credited please send their information to us so we can propery credit their work. The information provided on this site is for educational and informational purposes only. This is not a for-profit website and it is not associated with a for-profit business. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 The Kings of The Grave Robbers.................................. Chapter 2 Early Undertaking in Ohio............................................. Chapter 3 Cadavers and American Law......................................... Chapter 4 Early Modern Medicine Fuels Body Snatching............... Chapter 5 Famous Cases of Grave Robbing in Ohio and elsewhere. Chapter 6 The Coffin Torpedo and other ways to stay buried.......... Chapter 7 Grave Robbing and Grave Robbers................................. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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