A grave was being dug in 1963 when shovels hit iron. Those digging were bewildered to find it was a coffin. No burials were thought to be in that part of the cemetery. It was buried only about 4 feet deep and oriented off axis.
Shaped not unlike an Egyptian sarcophagus, the unusual cast iron coffin was tight at the feet and wide at the shoulders-- form-fitting so-to-speak. A window at the head provided a view of the surprisingly well preserved deceased and his finely appointed clothing. The construction of the coffin and the clothing seen within led to the assumption that the burial dated from the 1850's. There was no marker or any other kind of identifying element. None of the family-owned cemetery's board knew who this gentleman was or that anybody had been buried in that spot. A mystery! The iron coffin was exhumed and relocated a short distance away to allow for more burials. Eventually, it became largely forgotten.
Newspaper articles pick up the story when in the 1980's the mysterious iron coffin was dug up again. This time it was sent to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. for examination. A Smithsonian forensic anthropologist had just happened to be in the area studying other graves and was contacted about the curious iron coffin. Of the 400 graves he had been studying, none had contained an iron coffin. This was unusual.
I had heard this story a few years ago and was mildly interested as it pertained to a cemetery with which I was becoming familiar in my genealogy work. The Young Cemetery in Zachary, Louisiana houses many, many cousins and a few ancestors. I'm a descendant of the Young family that founded it. The cemetery is still active, is well kept and receives burials, as I understand, only from descendants of Judith and James Young, my 4th great grandparents. I've made a couple brief visits to the cemetery in the past three or four years.
I was reminded of the iron coffin last week by double cousin, Ann Harang Haney. I got a message from her on Ancestry. She and I share the ancestors, Moses Guest on our mothers' sides and David Young on our fathers' sides. David, a third great grandfather, is buried in the Young Cemetery. She forwarded a news article about the iron coffin.
The 1988 article mentioned that a study of the contents was conducted in D.C. the previous summer by the anthropology laboratory at the Smithsonian. The family was interested in finding the identity of the body. To date, there were a few guesses, but no real breakthroughs. Removal of the rusty lid revealed that there had been a considerable amount of damage to the contents since the 1963 disinterment. The coffin had rusted through in a couple places. Much had deteriorated.
Even so, the coffin and it's contents were still able to reveal some facts. The deceased was male, who died in the late 1850's to the early 1860's. He was in his 50's. His clothing, including a black wool frock coat and trousers and distinctive black silk bow tie, were likely tailor made and popular from 1857 to 1865. The coffin was unusual and no doubt expensive. He was wealthy. The bones showed evidence of gout and arthritis. The teeth were well worn. There were 4 gold fillings. All this info and still no identity could be determined.
It was the mention of gout that got me thinking. I know someone who died down there who complained of gout. My third great grandfather, Eugène Amédée Sherburne. He died around that time. As a matter of fact, he fits this case in many respects! I had not found a marker for him the couple times I visited the cemetery. His second wife is there, Patience Young Sherburne. I took a photo of her gravestone. The story from Virginia Lobdell Jennings' book, "The Plains and the People," stated E.A. Sherburne had been buried on his plantation "Fontania" on the river and at some point was moved to Young Cemetery when erosion threatened the original burial site.
E.A. Sherburne died in 1860 at 57 years old. He was a wealthy planter. I have one photo of him and he's wearing a black bow tie. His obituary in the local Baton Rouge Paper of Nov 17, 1860 reads, "The deceased had long been afflicted with that torturing malady the gout, frequently complicated with that other scarcely less torturing malady, rheumatism."
Is it possible the mystery man in the iron coffin for all these years was my third great grandfather? It seems plausible that a hasty reburial may be cause for the odd location and lack of marker at Young Cemetery. I did a newspaper search for "iron coffins" in Louisiana. The only other article I found mentioning iron coffins in the area was a May 10, 1958 article in the Alexandria Daily Town Talk titled, "Cenla Historical Society Tours Ante-bellum Homes." The article mentions iron coffins at Live Oaks Plantation in Rosedale, Louisiana built by Charles H. Dickinson Jr.. "Located on the grounds is an old red brick church and a very old tomb containing odd shaped cast-iron coffins with windows provided for viewing the deceased." I knew this place! Charles Dickinson was a business partner of Eugène Amédée Sherburne. They were in the sugar business together until Dickinson's death in 1846, when his wife took over. Sherburne continued the business relationship until his own death in 1860.
There were too many coincidences not to dig further. (No pun intended). Wondering if there are more recent reports with more information or photos, I found the forensic anthropologist from the Smithsonian at their website online. He is Douglas Owsley. He still works there 34 years later! I sent a short email to the address on his profile page but have not heard back from him. Then, I called Alex McKowen, a distant cousin down in Zachary, and he gave me the name and number of a Young Cemetery board member. Melinda Mills White (likely also a cousin) is currently Treasurer. I talked to her on the phone and briefly explained that I was looking for a third great grandfather and was she familiar with the iron coffin? "Absolutely," she said. She was present when it was exhumed that second time. I told her my suspicions and she said she would run it by a couple people and get back to me.
She called me back the next day. "According to our plot map, your 3x grandfather is buried next to his second wife. There is a grave stone. It is small and only has the letters E. A. S. on it." I had missed that stone on my visits! I guess I was looking for a larger, more prominent stone. Melinda offered to send a photo of it when convenient.
So, it would appear, the iron coffin man remains a mystery. He is not Eugène Amédée Sherburne as I had surmised. All that excitement for nothing. Eugène is accounted for-- next to Patience Young Sherburne. I look forward to seeing the photo of his marker.
On the bright side, I now know where E.A. Sherburne is buried. Find-a-Grave has him erroneously located in Washington Parish. Maybe I'll send them an update.
