• She had brown eyes and black hair. • She was almost 5 feet, 7 inches tall and chewed tobacco. • She was in her 20s, carried heavy loads with her left arm and had given birth. • We don’t know her name, but after her death in the 19th century, her body was stolen and used for anatomical and surgical training by students from the Medical College of Virginia. • For more than 100 years, she lay among at least 46 others in a disused well on East Marshall Street in Richmond, before it was hurriedly excavated in 1994 during construction of the Hermes A. • Kontos Medical Sciences Building on Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus.
Article Summaries:
- In 1994, construction of Virginia Commonwealth University’s new medical sciences building uncovered a disused well on East Marshall Street in Richmond that had held the bodies of at least 46 19th‑century individuals. Recent DNA analysis of the remains has begun to reveal personal details about those buried there. One woman, estimated to be in her 20s, 5 ft 7 in tall, with brown eyes, black hair, and a history of tobacco use, carried heavy loads with her left arm and had given birth. Her body was stolen after death and used for anatomical training by students at the Medical College of Virginia. The genetic work is helping to identify and honor these forgotten individuals.
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