11 months ago

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In today's episode of History and Hearsay, we are discussing the case of 11 year old Virginia Tokin who died suddenly. Striken with grief her family kept her body for over a year!
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - Tokin Family Tragedy
1:44 - Victorian Era Death & Funeral Customs
11:23 - Superstitions in the Victorian Era
12:11 - The Tokin Family's story goes viral - DEATH THREATS?!?
14:14 - Location of the Mausoleum and Tokin Mansion
15:45 - Theories & Outro

**THESE VIDEOS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY, always do your own research when searching for the truth =) **
Sources:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132408594/virginia-webster-tonkin
https://www.oddthingsiveseen.com/2018/02/six-feet-under-glass-girl-in-glass.html
https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_death/?name=Virginia_Tonkin&geo_a=t&geo_s=au&geo_t=us&geo_v=2.0.0&o_iid=41018&o_lid=41018&o_sch=Web+Property
https://www.funeralbasics.org/8-intriguing-funeral-customs-victorian-era/#:~:text=Victorians%20carried%20the%20deceased%20out,trapped%20in%20a%20looking%20glass
https://americanstudiesmediacultureprogram.wordpress.com/2017/11/17/the-american-perception-of-death-in-the-1890s-and-1990s/
https://thesolitaryhistorian.com/2020/11/06/mourning-the-dead-funeral-practices-in-1870-and-1900/
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/09/evolution-of-american-funerary-customs-and-laws/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16765952/cora-l.-sweet
https://www.victorianlondon.org/cassells/cassells-35.htm
Additional works Consulted:
“September 13, 1997 (Page 10 of 63).” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1927-2008), Sep 13, 1997, pp. 10, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Singleton, S. (1994, Jun 18). The high cost of death–the funeral business. New York Amsterdam News Retrieved from
“Mr. Wyman’s Funeral.” Boston Journal, 1 Jan. 1897.
Brett, Mary. The Custom Of Mourning During The Victorian Era. 2011, https://www.nps.gov/jofl/learn/historyculture/upload/MourningArticle2011.rtf.

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At the turn-of-the-century in Oswego New York, tragedy struck the Tonkin family,. As whispers about a disturbing incident began to circulate - the family’s response sent shockwaves through the community.
Today’s story takes place in October 1899 in Oswego New York, where one of the wealthiest families in the area - The Tonkin Family experienced the tragic loss of their 11 year old daughter, who passed away suddenly from appendicitis. Despite the fact that this family could afford all the best doctors, they were unable to save sweet Virginia.
Shocked and overwhelmed with grief, the Tonkins placed Virginia's body in a hermetically sealed, (basically airtight) glass-topped coffin.
They held the viewing in the library of the house, and then afterward moved the fairy tale coffin into her old bedroom, until that they could build a family mausoleum in a nearby cemetery.
But as the months went by people began to notice that Virginia was never moved and it appeared as though the family was continuing to hold nightly vigils in Virginia's room. This began to attract tabloid attention and gossip began spreading like wildfire.

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