Following a long research project, today I’ve published an article on The Order of the Good Death about Julia Buccola-Petta, the “Italian Bride” of Mt. Carmel cemetery.
Most Chicago ghostlore fans know the basics: at Mt. Carmel stands a statue of a woman, Julia Buccola, in her wedding dress. Beneath the life-sized edifice is a photograph of the Julia in her coffin. Though she appears not to have decomposed much, an inscription below states that the photo was taken when she had been dead for six years.
Legend has it that her mother, Filomena, had nightmares in which Julia demanded that her body be disinterred, and, though there are various scientific explanations, some say the well-preserved state of her body is a sign of holiness. I’ve been researching the story heavily for the last few months, including conducting interviews with Filomena’s great grandchildren, who provided a few photographs that have never been in circulation before. Much of what I found came too late to be added to my new Ghosts of Chicago book, so I’m publishing it online, both here and in a new article for Caitlin Doughty’s Order of the Good Death.
Photo by Hector Reyes |
And for you Chicago Unbelievable followers, I’m presenting here a new podcast on the subject (our first in over a year!), and, below, a detailed timeline of the Buccola and Petta families, as pieced together from records and interviews, with never-before-seen photos:
Joseph and Henry Buccola. Henry paid for Julia’s exhumation and the new monument. Courtesy of Antony Edwards, used by permission. |
1910 – According to the census, Henry is living in Chicago with Joseph Buccola and his wife Anna in Chicago (per the census). Henry is working as a tailor, Joseph is a designer. Both are going by the “Americanized” versions of their names in records.
1913/09 – The famous “Devil Baby” rumors swirl around Hull House. Filomena and Julia didn’t live in the Hull House neighborhood, but I’ve always liked to imagine that one of Filomena’s first acts as an American might have been to join the crowd of other old world women who went to Hull House demanding to see the (non-existant) devil baby.
Filomena and Flora, her granddaughter, in Chicago, a year or two before Julia was exhumed. Courtesy of Antony Edwards |
1921 – March 17 – Julia dies giving birth to a stillborn son, just over nine months after the wedding. Her funeral is held at Rago Brothers, next to the church, and she is buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside two days later.
1926: According to the family, it was after the move to L.A. that Filomena began to have nightmares about Julia. The exact content of the nightmares is not known, though folklore in Chicago states that Julia was demanding to be dug up, or that Julie was still alive. If nightmares weren’t involved, it may be that Filomena wanted Julia moved out of a Petta family plot (though there’s no evidence that she was ever buried in a spot other than her current one). In any case, Filomena begins to lobby for Julia to be disinterred. If this is really when the nightmares started, it was a fairly quick process.
the monument |
“Filumena (sic) Buccola I offer this Gift to My Dear Daughter Guilia.”
The seldom-noticed inscription on the back |
Notably, Julia’s married name, Julia Petta, appears nowhere on the monument.
There is no record as to what the original monument (if any) looked like or said.
The immense cost of the new monument (believed to be in the 10k range) creates a great deal of friction in the family – Henry Buccola’s wife is said to be furious, and Henry himself apparently isn’t happy about it, either. But the monument is built. No one knows now what the cost is, but family lore speaks of Henry lamenting that if they just had that ten thousand dollars, they’d be set for life.
Filomena in the 1930s with Rosalia, her daughter (Julia’s sister). Courtesy of Antony Edwards |
1930 – In the census, Filomena is listed as being back in Chicago, living with Rosalia and Mariano and their children, Rosaline (Lynn Sadie) Lunetta (17) and Joseph Lunetta (14).
1930s: In the new house, Flora shares a room with Filomena. Later in life, she’ll tell her children stories about Filomena loudly praying the rosary at all hours, prompting her to shout “Shut up, Nonna!”
Filomena with grandchildren Gaetano (Guy) and Flora in California. Courtesy of Antony Edwards. |
1940 – The census states that Filomena is now living with Rosalia and Mariano in an apartment just around the corner from Julia’s old place. By now, Rosalia and Mariano’s daughter, Rosaline / Lynn Sadie is in Los Angeles.
Filomena’s burial plot (space 8), a few feet to the left of Julia’s (space 5), at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. The Muscato family plot is between the two. |
1945/10 Filomena dies in Los Angeles. She is buried in Chicago, a few feet away from her daughter’s grave. Her space is unmarked, but only a few feet away from the massive monument that bears her full name twice.
2006 – Flora Buccola-Edwards, Julia’s niece and Filomena’s granddaughter, dies in Los Angeles, in the very house where she once shared a room with Filomena. Described in her obit as a “fierce liberal” and “staunchly pro-labor,” the family suggests donations to the United Farm Workers of America in lieu of flowers.
note: I’ve left out a handful of exact dates, addresses, and the name of one person still living.
Note: I’m grateful for the family and children of Flora Buccola-Edwards for the photographs and information, especially Antony and Mariana Edwards.
Again, for the full story, see the article on The Order of the Good Death.
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Who knows? Maybe it was as innocent someone was just creating some clip art or fan art of Jacinta and didn't know anyone would take it for a real thing. Or, then again, some people aren't above faking religious "evidence" now and then, for one reason or another. There's a whole world of "Biblical Archaeologists" out there who are making a lot of money by pretending to have found stuff they probably don't even believe in, personally.
Sorry, couldn't correct the message but I mean the hairline is not the same but the locks and shadows are.
Boatswain
Adam Selzer, I was considering the same and have compared some of Jacinta's pictures with the face in the second casket picture. It's the only explanation because everything else matches in the pictures. If a second picture was taken then at least some more changes should have been visible. About the hairline you mention, if her head was realy tilted the hair line would have changed also but it's exactly the same. I think this mystery is solved but it bothers me how and for what reason it was manipulated.
With kind regards
Boatswain
Looking up some shots of Jacinta Marto when she was alive, it does look to me as though what's happened here is that someone has tried to use the Julia photo to create a fake Jacinta shot. One clue that it's not the same face is the amount of skin between the hairline and the right eye. I'll have to work up a post on this!
Looking at the two side-by-side, it does seem to be exactly the same coffin. The folds, shaded areas, etc are all exactly the same when you flip it horizontally. So the question now becomes: is this a second photo of Julia, or a doctored version of the famous one? I'm leaning towards the latter, since one would assume that turning the head would cause some changes in the folds behind her head, and the "face" portion seems a bit clearer and sharper than the rest of the photo. Being as small as it is, though, it's hard to tell. Next step, again, is figuring out where that blog got the other photo!
Yeah, that one looks a markedly less like the other shot. Next step is figuring out where they got that other picture, what the provenance on it is, etc. I'm not enough of a forensics expert to make a real judgement call here; a brief look makes me think the hair might be too light, and the shape of the head a bit off, for being Julia, but I wouldn't rule it out.
Here is a picture of the exhumed body of Jacinta Marto that looks very different.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jflorinhanson/4593756289/lightbox/
Another one:
http://www.arguingwithatheists.com/Images/Jacinta_Marto_Exhumation.jpg
Boatswain
Thanks, Boatswain! That does look pretty similar if you flip it, though I wouldn't say it was the same person without first looking more into the Jacinta photo (and any others of her that might be out there). The most obvious difference is the tilt of the head; I'd have to ask a mortician, but I'm not sure you could turn the head from one side to the other on a body like this without damaging it.
Hello Adam Selzer,
Thanks for the update and info about Julia and her family. Would have liked to see another picture of Julia when she was alive but I guess they didn't have one. Did you know another picture of Julia in her casket excists? Found it on a site about incorruptible Jacinta Marto and they claim it's the exhumed body of Jacinta but when you 'flip' the image and compare it with the famous casket picture of Julia you will see it's the same woman. The hair strings above her head, the linen of the casket, the folds, just everything is the same.
It's not the best quality and it's cropped and haven't found a better picture of it yet.
Scroll down till you see the woman in the casket:
http://speramus-hope.blogspot.nl/2010/02/february-20-memorial-of-blessed-jacinta.html
Kind regards
Boatswain
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