In March of 1892, the bodies of Mercy Brown and her mother and sister--all of whom had died of consumption--were exhumed in the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Exeter in a desperate attempt to save the life of Mercy's consumptive brother, Edwin. The bodies of both the mother and sister were found in advanced stages of decomposition, being reduced to skeletons. But Mercy's body appeared fresh, almost lifelike. The family story says that she had turned over in her grave.