Chapter 10
The Pattern of Late 19th Century
Funerals
American Views of Death
• America showed wide variations in funeral
thoughts and customs…
– What do you think that the rural areas were like?
– What about the cities?
• There is only a small amount of uniformity in
death customs:
– What are they?
– What are some of the variations today?
American Views of Death
• Catholic Church in Cincinnati:
– Long time custom that the mourners are seated on
the right side or the “Epistle” side of the church.
– Only 40 miles away in Brown Co., Ohio they are
seated on the left side of the or “Gospel” side.
• During the latter part of the 19th Century there
were broad changes and patterns developed:
– The patterns and changes molded the modern day
Funeral Director.
First Response to Death
• Family reaction and behavior
– atmosphere of anxiety and emotional strain
– funerals had a prevailing mood of gloom
• Borrowed from the old days in England.
• A final contribution of 19th Century
behavior:
– They wanted to provide a beautiful setting to
the mood, gloom and somberness which had
been imported from the feudal times.
First Response to Death
• At the Home
– Most deaths occurred at the home
• If it occurred away from home the body was quickly
returned there, so the home was the central point of
mourning.
• A hush fell over the household, blinds were drawn and
people walked about on tiptoe and spoke in restrained
tones.
• First gesture-WOMEN-closed the eyes and straightened
the limbs
• “Funeral Directors” were summoned to come and take
charge.
First Response to Death
– When death occurred at a hospital
• The family was insistent upon bringing the body
back to the house as soon as possible.
~Funeral parlors were used for people
who had no home of their own or had
no relatives or friends who would offer
the facilities of their quarters.
First Response to Death
– People delegated the care of the deceased to
the Undertaker.
– In addition to agreeing upon a place of
the funeral it was necessary to decide
how much time would elapse before
burial took place
• If more than one day, preservative measure
were taken.
First Response to Death
The two preservation methods were:
• The body was kept in a cooler or “corpse
preserver” surrounded with ice.
• The undertaker could embalm with
chemicals.
First Response to Death
• At the Home
– Procedures in rural areas
• Usually no undertaker available.
• Preparation procedures- The family washed
and dressed the deceased.
• Preparation procedures- The family used a
corpse cooler or chemical embalming.
Influence of the Introduction of
Embalming
• Social problems.
– People were afraid of what they did not understand
– Many people viewed embalming as mutilation of the
body.
– A male family member was allowed to watch the
embalming.
What do you think about a family member watching the
embalming procedure?
Influence of the Introduction of
Embalming
• Procedure
– Chemical embalming similar to process today.
•
•
•
•
Body laid out
Body was washed
Dressed in the best or favorite suit
Body was moved into the parlor to be viewed
(even before the casket was obtained)
• The funeral and the viewing were then held in the
family home
Influence of the Introduction of
Embalming
• Psychological Jargon
– If the undertaker had training in embalming he
undoubtedly protested the “humaneness” of
embalming.
– The supposed advantages were:
•
•
•
•
Sanitation (Protection)
Duration (Preservation)
Reliability (Presentation)
Simplicity
Oh, yes and don’t forget the possibility of the body
“exploding” in the casket during the funeral
ceremonies.
Influence of the Introduction of
Embalming
• Psychological Jargon
– The astute embalmer never failed to mention the
possibility.
– Interesting thing was:
• Chemical embalming and corpse cooling was about the same
cost unless the amount of ice was great.
• Dr. Thomas Holm 20 years earlier charged $100
• Hudson Samson charged as little as $15
Influence of the Introduction of
Embalming
Now, would you ever try to use
“psychological jargon” to make a family do
something they did not want to do?
How about try to “up-sale” because your
salary depends on commission?
Funeral Arrangements
• If the body was to be chemically embalmed
–
–
–
–
The undertaker brought a “cooling board”
Embalming tools,
Embalming fluid
And a door badge
Funeral Arrangements
• The Door Badge
– A door crepe or badge that was attached to the door
in such a manner that the door bell of knocker was
covered.
Why would they want to cover the
knocker or door bell?
Funeral Arrangements
• The Door Badge
– Black was the color of the of the old
– White for the young
– And black with white rosette and ribbons for the
young adults.
– Purple, lavender and grey were later used
Funeral Arrangements
• Embalming:
– Many people believed that embalming
necessitated the removal of all the organs.
– When the observer saw the size of the
incision he was generally satisfied and seldom
remained to watch the balance of the
procedure
Funeral Arrangements
• Embalming:
– The body was undressed
– Washed on the bed
– Orifices were plugged
– Entire body was swabbed with embalming fluid
– Shaved
– Eyes closed
– Lips sewn together
– Then the embalming
This was an early attempt at “Restorative Art”
Funeral Arrangements
• Embalming:
– The undertaker employed arterial injection followed
by cavity injection with a TROCAR inserted in the
umbilicus and the corner of the eye.
Why were they using the trocar in the eye
socket?
The next step was a conference with the family to
complete the arrangements.
Funeral Arrangements
• Notification of relatives
– The funeral director sent telegrams.
What do we do today and who is
responsible for getting that done?
–
–
–
–
Notified the clergy
Arranged for the singers
Contacted the pallbearers
Notified the Sexton
Funeral Arrangements
• Casket selection
– They were chosen from a catalogue,
undertakers display room or a stockroom.
– Hardwood was the most popular as opposed
to metallic and cement caskets.
– Cloth covered caskets make their debut.
– Delivery problemsWhat do you think caused the biggest
problems?
Funeral Arrangements
– It took between 20-60 hours to get a casket.
• Depending on: request, availability, and
distance.
The Funeral
• In the City
– Role of the undertaker- sent invitations,
general supervisor, supplier and arranger of
funeral paraphernalia.
– Locations for the funeral- most likely in
home, maybe church, and seldom in the
funeral parlor.
– Participants- friends, family, pallbearers,
clergy, funeral director, hearse driver
The Funeral Cont.
• In Rural Areas
– Role of the undertaker- ordered the casket,
casketed deceased, and generally arranged
things so that the preacher could play the
dominating role.
– Locations for the funeral- most likely in
home, maybe the church, and seldom in the
funeral parlor.
– Participants- most of the people of the town
or village were involved.
The Funeral Cont.
• Church vs. Home Funeral
– Are there any advantages to having the
funeral services in the church?
– What then are the advantages of holding the
funeral at the home of the deceased?
Which do you think would be more beneficial
to a family?
Why?
The Funeral Cont.
• Open vs. Closed Casket:
– The custom of opening the casket at the
church for a final viewing was not accepted
very readily by the clergy or the undertakers.
Why do you think they did not accept or
like the open casket?
Professional Dress of the
Undertaker
• Clothing kept with the somber-toned tradition:
– Black broadcloth
– Doe skin coats
– Pantaloons
– Vest
Single breasted and buttoned up completely to the
neck. White linen shirt and black tie with black
gloves and black top hat.
It was very difficult to have the livery men look
respectable.
The Funeral Procession and
Burial
• Formation of the cortege in the city
– The hearse maintained the center of focus in
the procession.
– The plumes now again become important to
show how wealthy or impoverished you were.
(social status)
– The first flower carriage is used to transport
the flowers to the cemetery.
The Funeral Procession and
Burial
• Formation of the cortege in the city
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–
–
–
–
–
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Clergy
Flower carriage
Honorary Pallbearers
Active Pallbearers
Hearse
Immediate family and relatives
Friends.
– The one exception was, if a society or
fraternal order was involved then they always
took the lead.
• Procedure at the graveside
– The undertaker lead the pallbearers and the
clergy to the grave.
– THE UNDERTAKER SUPERVISED THE
LOWERING OF THE CASKET.
– When is your job done at the cemetery, before or after
the casket is lowered?
– The grave was usually not filled in front of
the family.
• Rural variations
– There were hell, fire, and damnation sermons
at the grave.
– The grave was usually filled in front of the
family.
Late 19th Century Mourning
Symbols
• Personal dress was black clothing.
• Appearance of the home
– Door Badges
– Draped room or entire house with black
cloth
– Dark colored veils covered the doorways of
the home.
• Timetable of mourning behavior
– Lasted two years for the widow
– One year for the widower
– The first 6 months was the period of deepest
mourning for all family members.
• Stationary- the width of the border on the
calling card told how long the person had
need of mourning.
• Social Emblems
– Badges were made for “Undertaker”,
“Pallbearer” or Masonic or Catholic
emblems.
• Funeral music was gloomy
Early 1900’s
• The attitude went from gloomy to
beautiful.
• Caskets were made to be more aesthetic.
– The couch style was designed to make the
deceased to look as comfortable and natural
as possible.
• Flowers
– For a time they were considered pagan,
wasteful, and worldly.
– Eventually they became popular to help avoid
the gloomy atmosphere of the funeral.
– Artificial flowers were used because real
flowers were hard to get.