I wish I could remember more about it - but when I married Steve Stewart in l974 I remember his father Jack Stewart (Stewart Funeral Home) telling of a time when embalming was done at the home. I saw some of the big containers that were used. Mary Cone Stewart ---- Nancee Seifert <[email protected]> wrote: > J. J. Farrell, in Inventing the American Way of Death, 18301920 (1980), > describes common funeral-related practices that prevailed through the > mid-to-late 1800s among people of European descent. Most people died at home > during this period, and funerals and burials were handled by the immediate > family and neighbors. After the death, women in the family would wash, dress > and prepare the body for burial. Men were responsible for making the plain > wood coffin or securing it from the local carpenter. Male survivors dug the > grave, and in some cases carved the grave stone. The wake was typically held > at home, followed by a committal service at grave-side. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Nancee's notes: It was also quite common for families who had loved ones die > during terrible winters, to wrap the bodies and put them in the barn or > other buildings, and wait until spring thawing to bury the body.. I can't > imagine knowing my loved one was dead, frozen, etc. In the barn..... People > then were a much, much sturdier stock; not so maudlin as we are now. I > believe it was the honorable thing for men to do, being pall bearers.. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > As industrialization flourished, American cities grew more crowded, and > living spaces became smaller. When death occurred, many families did not > have the physical space for a wake in the home. D. C. Sloane (1991) cites > three other reasons for the expanding roles of undertakers in the late > nineteenth century: (1) the rise in popularity of embalming; (2) a longer > distance from the home to the cemetery necessitated someone to organize the > procession; and (3) families were concerned about ensuring that all the > formalities were followed. The National Funeral Directors Association was > established in 1882. The group decided to use the term funeral directors, > rather than undertakers, in an effort to portray a more professional image. > During the twentieth century, the role of the funeral director continued to > expand into areas previously held by the family and the clergy. > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: Stacy Smith > Date: 12/08/09 06:28:04 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] DEATH OF MIDA ALMA TEATERS > > Reading this, I wonder... > I never thought about it before, but why is it tradition for pall bearers to > > Be guys? Or is it just traditon in our family? > Anyone have any thoughts? > > www.iagenweb.org/decatur > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message