There were some funeral homes in the 1800s. One of my great-grandmothers was buried in a regular cemetery, but the funeral was at home and the casket came from a furniture store (1932). One of my grandfathers died in 1934, and the funeral was at his parents' home but arranged by a funeral home. I think it varied from place to place, making a definite answer nearly impossible. I do know that prior to the Civil War, the stuff used for "preserving" the corpse could also have been used for a roast beef, but when bodies started being shipped distances to home during the war, other methods came into vogue, including arsenic. People are still buried in family cemeteries today, but I haven't heard lately of funerals actually taking place at home, possibly because we no longer have parlors which are not in general use by the family. Elizabeth **************New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)