I looked through the Dallas County History book and did not find any discussion of early Funeral Homes. It would be interesting to find this information. There is an article in Chapter 4, "Cemeteries in Dallas County" which describes customs in sickness and death but does not indicate when these customs ceased and undertakers took over. "When people became ill in olden times there were no hospitals or funeral homes. Neighbors would take turns sitting up which often lasted for months. When death came the ones there would close the eyes and weight them shut with coins. A white cloth was tied underneath the chin across the top of the head to hold the mouth shut. The body was laid on a board and covered with a sheet. The ones who sat up with the body, which was only kept one night, would wet a cloth in a solution and keep on the face. The caskets or boxes were usually made of walnut or whatever lumber was available for that purpose. It was lined with white muslin. The dress, if it was for a lady, was oft times made at night. A runner was sent out to notify all the neighbors of the death and when the funeral would be. So many times, a cemetery not being near, they would be buried on the farm. If a church and cemetery were near the bell would be tolled at the church. The box or casket would be placed in a wagon or hack with hay in the bed and moved to the church where the service was to be held. Many funerals were held in the yards of the homes or in the church yard. Neighbors would dig the grave and it was superstition not to ever compete the grave until just before the burial. A good pair of lines off of harness was used to lower the box into the grave with four strong men holding them. The graves were dug much deeper then than present day. While the dirt was being thrown in on the box it was the custom to sing. The families never left until the grave was filled. Many of the graves have never been marked with anything except a field rock." In Chapter 8, "Climate and Health": "There is no hospital in the County. Patients are taken to hospitals in Springfield, Lebanon, Columbia and Nevada. Three funeral homes provide ambulance service: Jones-Cantlon, Parrish-Buckner and Montgomery." This was written in 1971; the county still has no hospital. Here are the undertakers names of some of the death certificates I have: Routh & Jones of Buffalo, 1922, 1923, 1924 L. B. Jones, Buffalo, 1929, 1932, 1934, 1950, 1957 Jones-Cantlon, Buffalo, 1967 Parish, Buffalo, 1976, 1977 Montgomery, Buffalo, 1956, 1960, 1978 Montgomery-Viets, Buffalo, 1985 Currently, there are only two Funeral Homes in Buffalo - Montgomery-Viets and Cantlon. I tried to locate original records back in 1991 and was informed that Cantlon only has "business records" of Routh-Jones. Margaret Maulin