The Art of the American Cemetery and Beyond

Class 1The American Funeral

Minda Powers-DouglasCommUniversity 2014

The American Funeral

American Views of Death

Why Do We Have Funerals?

Funerals Fill Important Needs

MeaningfulFunerals.com

• The dignified and respectful care of the person• A tribute to his or her life• Makes us acknowledge the death, remember the life

and activate support during the naturally difficult time

• Helps survivors face the reality of death (part of the grieving process)

• Allow them to express their grief

The 6 Needs of Mourning

MeaningfulFunerals.com

• Acknowledge the reality of death• Move toward the pain of the loss• Continue the relationship with the person who died

through memory• Develop new self-identity• Search for meaning• Continue to receive support from others

Saying Good-bye

Etta James’ funeral

Saying Good-bye

Contemporary Views on Death

“In the first half of the 20th century, society

lost sight of the importance of rituals associated with death and dying and of the need for appropriate

death education.”- S.M. O’Gorman

“Death and Dying in Contemporary Society” paper

Contemporary Views on Death

“Consequently patients and professionals alike

found themselves unable to cope with the

inevitability of death.”- S.M. O’Gorman

“Death and Dying in Contemporary Society” paper

Contemporary Views on Death

“Modern America appears to be preoccupied with

the preservation of youth and beauty. Society seems

content to cling to the illusion that youth—and

life—can last forever.”- Jeffrey A. Johnson

Denial: The American Way of Death

Hidden in Plain Sight

“A major factor contributing to the American view of death is the fact that it has been hidden from us.”

- Jeffrey A. Johnson

Denial: The American Way of Death

The New TraditionDeath has been taken out of our hands and placed in

the care of professionals. It’s been regulated, standardized and sanitized.

Out of the Home and Into … a Home

The Earliest Americans

Of the first 102 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620, half died during the first winter.

DigitalHistory.uh.edu

Reasons for Death in Early America

• Lack of medical knowledge• Epidemics (thousands would die in a few months)– Boston: smallpox killed 1/5 of the population 1677-78– Diptheria, influenza, measles, pneumonia, scarlet fever

• In healthy areas, 1 in 10 children died by the age of 1 (in other areas, 3 in 10)

• Other reasons: bacterial stomach infections, intestinal afflictions, contaminated water and food, neglect … and eventually wars

DigitalHistory.uh.edu

Death in the 1700s

“Eighteenth-century Americans generally were guided in life by the fear of going to hell and the hope of reaching heaven.”

Reviving Rites of Passage in America

Early Americans

“They were surrounded by death. Without modern medicine, the average

lifespan was half of what it is today, and hospitals

were still disease-infested holes where people were

sent to be forgotten.”- Stephanie Carroll

UnhingedHistorian.blogspot.com

For Future Celebration

In the 1700s, it was common for a family to purchase a cask of

wine upon the birth of a child. It would be put

aside for the child’s wedding or funeral,

whichever came first.

The Victorian Era

Victorian Views on Death

Victorians were so “obsessed” with

death that “they had their own death

culture.”- Stephanie Carroll

UnhingedHistorian.blogspot.com

Death in the 1800s

“When death occurred in the late 1800s, no one

contacted a funeral home, no calls were

made to morticians to handle the burial

arrangements …because there were no funeral

homes or funeral directors.”

MySendOff.com

Victorian Views on Death

“They had dramatic displays and etiquette for coping with death and rituals to prevent

people from being buried alive.”

- Stephanie Carroll

UnhingedHistorian.blogspot.com

Death in the 1800s

“Up until the early 19th century, the task of preparing

the dead for burial was seen as a

simple, dignified family affair.”

MySendOff.com

Victorian Home Funerals

When a Death Occurred

• The household went into deep mourning

• Windows were closed

• Clocks were stopped

• Mirrors covered

A Family Affair

MySendOff.com

• Prior to the Civil War, people died at home surrounded by their loved ones

• Family members washed and dressed the body in a shroud or winding sheet

• A family member or neighbor would build a simple pine coffin

• The body would remain in the home for one to three days with family and friends keeping round-the-clock vigil

Death and Children

• Children were not sheltered from the deaths around them

• They learned the rituals and meanings

Rituals

• It was scandalous if rituals were broken

• Funeral processions• Invitations• Mementos• Feasts and wine

The Original Funeral Parlor

Image by H.T. Biel of Terre Haute, Ind.

CemeteryCuriosities.blogspot.com

Cooling Boards

MySendOff.com

• Large ice blocks would be placed beneath the coffin, with smaller pieces around the body

• A draping would hide the pan underneath

• Flowers would also disguise the board as well as mask any odors

Cooling Boards

Museum of Funeral Customs

Cooling Boards

PaigePaige Blog

• A family might have a cooling board used for generations

• Supported by chairs or saw horses (if it had no attached legs)

Mourning Traditions

• Mourning clothes• Mourning jewelry• Postmortem

photography• Lavish funerals

Mourning Clothes for Women

• Deep mourning – I year and 1 day

• Black bodice, skirt, long veil• Silk, wool, cotton• Women were also not

supposed to leave the home except for church or visiting relatives

Mourning Clothes for Women

• Half mourning – 6 months to a year

• Dark colors, often purple or dark green trimmed in black

• Upper class: silk, wool

Mourning Clothes for Men

• Dark suit• Black arm band• Black band around hat• Black gloves

Mourning Jewelry

• Dates back to at least the 15th century

• Shakespeare left money in his will so his friends could purchase memorial rings

• Brass, silver, gold, jet• Rings, pendants,

broaches and others

Mourning Jewelry

• A minor gemstone• A “mineraloid” (has an

organic origin, derived from decaying wood under extreme pressure)

• Fashionable during Queen Victoria’s reign

Mourning Gloves

It was customary in colonial New

England to send a pair of gloves to

friends and relatives to invite them to

funerals.

DigitalHistory.uh.edu

Mourning Gloves

Andrew Eliot, minister of Boston’s North Church, saved the

gloves that people sent him. In 32 years, he

collected 3,000 pairs.

DigitalHistory.uh.edu

Funeral Invitations

• Became common in the 17th century (Georgian Era)

• “Admission tickets”• Limited seating in

churches and for funeral feasts

• Skulls, scythes and hourglasses

TheChirurgeonsApprentice.com

“You are defired to Accompany the Corps of … to the Parifh Church of … on Wednesday the 25th of June 1712 by Nine of the Clock in the Evening precifely:

And bring this Ticket with you.”

19th Century Invitations

• Small, embossed memorial cards

• Sent out after the funeral as keepsakes

• Classical figures, urns, columns

• Mounted on black frock or velvet

• Created to be framed

TheChirurgeonsApprentice.com

Avictorian.com

GraveyardDetective.blogspot.com

Etsy.com

Victorian Funeral Mutes

• Professional male mourners

• Symbolic protectors of the dead

• European custom from 1600-1914

Victorian Funeral Mutes

• Stand vigil outside the door of the deceased

• Accompany the coffin• Wear dark clothes, look

solemn, carry a long stick (wand) covered in black crepe, top hats and gloves

Gov. William Botetourt - 1770

• Williamsburg, Va.• Street lined with militia• Bells tolled• 6 mutes, 8 pallbearers

Funeral Processions

Funeral Processions

Funeral Processions

Funeral Processions

The Return of Home Funerals

• The green movement• The desire for more

control over a loved one’s remains

• High cost of funerals

The Return of Home Funerals

• Only 8 states require a funeral director’s involvement (IL, not IA)

• Embalming is not required in every state (not IL, IA for communicable diseases)

• Casket burials are not required by law (not IL or IA)

HomeFuneralDirectory.com

The Return of Home Funerals

HomeFuneralDirectory.com

In Iowa, there are no laws that specifically permit or prohibit burial on your own

land, but check with local zoning. Family burial grounds are permitted in Illinois and

should be registered with the Comptroller’s office.

Home Funerals

“Home funerals were common until the start of the 20th century. Now they are making a comeback, fueled by environmental concerns, the faltering

economy and surging interest in holistic practices and home hospice care.”

“For In-home Funerals, A 21st Century Revival” - article

Home Funerals

“It’s about saying good-bye. I didn’t want some stranger doing this. So I did it myself, and it’s emblazoned on my memory as an

important part of my grieving.”- Linda Bergh, on the home funeral for her

husband

“For In-home Funerals, A 21st Century Revival” - article

Learn More

HomeFuneralDirectory.com

Crossings.net

Funeral Consumers Alliance(Funerals.org)

@cemeterymindawww.TheCemeteryClub.com

Next week:

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