1. The Art of the American
Cemetery and Beyond
Class 1
The American Funeral
Minda Powers-Douglas
CommUniversity 2014

2. The American Funeral

4. American Views of Death

5. Why Do We Have Funerals?

6. Funerals Fill Important Needs
• 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
MeaningfulFunerals.com

7. The 6 Needs of Mourning
• 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
MeaningfulFunerals.com

8. Saying Good-bye
Etta James’ funeral

9. Saying Good-bye

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. The New Tradition
Death has been taken out of our hands and placed in
the care of professionals. It’s been regulated,
standardized and sanitized.

15. Out of the Home and Into … a Home

16. The Earliest Americans
Of the first 102 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth
in 1620, half died during the first winter.
DigitalHistory.uh.edu

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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.

21. The Victorian Era

22. Victorian Views on Death
Victorians were so
“obsessed” with
death that “they had
their own death
culture.”
- Stephanie Carroll
UnhingedHistorian.blogspot.com

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

27. Victorian Home Funerals

28. When a Death Occurred
• The household
went into deep
mourning
• Windows were
closed
• Clocks were
stopped
• Mirrors covered

29. A Family Affair
• 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 roundthe-clock vigil
MySendOff.com

30. Death and Children
• Children were not
sheltered from the
deaths around them
• They learned the rituals
and meanings

31. Rituals
• It was scandalous if
rituals were broken
• Funeral processions
• Invitations
• Mementos
• Feasts and wine

32. The Original Funeral Parlor

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

35. CemeteryCuriosities.blogspot.com

36. Cooling Boards
• 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
MySendOff.com

37. Cooling Boards
Museum of Funeral Customs

38. Cooling Boards
• A family might have a
cooling board used for
generations
• Supported by chairs or
saw horses (if it had no
attached legs)
PaigePaige Blog

43. Mourning Traditions
• Mourning clothes
• Mourning jewelry
• Postmortem
photography
• Lavish funerals

44. 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

46. 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

47. Mourning Clothes for Men
•
•
•
•
Dark suit
Black arm band
Black band around hat
Black gloves

49. 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

50. Mourning Jewelry
• A minor gemstone
• A “mineraloid” (has an
organic origin, derived
from decaying wood
under extreme pressure)
• Fashionable during
Queen Victoria’s reign

58. 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

59. 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

60. 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

61. “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.”

62. 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

63. Avictorian.com

64. GraveyardDetective.blogspot.com

65. Etsy.com

67. Victorian Funeral Mutes
• Professional male
mourners
• Symbolic protectors
of the dead
• European custom
from 1600-1914

68. 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

69. Gov. William Botetourt - 1770
•
•
•
•
Williamsburg, Va.
Street lined with militia
Bells tolled
6 mutes, 8 pallbearers

70. Funeral Processions

71. Funeral Processions

72. Funeral Processions

73. Funeral Processions

74. The Return of Home Funerals
• The green movement
• The desire for more
control over a loved
one’s remains
• High cost of funerals

75. 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

76. The Return of Home Funerals
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.
HomeFuneralDirectory.com

77. 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

78. 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

79. Learn More
HomeFuneralDirectory.com
Crossings.net
Funeral Consumers Alliance
(Funerals.org)

80. Next week:
Superstitions
Spirit photography
Funeral advertising
Peculiar coffins
@cemeteryminda
www.TheCemeteryClub.com