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Transcript of Comm u 2014
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:
SuperstitionsSpirit photographyFuneral advertising
Peculiar coffins