The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1880-02-20
GRfaAittNa 4 school GIRL
A Young Girl's Body Given to tn
FLAMES ut tho Washington tPa.'

:
A Young Girls Body Given to the
FLAMES at tho Washington tPa.1
ssCrcmatOry. ssss " ME M s&
The New York Sun has letter from
Washington, Pa, giving details of the
cferhatioh Of the body Of Miss Dolly
Hartman, Of Fittsbiirgs Il beautiful
young school girl, who died of hasty
consumption, and who was cremated IN
accordance with her expressed wish:
Tie body Of Miss Hartman was so
arranged as to siIntilate life with start
ling fidelity. She lay on her side on q
sofa, with her head resting on a pillow.
A gayly-colored afghan was thrown
over the lower part of the body, and the
fingers of the left hand rested on Its
edge DIS though Il had been drawn up
by the sleeper Iii the hand were two
loose rosebuds. A light blue W0rsted
shawl was placed with studied careless
ness behind the body, and formed a
background for the silent figure In its
pure white dress of white. feeey ma
terial. The hair was ufifasteped, and
stray lock lay half across the lips.
The features were calm and only
slightly discolored. The big blue eyes
were covered by the pallid lids. She
looked wonderfully Pretty there IN her
last rest in her fathers home, and the
very naturalness of her appearance was
most pathetic. The customary service
for the dead was read by the Rev. Mr..
Fetterling, who made few remarks on
the life and death Of her who slept be
fore him.
Mr.. Hartman and his sons, with two
or three friends, accompanied the re-
mains to Washington. The body,
which was In an elegant mahogany
casket, was placed in d heafse and driven
to the little building on the hill which
was first made famous by the ceremoni-
GUS cremation of Baron De Palm. Tie
family followed in carriages, and soon
the little party gathered in the small
reception room adjoining the furnace.
It was very cold outside, and the wind
whistled drearily around the building
and blew the loose snow against the
window pares. John Dye (there is
fitness in names sometimes that cannot
be explained) J, the queer, sour-looking
man who built the crematory and has
had charge of it whenever it was iii
use, had the furnace filed with coke,
and the retoft was brilliantly white with
heat. Dye said il was just right 4 It
was not hot enough,n he coolly added,
as though speaking of roasting chest
nuts, "when De Palm was burned, and
was too hot when Mrs. Pittman came
here, but il is all right now"
The coffin was opened and the body
laid upon the iron framework of the
catatalque. 1t was then wrapped in a
| linen sheet dripping with alum water.
The figure of the young lady was sadly
wasted by disease, and It looked very
slender indeed in its moist drapefy
The Rev. Mr., Vetterling took small
shovelful of ashes from the fireplace and
read few words about the severance
ofthe spiritual and earthly body. Then
he sprinkled the ashes on the body.
The iron frame was then lifted by the
attendants and showed into the long and
narrow vault Of the retort. The door
was pushed into a rim of tue moist
cement and screwed up tightly, and ihe
incarceration began at ii "A. For about
d second there was an almost irnper-
ceptible odor as of burnt cloth. After
ward no smell whatever could be de-
tectcd. ssfg
Looking through the esmall hole in the
dosr of the retort, 1 saw the outline 0l
Gtl6 Sll0SL S1lAluk nuSHtIy dANs SAO-s
smaller. This lasted a few seconds
only, and then. as the aluM soaked
sheet was baked hard, it became stiff
and immovable. I looked in six times
within the next two hours, but could
see no change in the appearance of the
form. 1t took about two hours and tif-
teen minutes to reduce the body. The
ashes did not weigh more then four OF
five and half pounds.
The ashes of the dead girl were sent
to the family in a small tin box. The
entire cost of the cremation was not
over $35. Mr.. Hartman was very much
pleased with the result. and says his
own body shall be similarly disposed of
Mr.. Harding. son-in-law of DIR. Le
Moyne and one of the trustees of Che
crematory, says lie has over one hun,
dred applications from persons. non
living for the use of the crefnatory. and
he added that large nun Der Of the ap'
plicants were residents of New York
and vicinity. w m - ssass