The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1881-09-10
An Undertaker's Story.
FIFTY THOUSAND BURIALS IN
FIFTY YEARS.

How He Learned His Business and
Buried Zachary Taylor, Gen.
Harrison, John Quincy Adj
ANS, and other Prominent
Men-Changes I'm Fun
eral Fashions.
From the Philadelphia Times, Aug. "a.
"Yes," said William Hill Moore ,~eet-
Ting himself back with bis snowy
haired head against. the cushion of an
easy chair and crossing his legs, now
somewhat attenuated with age, s'yes,"
said he, ~ believe l am the Oldest living
undertaken. I've been active In the
business over fifty years. l began in an
alley, but l was not above my business,
and gave my whole time to it, and, of
course, the business grew, and l made
lots Of money. There are buDdred
undertakers who have started since, but
| was the first one to keep ready-made
collins on hand in Philadelphia, and
supply funerals as regular business,
and, so far as l know, It had not been
anywhere else at that time. That was
in 1925. learned the business during
the cholera of 1919 20 with man who
buried the dead for the prisons and
Coroners and that like, and there's no
telling the many q one In those days
that went in the ditch who'd never died
at ALL"
"Wby, William" said little thin
nervous lady IN the room, "you don't
mean they were buried alive9 Ugh! 1t
makes my flesh creep"
"Yes, Martha, that's 1t exactly. No
telling how many. A good OLD Quaker
friend of mine-I buried him atterward;
he had everything very plain, remem-
Der, and no handles on the cof1in-said
to me once; william said he, SIS thee
sure that all thee bury with the cholora
were dead when thee put chem in the
grourd% Said l Il never thought
whether they were dead or not; 4 just
buried them as fast as could"
"Well, never forgot the remark
When / fixed up place for myself on
Fifth street, forget the builders
name now, but buried all his family,
and large family it was, tool had
| two rooms where used to do embalm
ing and keep bodies until some one
would come to pay for them, but /
made up my mind that I'd never bury
any of these or anybody else until |
was sure they weren't alive. But it's
easy to tell. With such as die from
apoplexy and sudden like that it ac-
tually seems"-and here the jolly old
undertaken laughed a broad, hearty
laugh-''it actually seems they'd de-
composed before they died. Ha ha
ha Its remarkable how plain the
signs of decomposition become to the
practiced eye. Why, Sir, can tell a
dead body as quick as that"-and he
snapped his long fingers in front of his
shrewd gray eyes-"but we always
put off moving the body as long as the
relatives like, unless it gets very bad,
and then we does our duty and moves
them off. They always like, you
know, to have their little cries, and
we let's them have their way. John
Swift, who was the Mayor that time
we buried him in q double coffin,
emember-didn't like the idea of my
keeping the bodies month at time
but don't mind it in the least, and
soon showed him there was no danger
Why, Sir, the dead are no more to vi
than the sheets of paper you write on
We never think any more what per-
son dies of than you do of asking the
pc ople you meet in the street what
disease they have. I've been al
through cholera, small pox and yellow
fever, and never had so much as a sicl
stomach. Most contagious diseasel
are caught through fear, but a grea
deal depends on the way q man lives
No undertaken can touch liquor il ht
wants to keep free from disease. HI
has to be strictly temperate. He ha
to be very careful what he eats, too
Its my experience that ifa man in care
full what he eats and drinks and keep
his stomach in order he not be afrait
of any contagious disease. had {
friend-buried him, too, by the way
who lived to be 90 just by eating a
Little as possible"
The gaunt, Strengthening old mai
at this point let his eyes relax some.
what from their usual dim, vacan
gaze, and, in response to motion
put the large speaking trumpet whicl
he balanced on one finger to his ear
All he had said up to this point wa
suggested by single question saoute'
into the ear trumpet, and 1t now be
came necessary to start him on anothe
train of "reminiscences.
"You buried Gen. Patterson, d
you not 2" he was asked.
"Yes, but was scarcely able to ge
there" he replied. 'Pve been yer
sick, but Pm not quite ready for til
undertakers yet. Up to a very littl
while ago we buried all the Judge
and Commodores and Generals, an
almost all the great people it seems
me, but Lincoln-we didn't get him.
The undertaken was unable to repres
= a heavy sigh at the thought 'missin
the melancholy pleasure of laying ava
n this ruly great man. "There were th
obsequies of Zachary Taylor" he n
= sumed; ''the hearse cost $4,000. Ther
| were eight gray horses, with black COY
ers, trimmed with white, and the me
who walked as leaders wore long whit
bands on their hats aud white gloves.
4 was a grand sight. There YVES sing
tassel that cost $45. Then had th
obseauies of Bushrod Washington en-
:. Chief Justice Marshall, and Gener'
" William Henry Harrison, and job
Quincy Adams. You may be sure the
y we're the best that could be had. Whe
the body of Henry Clay passed throug
: the city in 1852 there was funeral pre-
cession, and had that, too, but 1t wi
!. not so much of On affair. DR.. Kane, u
= Arctic explorer, buried, and JUDI
| 1T. x.ttta I hufiat than Tn