The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-09
FUNERALS FIFTY YEARS AGO.
How Times Have Changed and Cofhns
Have Changed With Them.
From the Washington star.

been many changes in the business since l
have been in it. / commenced the business
working with an older brother, and l may
cav learned no trade, for il came to me
naturally. This was early in the 2uS The
style of coffin then IN vogue was the sharp
pointed top, fitting the form more closely
than the present box-hke casket. The
pieces at head and foot were tiVe-Sided.
With the bottom eleven pieces of wood were
required to construct coffin. The joints
on the sides were where the breast
of the corpse would come, and at
this point was the joint In the
ton lid. Then there were no fiat-top
collins, excepting those made for the
pauperS, and those were made IN the same
shape as the others, with the exception Of
the top. Our lumber was kept in the rough,
and such thing as a ready-nade coffin was
rare. When an order was received the
wood was selected and two or three men
would 90 10 work, having no respect 10
hours, and make the coffin We had no
planning or Sawmills then, and all the work
was done by hand. The hours for labor
were ID summer from sun TO sun. ana IN
winter till 9 o'clock at night, but often we
worked even later, as necessity required.
! am astonished sometimes TO think OF what
/ have gone through, both in the shop and
in attending funerals We then did not have
business wagons When a coffin was
finished two of US would shoulder 1t and
carry il to the chamber of death. There
were no patent ice-boIes, and IL was seldom
that ice was used at all. The custom was
then. as it Is now 10 great extent, TO allow
one full day to intervene between the date
OF death and the date Of burial, and should
the weather he warm the corpse would be
almost certain to become offensive.
THE UNDERTAKEN on HORSEBACK
Then the undertaken always rode on
horseback. f" he went on, and If the weather
was stormy be was expected 10 face 1t The
coffins were lined with cotton, in the body
of il, and at the top was a lining Of cambria
70 fold over the corpse. For a walnut
coffin, including attendance at the funeral,
we then received Sl6 and for a mahogany
one, from SIS to S30 There was then no
display or ornamentation made, and flowers
had not come into vogue. In place of
handles black rope-black for the old and
white for the yOung-was used, arranged
in neat coils with the tasSel at the end In
the center The coffin case was not then
used. and mother earth came in closer con-
tact with the body. An oblong excavation
was made for the grave, as at present, and
al the bottom the earth was cut out so as TO
closely fit the coffin, which, when placed in
the aperture wes covered by boards, upon
which the earth was thrown, generally
by the pall-bearerS These rope handles
were far more convenient than those used
to-day. II was customary TO carry the
corpse on the bier TO the foot of the grave.
Instead Of placing bars across the grave and
placing the ropes by which the corpse is to
Be lowered underneath the coffin, the coffin
could be lowered by the rope handles. 1t
was then extremely rare that a corpse was
buried in q full suit Of ordinary clothes.
ShrOuds were almost exclusively used and
these were generally made by the family or
friends Of the deceased 1t was formerly
the custom 10 have watchers because of a
belief that a corpse would be scented by
cats or rats, and if they were not kept
away il would be mutilEted; but this pre-
caution where the ice chest is used is no
longer necessary. As / have stated before,
the use Of flowers at funerals was almost
unknown Fifty years ago some friend
would place on or near the corpse a small
bouquet in water, and from this the custom
has grown Of surrounding the corpse with
floral tributes. 1t not infrequently occurs
now at funerals that a carriage is required
TO convey the flowers to the cemetery"
NO FLOWERS, But sAsHEs
''Do you think that the flower business is
some times overdone" asked the reporter.
Those who contribute them" said Mr.
Williams. do not think so, and perhaps if
they had witnessed some funerals of forty
or fifty years ago they would say that the
sash business was then overdone. Then the
minister, pall-bearers, undertaken, and dri-
vers all wore sashes over shoulders and on
hats. You may judge of the quality some
times used from the fact that at the funeral
of Commodore Crane, in March, 1856, the
dry goods merchants bill for saShes was
over 500. ! suppose that even new fash
ions and customs relating to the dead must
come, and have seen a number of changes.
The old-styled pointed coffin is seldom seen
now, and l may say that it went out of
style in the SOS. Then the raised top gave
way to the fiat top, and l do not know but
that the war had much to do with the
change, for the fiat-top collins can be packed
and carried much better than the others.
The baskets, plain and cloth-covered, came
next, and to these have been added mold
ings at the top and bottom, and some of the
latter styles aim at artistic effect. As
have stated before, | believe that the fat
top collins were first used for the paupers
before the present ice boxes were in
use, continued Mr.. Williams, ~ was called
on to bury young man whose death was
caused by drowning. 1t was in warm
weather, and the family desired that the
funeral should be put off few days. The
bath tub was used, and he was laid in it,
covered with ice, and kept splendidly. In
fact, he looked so much better in death than
he did in life that his mother could not be
made TO believe that life was extinct, and
for this reason the hour of the funeral
services was twice postponed until her fam
lily physician arrived and made an exami-
nation.
The means of informing the public of a
death in the 20's," said Mr.. Williams, "dif-
fered from the present mode Of funeral
notices in the paper. A man was sent with
bell to toll or ring. If the deceased was
a grown person a piece of black, or if
young piece Of white cambria was tied to
the bell handle. AS the man passed along
tolling or ringing the bell, persons would
come out and he would announce the death
and time of funeral
PRESIDENT HARRISoN'S FUNERAL.
81 have attended some large funerals in
my day." continued the veteran. "Wher
President Harrison died my brother jaime:
and | were sent for and we buried him. We
laid him out, made his coffin and converted
our hearse into funeral car, building ovel
the running gear platform from which
the drapery hung hiding the wheels On
this platform were three steps, above which
was the resting place for the coffin. Thi,
was Job that took us three DAYS anc
nights without intermission. The nexI
funeral of prominent parsonage nj which
attended was that Of Mrs. President Tyler
who died at the White house September 10
1912. The funeral took place from thu
White house. The remains were placed il
ualuaf nnyaraI ropft, op1 +alya,, 20, Ia