Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-09-19
BURYING OF THE DEAD.
CHANGES IN FUNERAL CUSTOMS
DICTATED BY GOOD SENSE.

Funeral Services, Nor Men to Stand with
Barred Heads by the Grave-No Long
Procession Of Carriages.
The undertakers Of this city announce
that funerals are no longer what they
used to be. Women are no longer ex-
pected to attend them, and with some
exceptions they don't. The statement of
r. this fact was brought about through the
publication in Philadelphia newspaper
Of a number Of interviews with under
IL takers in that city. In recently pub
| n ished death notice Of woman in Ph;la-
| delphia this sentence was embodied /:
| "Male members of the family only are
invited to attend" This notice was pub
.ished in accordance with the wishes of
tie dead woman. She had been of a
prVJactical and sensible turn of mind. Her
obi feot was to prevent the attendance at
her fu-neral of women who might, If it
were ba d weather, contract disease Of a
serious aeA eAature.
IN PHILADELPHIA.
Until ;CT oery recently numerously at
tended f IN vgals h ! been very common
in Phila VIA. .Sfores of carriages fol-
lowed it's FerakSssS imam or woman to the
grave, ink in yen and women stood around
on thed Penrshp ground in all kinds of
wealth 1ef while the coffin was lowered
into ~ Ets last resting place. Philadelphia
is gI W4adually awakening to the fact that
thideat sort of thing is dangerous, Strange
to ovS1say, it appears to be due to the under
t1rakers of that city that these changes are
Sbeing made. Evidently they are not so
~ calculating and selfish as various writers
of fiction have portrayed them. The
more carriages there are at funeral the
bigger the undertaker's bill is, yet the
Philadelphia members of the profession
seem to view this fact with indifference.
Said Mr.. r. R. Bringhurst, one of the
most prominent of these gentlemen:
"The custom in vogue here Of large
concourse of friends and relatives at
tending funerals is very foolish one.
Male members of the family only should
accompany the hearse to the burial
ground, and I am glad to see that this
plan is being adopted by several fam.
lilies of this city. Ladies should not be
taken to the burial ground, for more
than one reason, either in good or bad
weather. 1t subjects them to great
nervous strain to see the body of some
member Of their family or some relative
lowered into the ground, and time and
time again have seen ladies faint from
this excitement.
Sometimes there is hitch in the
dropping of the coffin, SO that considera
BILE difficulty is occasioned in getting il
Strengthened out. Accidents OF this ma
ture are very prolific of nervous pros
tration, and women should not be sub
jected to them.
SIT is striking fact that half of oul
funerals take place on stormy days, whel
it is positively dangerous for any man
not to mention ladies, to stand for
long time on the wet ground until tn
interment is finished. This city is, how
ever, getting to be somewhat enlighten
ed on the subject of funerals A few
years ago there were forty or fifty car
riages to every funeral, but now thi
number is reduced to about eight. O.
course, the more people attend funeral
the better it is for the undertaken. Hi
business is advertised, and he comes il
for the burial of those who are takel
sick and die because Of the exposure a
the burial ground. But we undertaken
have sympathetic souls like other classe
patrons to have the funeral ceremony a
the house, and then let only few gen
tlemen of the family accompany tn
body to the cemetery"
Undertaken J. R Knowles expresse,
the same sentiments and added:
"The exclusion of ladies and friend
at funerals is an admirable policy t.
adopt. This city is just awakening t
the fact that big funeral is big folly
As rule every large funeral is tn
cause of the death of at least one persol
who attends it."
New York adopted the new custom
some time since. Save in the case o
men of great official prominence, few
funerals, with the exception Of those o
foreigners and persons of the poore
class, who accept innovations in sucl
matters slowly, are largely attended
even by men. Nowadays there are rare
ly more than three or four carriages a
the funeral Of person of good socia
rank, and five seems to be the maxi
mum. The more fashionable the fam
lily the simpler the arrangements are
At large proportion of such funeral
that have taken place lately there hav
the hearse. Undertaken Edward M. Sc
nior said yesterday:
Cat three-quarters Of the funerals
have had in charge lately, no wome
have been present. AS rule they d
not even sit in the same room with tn
body of the dead. The body is usual
/ placed in the parlor, and some male rel
ative remains there to receive visitor
and do whatever is needed, while tn
women stay upstairs. They may com
down to be present at services in tn
house, but they rarely follow the bod
to the grave Even when they do this
they do not leave their carriages"
It is not uncommon now for person
to provide minutely for their burials i
their wills, and many prudent ones ez
pressly request that no woman be a
lowed to follow their bodies. When tn
late actor, Chanfrau, died, the funers
- d. Il - r.