Year: 1886

page_text: We, SUSAN OWEN GROVER and AMELIA HIGGINS both of Granville, in the
county of Licking, State of Ohio, one of the United States of America do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
Our invention relates to improvements in devices secured to the interior of coffins
to frustrate the efforts of persons who, from motives of cupidity, attempt to remove
corpses from their graves; and the objects of our improvements are to provide a
device so inexpensive as to be within reach of mourners of limited means, and so
simple as to be understood by all undertakers and capable of being applied in very
few minutes to any coffin. We attain these objects by the construction illustrated
in the accompanying drawings, in which-
Figure 1 is a top view of a coffin provided with a corpse-fastening device con-
structed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same.
Fig. 3 represents the fastening device upon a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a perspective
view of one end of a metal strap provided with a link of modified form from that
in Fig. 3.
The coffin A may be of any desired form. The keeper B is to be secured by
screws either to the bottom or rather low down the sides of the coffin, so that
when the fastening device is applied at the waist of the corpse it can be covered
by the draperies and by the arms of said corpse. In Fig. 1 one of the arms of the
corpse is bent downward partly under the body simply to show the keeper B
secured to the side of the coffin, but usually the arms are laid over the keeper and
fastening device.
The keeper B consists of a piece of metal either cast or stamped of sheet metal,
and bent and slotted for the reception and retention of one end of a metal strap, C,
or the ends of a suitable size wire. This keeper is provided with two feet, b,
having perforations to receive screws, by which it can be secured to the side or to
the bottom of the coffin in position adjacent to that occupied by the neck, waist,
or feet of a corpse when occupying said coffin. The central portion of the keeper is
elevated sufficiently above the feet b for the introduction of the ends of the fingers
of a person to direct the end of the metal strap C through the slots in the central
portion of the keeper. This central portion thus forms a substantially flat arch
having two parallel slots, 63, and three ribs, 1, 2, 8. The central rib, 2, is slightly
n

page_text: elevated above the body of the arch, but the side ribs, 1 and 3, are slightly bent
down below the level of the body of said arch, to permit the end of the metal
strap C to be passed first above the rib 3, under the rib 2, around the rib 1, and
back above the rib 3, so that on account of the rigidity found in bends made on hoop-
iron or metallic straps a permanent connection is made between said strap and the
keeper by bending its end only once and bringing it back parallel to its body. The
opposite end of the strap is either made wider than the body of the strap and
slotted transversely at c², as shown in Fig. 3, or can carry a link, C³, Fig. 4, to
permit the end of the strap to be passed through and form therewith a slip-noose
capable of surrounding a body at any desired point, and that will clasp it still
more tightly if it is pulled upon, as in attempting to remove the body secured to
the coffin by the means.
We are aware that coffins have been provided with corpse-retaining devices
consisting of standards provided with a slot and secured to the bottom of the
coffin, in combination with a leather strap passing through said slots and a buckle
uniting the ends of said leather strap; and also that narrow bands of sheet metal
have been placed over many parts of a corpse, and that the ends of said bands
have been bolted to the bottom of a coffin to retain a body against displacement
or removal; and we do not claim these devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is: -
In combination with a coffin and a metal strap adapted to pass around and secure
a body, a strap-securer consisting of the keeper B, having feet b, and elevated
above said feet a substantially flat arch having two parallel slots, 62, and three
ribs, the middle rib being elevated above the arch and the two outer ribs being
depressed below said arch, whereby the metallic strap is adapted to have its end
interwoven between the ribs of the keeper and retained thereby, substantially as
described, set forth, and illustrated in the drawings annexed.
Dated this with dra of Nreemhan 1000