FUNERAL SERVICE HISTORY GLOSSARY

Marcello Malpighi

"Father of Histology," the study of tissues.

Dr. Thomas Holmes

"Father of Modem Embalming in the United States."

Chadwick's report -

1840's reported on unsanitary conditions in London created by intramural burials, the high cost of funerals and the l use of the death certificate.

Purgatorial Doctrine

Catholic belief that those whose souls are not perfectly cleansed undergo a process of cleansing before they can enter heaven.

Dr. William Harvey

Discovered the circulation of blood.

Anubis

Egyptian god of embalming said to be of human form with the head of a jackal.

Osiris

Egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead.

Crier -

English custom of Middle Ages which lasted until 19th Century; person who walked the street calling out the name of the deceased and asking people to pray for the soul of the departed.

Edwin Chadwick

English investigator of mass corruption in regard to English burial practices who recommended that cemeteries be municipalized and that religious rites be simplified and standardized in 1842.

Cremation Association of North America

Founded in 1913, CANA is an international organization of cemeterians, cremationists, funeral directors, industry suppliers and consultants. CANA was originally formed to promote cremation as a modem, safe and hygienic way of dealing with a dead human body.

Jean N. Gannal

French chemist who developed early embalming methods including injection through the carotid arteries. Author of History of Embalming.

Funeralis

Latin for torchlight procession; word 'funeral' is derived from this

John Hunter

Scottish anatomist credited with the discovery of "Hunters Canal."

American Board of Funeral Service Education

The agency charged with developing curriculum and accreditation standards for funeral service education programs in the United States.

International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards

The agency responsible for production, administration, and integrity of the National Board Examination. Also referred to as "The Conference."

Effigy

a life-sized, waxen recreation (dummy) of the deceased; often used at state funerals because the body of the deceased should be present for the funeral, but could not be preserved for that length of time

National Selected Morticians (NSM) -

a limited membership funeral service organization formed in 1917 on the basis of one member firm per city; now known as Select Independent Funeral Homes (SIFH).

National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)

a professional association of funeral directors and embalmers organized in 1882. It is the oldest and largest national funeral service organization in the world. NFDA currently provides is advocacy, education, information, products, programs and services to help members enhance the quality of services to families. (this statement taken from the NFDA constitution)

Natron

a salt obtained from the dry lakes of the desert used by the Egyptians in the mummification process. It was once thought that the body was covered in natron for 70 days. Modem translations of the Book of the Dead state that the body was covered for only 20 days.

Funeral trolley car

a specially designed train car run on a city's trolley line to transport casket & mourners to cemeteries on the outskirts of the city.

Inviter to funerals -

a specialty connected with funerals in colonial America; called personally upon those expected to attend funerals; often a municipal appointment.

Praeco

aka crier, a special funeral functionary in ancient Rome who summoned participants to a public funeral.

Ogee design -

an innovation introduced to square sided caskets in order to reduce the excess space and weight, particularly of metal caskets; characterized by an "S" shaped curvature.

Mound burial -

ancient Viking custom; after deceased was placed in his boat with items necessary for the spirit to maintain the position held on earth, all was cremated and the pyre then covered with earth.

Gravity injector

apparatus used to inject arterial fluid during the vascular (arterial) phase of the embalming process; relies on gravity to create the pressure required to deliver the fluid (0.43 pounds of pressure per foot of elevation).

Barber-surgeon

approximately 1540-1745 were the sole agency permitted to embalm and perform anatomical dis sections in the city of London.

Order of the Golden Rule (OGR)

association established in 1928; committed to quality services and high standards; membership limited to one independently OWNED Funeral. HOME PER community; now known as IOGR (International Order of Golden Rule).

Dr. Auguste Renouard

author of The Undertaker's Manual, the first book published specifically as an embalming textbook in the United States.

Layers out of the dead -

became an occupational specialty in many larger US cities by the end of the l8th C.; predecessor to the undertaker.

Blood-letting

belief or practice of draining a quantity of blood to cure illness or disease.

Extramural burial

burial outside the walls of the city; concept introduced during the ancient Roman times.

Jewish Funeral Directors of America (JFDA) -

chartered in 1928 to secure harmony in the profession among Jewish funeral directors and elevate the practice of the profession.

Sexton

church caretaker who had responsibility for church property, ringing of bells and digging of graves in the churchyard cemetery. During the Middle Ages most funeral practices were under the direction of church officials.

Style 'E' state coffin

cloth covered coffin designed for ex-President US Grant by Stein Coffin Co. in 1885 helped elevate acceptance of cloth covered caskets.

Frederick Ruysch

considered the "father of embalming," the first to refine the technique of arterial injection of a preservative into the vascular system.

Burial club -

created in 1800's London by the 'poor' people as a means to afford funerals; costs were shared by others via weekly collections; were the forerunners of industrial insurance.

August Hoffman

credited with the discovery of the chemical formaldehyde.

Babylonians

culture associated with the practice of immersing the body of the dead in earthen jars filled with honey or wax.

Direct disposition

disposition of human remains without any rites or ceremonies

Immediate burial

disposition via earth burial without any form of funeral rite at the time of disposition.

Professional mourners

due to fear that the dead might be jealous, the ancient Romans and Greeks hired persons (often women) to shriek, tear their hair and rend garments, etc. in order to insure adequate display of emotion.

Life signals

due to the fear of pre-mature burial, many early American coffins were designed and patented with a method to alert the living if someone was buried alive.

Sarcophagus

early Egyptians cut massive coffins from a single mass of stone to protect from grave robbers. Same term is applied today to massive copper & bronze caskets. Derivation of term is from Greek, sarco for flesh and phagus for eaters because when opened, bodies inside were bound to be in a state of decay.

Animistic view

early Roman view of the afterlife which emphasizes the soul as the vital principle. The soul at death hovered around the place of burial and required constant attention of the descendents to be happy. Neglect would bring evil upon them.

National Association of Colleges of Mortuary Science -

established in 1942 as an organization for privately sponsored schools with the goal of advancement of mortuary education.

National Foundation of Funeral Service -

established in 1945 as a non-profit educational trust to advance the education of the profession; currently merged with the NFDA as Funeral Service Foundation.

Undertakers Mutual Protective Association

first formal organization of undertakers; kept a black book of objectionable and delinquent customers to be shared among members only; originated in Philadelphia, January 1864.

Bier

forerunner of today's hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffined body was carried to the grave.

Leagues of Prayer -

formed in Middle Ages by lay persons to bury the dead and to pray for the souls of the faithful departed.

Joseph Henry Clarke

founded Clarke School of Embalming at Cincinnati (now Cincinnati College) in 1882. Author and holder of several patents.

Casket

from the French term 'casse' meaning jewel box' or container for something valuable; came into dominant use in patent literature for burial receptacles in 1890's in America; a rigid container which is designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like material, and ornamented and lined with fabric. (FTC definition)

Coffin

from the Greek word 'kofinos'; utilitarian container designed to hold human remains, often anthropoidal in shape.

Cortege

funeral procession.

Adaptive funeral

funeral rite that is adjusted to the needs and wants of those directly involved; altered to suit the trends of the times.

Burial case

generic term used in America to designate all burial receptacles as new variations of the coffin were being offered.

Libitinarius

head undertaker in ancient Rome; the secular role model for today's funeral director; conducted his business at the temple of Libitina where death were also registered.

Obsequies - historic term for funeral ceremonies.

historic term for funeral ceremonies.

Anthropoid

human shaped; some early coffins were described as anthropoidal shaped.

Circle of Necessity

in Egyptian culture, the journey to the Sun and back which required 3,000 years to complete.

Necropolis

in Egyptian history, the walled suburb of a major city where embalming was performed. Also known as "The City of the Dead."

Elysian fields

in Greek mythology, the Greek version of heaven.

Funeral feast

in Middle Ages the wake also served as a feast to welcome the principal heir to his new estate; for the ancient Greeks, funeral feasts ended the fast of the bereaved.

National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association -

incorporated in 1938 as National Negro Funeral Directors and Morticians Association; present name adopted 1957; established to represent specific interests of African-American funeral directors.

Anton von Leeuwenhoek

inventor of the microscope — "Father of Microbiology."

Trocar

long hollow tube patented in 1868 by Samuel Rogers of Philadelphia; used by embalmers to inject fluids into cavities and remove excess liquids.

Designator -

master of ceremonies and director of the ancient Roman funeral procession.

Cremation -

method of disposing of the dead body via fire; first attributed to the ancient Greeks.

Hand pump

method to apply a continuous flow of embalming solution via manual manipulation of a handheld mechanism.

Soul shot

mortuary fee paid to insure entrance of the decedent's soul into heaven.

Undertaker's buggy

name given to the vehicle used by undertakers to transport the necessary mortuary paraphernalia to the homes where funerals were typically held. These vehicles sometimes had an appearance similar to a hearse, but were much less ornate.

Pollinctores

name of the ancient Roman embalmers. They were either slaves or employees of Libitinarius.

Pagan

one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods; heathen; an irreligious or hedonistic person; in ancient Rome, a follower of a polytheistic religion.

Trade embalmer

or embalmer to the trade; term originated when some of the original graduates of early embalming courses gave up regular employment with a single firm to provide embalming service to firms which had no trained embalmer.

University Mortuary Science Education Association

organization of college & university based funeral service programs established in 1961.

Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards

organization of licensing agencies in North America; responsible for the national licensing exam known as the National Board Exam; established in St. Louis in 1904.

Casket Manufacturers Association

organization of the casket manufacturers intended to facilitate sharing of information (now known as the Casket and Funeral Supply Association).

Undertaker

original term applied to those whose occupation included responsibility to organize and facilitate funeral activities; used interchangeably (by some) for the term funeral director.

Wake

originated as an ancient Hebrew practice, family and friends sit with the deceased as a precaution against premature burial; continued as an act of piety in Middle Ages (aka vigil for the dead).

Catacombs -

originated in ancient Rome as excavated cemeteries cut out of soft rock for the tombs of wealthy Christians; later became a place for religious rites to avoid persecution.

Burial vault

outer enclosure for caskets placed in the grave; originally intended to prevent grave robbery

J. Anthony Gaussardia

patented a process of embalming involving the injection of an arsenic-alcohol mixture.

Fisk metallic coffin

patented in 1848 as form-fitting, airtight metallic coffin designed to improve ability to preserve the body; also had a glass plate to allow for viewing of the face.

Cooling board

portable table on which the body was placed while the corpse cooler was in use; later became the embalming table when embalming was done in the home of the deceased.

Funeral undertaker

provided services of organizing and facilitating funeral details as an occupation; aka undertaker, different from furnishing undertaker.

Furnishing undertaker

provided supplies and merchandise (i.e. door badges, carriages, etc.) to funeral undertakers who were dealing directly with the public. Furnishing undertakers filled the role of middle man.

Catafalque

raised platform (with or without a canopy) used for a body to lie in state.

Mystery cults -

religious/philosophical belief of the ancient Greeks and Oriental East emphasizing spiritual aspects of the afterlife and the hope of joining the cult god in a wonderful existence in eternity.

Burial in Woolen Act of 1666 -

required that woolen cloth be substituted for linen in the shroud and lining of the coffin; was an attempt to shift the use of imported linen to the expanding paper industry of England and provide customers for the wool industry. Heavy fines were assessed for violation; not repealed until 1814.

Restorative Art

term applied to systematic treatment of cases requiring repair of injuries due to disease or trauma. Joel Crandall, a New York City embalmer, is credited with developing such a treatment plan in 1912.

Libitina -

the ancient Roman goddess of corpses and funerals.

Hearse

today, a vehicle specially designed to transport casketed remains; derived from French word, herse; originally a stationary framework of wood to hold candles and decorations placed on the coffin; forerunner was a bier; hearse and bier were used interchangeably until mid 19th C.; aka funeral coach.

Richard Harlan

translated Gannal's History of Embalming; responsible for bringing the European embalming techniques to the United States.

Drummers

traveling salesmen who went from town to town selling their products. Early embalmers often obtained their products and training in this manner.

Corpse cooler

type of ice chest placed over the torso the body in order to slow down the process of decomposition prior to the funeral. It was typically a responsibility of the undertaker to provide ice and change the ice when it melted.

Canopic Jars

used by the Egyptians; four jars, usually made of alabaster, limestone, clay or basalt, whose tops were surmounted by the images of the four children of Horns, each held a specific portion of the viscera of the deceased.