Funeral Service History Test #4

Marcello Malpighi

(1628-1694) italian microscopist was the first to see capillaries, and was the founder of histology , known as the father of histology

inventors or innovators of early funeral transportation

* James Cunningham * Hudson Samson *Crane and Breed

Dr. Thomas Holmes

*Considered the father of embalming in the US, *was an outspoken critic of the use of common chemicals such as arsenic in regards to embalming, *is credited with 19th century development of chemical embalming * developed and sold his own embalming fluid * invented hand pump

National Funeral Directors Assoc.

*a professional association of funeral directors and embalmers organized in 1882 * it is the oldest and largest national funeral service organization in the world. * currently provides advocacy, education, information, products, programs and services to help members enhance the quality of service to families

modern sense of the occupation funeral directing(in a limited sense) was born in America in the 19th century included:

1) providing a set of tasks for the care and disposal of the dead 2) a personal service, and operating a business enterprise

persons influencing the development of embalming schools in the 19th century

1. Auguste Renouard 2. Dr. Richard Harlan 3. Joseph H. Clark 4. A. Johnson Dodge

The earliest methods of transporting a body included:

1. Biers 2. Bearers 3. horse-drawn carts

the Fisk metallic coffin

1. Is considered one of the most remarkable coffins ever patented and put into widespread use in america 2. Marked a return to anthrapoidal shape 3. Introduced an airtight coffin of cast or raised metal that the air could be removed to prevent decay or filled with gas or fluid to prevent putrification

In the 1800's coffin's were expected to do each of the following:

1. be aesthetically made 2. protect the body from grave robbers and elements 3. protect the body from decomposition

various crude preservation methods prior to 19th century

1. disemboweling the body 2. filling the body cavity with charcoal 3. immersing the body in alcohol 4. wrapping the body in a cloth soaked in alum.

consideration during the development of coffins and burial cases were:

1. improvement in style and composition 2. an emphasis on increased utility 3. desire for complete protection 4. was NOT for preservation(at least not early on)

Chemical embalming has 2 advantages

1. provides for a longer viewing period 2. adds an element of disinfection

Histology

1. the anatomical study of the microscopic structure of animal and plant tissues 2. the study of microscopic structure of tissue

considerations associated with the introduction of metal caskets:

1. the introduction of the ogee design 2. an emphasis on preservation of the dead 3. changing designs 4. an area that was NOT considered was the ounces per square feet

By the beginning of the 19th century the sexton had taken the opportunity to increase his mortuary responsibilities to include :

1. tolling of the bell 2. digging of the grave 3. laying out the body 4. being in attendance 5. directing the procession 6. providing merchandise and paraphernalia for funerals

Services that the chemical manufacturer (which were influential at the time) offered to the undertaker

1. traveling salesmen to promote their product 2. training to those who purchased the embalming chemicals in their proper use 3. warehouses of chemicals 4. for the development of chemicals 5. training sessions to update the embalmer in the latest chemical developments

Cloth Burial cases

1. were mass produced 2.constructed of wood w/ metal reinforcements with a cloth covered exterior 3. impact on coffin/casket manufacturing: its innovation led to a change in burial practices and manufacturing as it became very popular 4. style E state coffin

Inventors began changing the look of the hearse and they began to be pulled by:

6 horses

Grave Robbing

And other practical concerns led to variation in the design of burial receptacles, improved fasteners to discourage grave robbers, handles and rings for transporting

Style E state coffin

Cloth covered coffin designed for ex president U.S. Grant by Stein Coffin Co. (it helped elevate the acceptance of cloth covered caskets)

Municipal Officers

Early in the colonial era municipalities became concerned with the burial of the dead. When discussing early american funerals one could refer to inviters of funerals and town undertakers as one of these

National Foundation of Funeral Service

Est in 1945 as a non profit educational trust to advance the education of the profession, currently merged with the NFDA as National Funeral Service Foundation

Anthony van Leeuwenhoek

Father of bacteriology

Dr. Richard Harlan

He became greatly interested in the frenchman Jean Gannals book History of Embalming and translated then published it. Given credit for bringing the European embalming techniques to the US

an important aspect to the study of using chemicals for preservation was:

It led to the banning of arsenic and mercurial compounds due to their harmful effects

The war of 1812

Led to an increase in the use of coffin shops and coffin warehouses

Trocar

Long hollow tube patented in 1868 by Samuel Rodgers of Philadelphia; used by embalmers to inject fluid into cavities and remove excess liquids

John L. Dillon

Opened one of the first coffin shops/ coffin warehouses in New York

Livery

People who provided carriages and buggies for rent which could be used to transport the deceased and attendees

Arsenic

Prior to the use of formaldehyde, the deadly poison ________ was used

The earliest New England funerals were known for their

Simplicity and quiet dignity

North American Indians did what as part of their preparation procedure?

Skinned the bodies

led to an increased demand for embalming

The civil war and Lincoln's funeral

Epitaphs

Tombstones in Colonial America were engraved with:

Modern Coffin

Variations in early function and type of coffin slowly became transformed in to the:

Joel Crandell

a New York City embalmer, is credited with developing a treatment plan in 1912 (restorative art)

National Selected Morticians / NSM

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

Cooling Board

a 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 Trolley cars

a specially designed train car run on a city's trolley line to transport a casket and mourners to cemetaries on the outskirts of the city

Inviter to funerals

a specialty connected funerals in colonial america,called personally upon those expected to attend funerals, often a municipal appointment

auto funerals were slow to catch on because:

a. the initial outlay of cash was high for a vehicle that was only expected to last 3 years b. auto hearses could travel no faster than a horse drawn hearse so you would have to buy an auto hearse c. upkeep was expensive plus paying a chauffer d. the cost would be so high that funeral directors would have to cut costs elsewhere, prob the casket e. people believed that it was a way of rushing the deceased to the grave, f. an undertakers buying cycle was every 15 yrs to keep it from being out modeled by obtaining a new style

ways the death experience was disguised in the late 1890's

a. the term casket was replaced w/ coffin b. the shape of the coffin became rectangular and otherwise modified c. there was an increase use of embalming to present a "sleeping person" image of the deceased

The funeral procession

according to Rech, is the oldest procession

M H Crane and J R Barnes

acquired the manufacturing rights from Fisk in 1853

disguise the death experience

americans adapted new ideas and new language in the late 1890's to:

Ogee design

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

gravity injector

apparatus 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 elevation)

aesthetic luxury

as casket manufacturers became more sophisticated in their merchandise they had an additional change that reflected a need for more:

The Order of the Golden Rule / OGR

assoc est in 1928; committed to quality services and high standards, membership limited to one independently owned funeral home per community, now known as the International Order of the Golden Rule IOGR

Layers out of the dead

became an occupation specialty in many larger US cities by the end of the 18th century; the predecessor of the undertaker

Aesthetics

became more important as caskets went from gloomy to beauty

also-rans

burial receptacles that were patented in the 19th century but which gained no popular appeal were referred to as

Coroner

by the virtue of their technical skills and knowledge, town undertakers traditionally were qualified to fulfill the role of:

Jewish Funeral Directors of America

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

white

childrens hearses were always painted

Sexton

church caretaker who had the responsibility of the church property, ringing of the bells, and digging of the graves in the church cemetary

Butlerov and August Wilhem von Hoffman

credit for discovering formaldehyde

John Hunter

credited for discovering Hunter's Canal

Gravestones

did not merely identify the bodily remains, but through inscriptions in the forms of epitaphs, served as a medium of popular literary expression

church officials

during the middle ages most funeral practices were under the direction of:

Frederick R Ruysch

father of embalming, devised a method of arterial embalming

Undertakers Mutual Protective Association

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

Casket

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

Coffin

from the greek word Kofinos, utilitarian container designed to hold human remains, often anthropoidal in shape

Burial Case

generic term used in america to designate all burial recepticals as new variations of the coffin were being offered

William Hunter

given credit for being the first to develop and adopt arterial injection as a means of preservation

Christian Eisenbrandt

given credit for having the first patent for life signals in regards to life preservation

National Funeral Directors & Mortician Association

incorp in 1938 as National Negro Funeral Directors and Morticians Assoc. present name adopted 1957, est to represent specific interests of african american funeral directors

Crane and Breed

introduced a horse drawn hearse at chicago worlds fair in 1893, resembled a church like design that weighed 2400 pounds

hand pump

invented by dr holmes, method to apply a continuous flow of embalming solution via manipulation of a handheld mechanism, utilized for arterial injection

furnishing undertaker

name given to tradespeople who supplied goods for a funeral and may or may not have prepared the body.

trade embalmers

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

Casket Manufacturers Assoc

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

Burial Vault

outer enclosure placed in the grave, originally intended to prevent grave robbery

J Anthony Gaussardia

patented a process of embalming involving the injection of a alcohol-arsenic mixture, this method was the first patent granted for an embalming process depending primarily but not wholly on injection of a chemical compound

the Fisk metallic coffin

patented in 1848, form fitting, air tight metallic coffin designed to improve ability to preserve body; also had a glass plate for viewing the face

greatly increased the financial burden of the widow and other survivors

people attending funerals just to get the gifts

black

prior to civil war all hearses were painted:

furnishing undertakers

provided supplies and merchandise (door badges, carriages, etc.) to funeral undertakers for who were dealing directly with the public . Filled the role of the Middle man

Robert Frederick and C A Trump

received a patent for the refrigerator for corpses, the process utilized ice, a corpse cooler and a cooling board

James A Gray

received the first patent for the metallic coffin

1/7th

the US provided _____ of the worlds supply of iron

Iron

the largest indigenous industry in the US at this time. there was an importance of the use of it.

Cabinet makers/ Carpenters

the making of cabinets were and obvious role, however that extended to allowing the fronts of their shops to be utilized for viewing and the providing for other materials that they may or may not have crafted

coffin shop

these emerged as a the population grew and the opportunity for profit increased , followed by coffin warehouses, then furnishing undertakers

19th century caskets were designed...

to alleviate any fears of being buried alive so they were equipped with life signals

Drummers

traveling salesmen who went from town to town selling their products, early embalmer often obtained their products and training in this manner

Corpse Cooler

type of ice chest placed over the torso of the body in order to slow down the process of decomp prior to the funeral. I t was the undertakers responsibility to change the ice when it melted

the filling of the grave

was always awaited for the departure of the bereaved

The process of giving gifts to the living

was an important aspect of colonial funerals and was brought to the colonies from England

Allen Durfee

was responsible for the origins of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association in 1880, was instrumental in the development of the national funeral directors assoc.

one advantage the sextons had over other professions:

was their control of the church burial permits

Hunter Brothers

were busy working toward perfecting a method of arterial injection as a means of preserving human remains.

grave vaults

were introduced later in the century when complete protection was desired

Coffins of the 17th and 18th centuries

were nearly always constructed of wood and octagon shape. They reflected the social status/position of the deceased. They were NOT stockpiled

town undertaker

were often appointed and had responsibility for duties pertaining to public health and sanitation

the craftsmen

were primarily who pursued the undertaking profession with the introduction of coffins and early funeral goods ( not the clergy, doctors or survivors

Nurse and Midwives

would take on the responsibility of laying out the body, it seemed a natural extension of their duties as they had been taking care of the ill

Undertakers Manuel

wrote by Dr. Renouard, was the first book published specifically as an embalming textbook in the US

Native Americans were known to do what with their dead?

~ Wrap them in cloth or leather ~Suspend the bodies in a horizontal manner in trees ~ Bury them in the earth, cave, or in the ground covered by rocks