Intro to Funeral Services Chapters 5-8

Dr. Thomas Holmes

"The Father of American Embalming"

Burial receptacles that were patented in the early 19th century but which gained little popular appeal were referred to as:

"also rans"

Metal decorations imported from England during colonial times and attached to the coffin in special cases were called:

"coffin furniture"

In the Dutch colonies of early America, large funeral ceremonies included the custom of giving ________________________ to the pallbearers

"monkey spoons"

Native Americans share a single faith, which results in common funeral practices throughout the United States.

False

With the increasing popularity of the metallic casket, the practice of using cloth-covered caskets became unacceptable.

False

Perhaps the most remarkable coffin ever patented and put into widespread use in America was the ______________________, "an air-tight coffin of cast or raised metal" patented in 1848. The anthropoidal shape reduced the weight and at the same time reduced the air space.

Fisk Metallic Coffin

Match the embalming instrument with its proper description:

Hand pump: Method to apply a continuous flow of embalming solution via manual manipulation of a handheld mechanism. 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. Trocar: Long hollow tube used by embalmers to inject fluids into cavities and remove excess liquids.

One of the first coffin shop/warehouses in America was started in New York by which of the following?

John L. Dillon

__________________ were created due to the fear of premature burial; some 19th century American coffins were designed and patented with a method to alert the living if someone were being buried alive.

Life signals

The Style "E" State Casket was made notable because it was used for the burial of what famous person?

President Ulysses S. Grant

In 1846, ________________________ patented the "Refrigerator for Corpses," one of the first patents for a corpse cooler/cooling board during the 19th century

Robert Frederick and C. A. Trump

Because of the time it took for coffins to arrive from England, many tradesmen in the United States became skilled at making coffins and it became a speciality, leading to the establishment of coffin shops and manufacturers.

True

During the Civil War, many well-to-do families wanted to have their loved ones returned after they were killed in battle; this led to the training of individuals in preserving the dead.

True

Graveyards in New England are known for the elaborate epitaphs on the gravestones that not only give biographical data but also a hint into the deceased's personality through literary expressions.

True

It is not uncommon for Native American tribal funeral customs to integrate some Christian practices into their services.

True

Many early chemicals used for embalming were very harmful to the health of the embalmer.

True

Much of the overall cost related to Early American funerals was not directly attributable to burial expenses, but to the parties and celebrations later.

True

The Civil War spurred the development of caskets with preservative qualities because families wanted to have their loved ones who died in battle returned to their homes.

True

The firm of Crane & Breed bought the patent for the Fisk Metallic Coffin and began mass production with many variations of the design. This was the first mass production of one specific design.

True

In 1863, Dr. Thomas Holmes patented a(n) ________________________ for short-term preservation of dead human bodies badly wounded in battle.

airtight receptacle

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

burial case

A term derived from the French word for "jewel box," which came into dominant use in patent literature for burial receptacles in the 1890's in America. "A rigid container designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually contructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic or like material, and ornamented and lined with fabric."

casket

Early embalming training was provided mostly by?

chemical manufacturing companies and their salesmen

Which of the following was NOT a major theme surrounding the emergence of the modern casket?

color and shape

The Virginia Colony was founded in 1607 at Jamestown on the basis of ________________________; whereas the Massachusetts Bay Colony of 1628 was formed primarily on the basis of ________________________.

commercialism; religion

Benjamin Wheatley:

considered to be the first Virginian to practice embalming

A ________________________ was a portable table on which the body was placed; later became the embalming table when embalming was done in the home of the deceased.

cooling board

A ________________________ was a type of ice chest placed over the torso of the body in order to slow down the process of decomposition prior to the funeral.

corpse cooler

Butleroy and Hoffman:

credited with the discovery of embalming fluid

Restorative art originated as:

demi- or derma surgery

The functions of the Colonial American funeral included all of the following EXCEPT:

emphasis on eco-friendly or "green burial"

The courts in Massachusetts in the early 1700's made many attempts to prohibit what practice?

extraordinary expense, excessive spending on funerals

The rise of this group of "middle men," who provided supplies and merchandise to funeral undertakers dealing directly with the public, allowed more people to become funeral directors.

furnishing undertakers

According to early Protestantism and Calvinism, the avenue to salvation was:

hard work as well as good deeds

An "anthropoidal" coffin is:

human-shaped or man-resembling

Which of the following was NOT a consideration in the early development of coffins and burial cases?

importance of preservation of the deceased

Samuel Rogers:

in 1878 patented the trocar, facilitating cavity embalming without evisceration

Early American burial usually took place:

in the churchyard

J. Anthony Gaussardia:

issued the first patent for the process of embalming the body primarily by chemical injection

The duties and responsibilities of the Early American church sexton included:

laying out the body of the deceased, digging the grave and keeping burial records, being in attendance and directing the funeral procession, providing undertakers the merchandise and paraphernalia of funerals

In Early America, occupational specialists who were considered "performers of personal service," the predecessor to the undertaker, included:

midwives, nurses, "layers out of the dead"

As early casket manufacturers become more sophisticated in their merchandising, which of the following attitudinal changes was reflected in their product?

more aesthetic luxury

In the first half of the 19th century, patents were granted for caskets made out of all of the following materials EXCEPT:

none of the above

The ________________________ was 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.

ogee design

Claims made by the manufacturers of metallic burial cases included:

preservation of the body, protection against water seepage and vermin safeguarding against the spread of infection and contagious diseases, easy removal of the body for re-burial

What was the first major concern driving the early development and use of burial vaults?

protection from grave robbers and burglars

Aspects of Early American funeral directing included:

provides a set of tasks for the care and disposal of the dead, operates as a business enterprise, takes the form of a personal service

Results of the American Industrial Revolution include:

rapid growth in urban areas, encouragement of the formation of the middle class, the reintroduction of ostentation to the burial of the dead, the separation of families caused by greater mobility

Municipal jobs often given to early funeral functionaries because of their supposed knowledge in health and sanitary matters included:

registrar of deaths, health official or inspector, ambulance service provider, town undertaker

Dr. Valentine Mott

saw the possibilities offered by injective embalming procedures for funeralization

What was the so-called "Popish error" avoided by the ministry of early New England?

saying prayers over the dead

Joel Crandall:

the founder of restorative art

Tradesman undertakers from the 18th century advertised their services by emphasizing:

the protection of the corpse, the wide range of funerary goods available

The most persistent symbol of early New England for representing death was:

the skull and crossbones

The types of burial receptacles commonly used during the 19th century included:

the traditional wooden coffin, the metallic "mummy case", the cloth-covered, metal reinforced burial case

Dr. Richard Harlan:

translated J. N. Gannal's The History of Embalming into English in 1840

In Early American funerals, the ________________ actually carried the casket; whereas _________________, men of distinction, carried the pall.

under-bearers; pall-bearers