Undertaker to Mortecian: Development of the Modern Funeral Industry

Introduction

At the turn of the 20th century the societal norms for how the body of the deceased was handled underwent a radical shift from a timely burial to preservation with extended services. Mirroring this was the changing role of a town’s undertaker from a tradesman who sells coffins to that of one who guides the process of burial as a mortician and funeral director. This virtual exhibit will walk you through the tools and implements used by undertakers in the early 1900s to preserve the body and develop new ways of respecting the dead. Additionally, advertisements are displayed which help show how this new profession was developing its own support industry and professional networks. While this exhibit focuses on the role of the undertaker at the start of the 20th century, I encourage you to draw connections to the funeral industry as we know it today. Many of the practices we now question developed during this time and understanding the original reasoning for their development can help you gain new perspective into modern funeral practices.

Conclusions

The changing role of an undertaker in society at the turn of the 20th century is reflected in these artifacts through the growing need for specialization, homogenization of the funeral experience, and the transfer of ceremony away from religion.

During the US Civil War embalming of corpses became commonplace for Union causalities, allowing preserved bodies to be sent home to families.1 This implementation spread in the years following, trickling down and out from the upper class and urban areas. From the embalming syringe displayed key insights into the work of an undertaker can be drawn. The travel case housing the syringe shows the need for mobility as undertakers serviced areas. Embalming typically occurred in the family home of the deceased and servicing the body at dedicated funeral home would only become a later development.2 The precision required for arterial infusions is why such syringes were used. Additionally, the embalming fluids used at this time such as arsenic based solutions were toxic with prolonged exposure and required careful handling.3 Also reflected is the societal desire to minimize any post-mortem alterations to the body, at least on a surface level.

As a consequence of the undertaking industry growing at a local level, larger servicing businesses and groups developed to support the industry. The magazine displayed is one among a few different periodicals which began circulating at this time period. This spread of "best practices" helped lead to further specialization of undertakers as embalming techniques and corpse presentation tips were shared. Publications spread on both a national and public level, with some like the Southern Funeral Director targeting discussions just within the South.1 As undertaking grew from being the side business of craftsmen, a support industry of dedicated manufacturers developed as well. This is shown in the hardware catalog with various casket accessories and funeral attire offered for an undertaker's services. This support network also helped create a uniform "American" funeral experience overriding prior customs. Despite the best of intentions from some, this led to the creation of what we now refer to as the funeral industry, mirroring the increasing industrialization of the economy and life at the time. 

With much of the servicing of the corpse passing on to an undertaker, the ceremonial tasks that would have been handled by a priest became their responsibility as well. This is reflected in the hearse displayed with its use as a ceremonial vessel for transportation of the casket. The drapery and tassels add an august air, with the intention of respecting and displaying to others the import of the body carried within. The glass paneling on the sides presents a barrier for both respect and to separate the living from the dead. The general trend of black as a mourning color is seen as well. Horse-drawn hearses such as this stayed positive until the 1920s as automobiles became more accessible with the switch to motorized vehicles.1 

As the traditional role of the undertaker transformed into that of a mortician and funeral director the power of choice in death was unwittingly seized away from the individual and family.  Options homogenized and laws were put in place for the handling of the body, making death become a more complex and expensive process burdening families alongside difficult emotions. In her work The American Way of Death in 1963, Jessica Mitford was among the first to challenge this industry, helping to spark a national conversation about funeral services.

As we now think of more economical, environmental, and/or ethical ways of handling funerals and the corpse, I think analyzing where the modern practices we challenge came from can help in not making similar mistakes. 

1Wilson, Charles R. “The Southern Funeral Director: Managing Death in the New South.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 67, no. 1 (1983): 49–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40581011.

2Laderman, Gary. Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America. Cary: Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2005. Accessed April 11, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

3Brenner, Erich. “Human Body Preservation – Old and New Techniques.” Journal of anatomy 224, no. 3 (2014): 316–344.

Bibliography

Brenner, Erich. “Human Body Preservation – Old and New Techniques.” Journal of anatomy 224, no. 3 (2014): 316–344.

“Catalogue H-6. Illustrating Coffin and Casket Hardware and Funeral Sundries, Hearne Bros. & Co., Whitakers, N.C., U.S.A.” ECU Digital Collections. East Carolina University. April 10, 2023. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22655.

Laderman, Gary. Rest in Peace : A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America. Cary: Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2005. Accessed April 11, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

“Modern Embalming” William L Clements Library. University of Michigan. Accessed April 10, 2023. https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/death-in-early-america/embalming

“Rockfalls Horse Drawn 1880 Hearse” Ferguson Funeral Home Museum. Accessed April 10, 2023. http://www.scottdalefuneralmuseum.com/FuneralMuseum/antique-hearse.htm

Wilson, Charles R. “The Southern Funeral Director: Managing Death in the New South.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 67, no. 1 (1983): 49–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40581011.