Before there were Funeral Directors, there were carpenters, who, after measuring the deceased, made and delivered coffins to the family parlors where funerals took place. As time went by, coffin makers “undertook” for grieving families more of the duties associated with interment. Many became known as “Undertakers.” Although fitting, the term was not a reference to placing he departed six feet under. Because talking about any aspect of death was considered awkward, “undertaker” became a euphemism for those who organized the process. Undertakers soon were advertising as “Funeral Undertakers” with ready-made coffins available.
The term “Funeral Director” emerged after undertakers took on all of the social, health, and legal burdens of death. This included a change in where funerals were held. Rather than continuing the tradition of holding services in personal homes, funeral directors now provided “funeral homes” for these services. The funeral director received the body, embalmed or preserved it, provided the coffin, and arranged for viewing at the funeral home. They wrote obituaries, transported or shipped bodies, and arranged religious services and interment. They even extended their services to renting door wreaths and selling memorial books, gloves, and black armbands.
At the same time, embalming, first used on a mass scale during the Civil War, was becoming increasingly popular, which led to the development of both the profession of undertaker and that of mortician. The U.S. National Funeral Directors Association was founded in 1882, the same year that the first school of “mortuary science” was opened in Cincinnati, Ohio. Eventually, the terms Undertaker and Mortician became interchangeable, although it is interesting to note that no one cared to list themselves as a mortician in the Cambridge City Directory.
Amos P. Rollins was one of those whose career followed the path from carpenter to undertaker. In 1848, he was listed in the City Directory as “carpenter” and in 1850 as “coffin maker” – even though he had been advertising himself as a “funeral undertaker” since 1849.
Interestingly, even though Rollins was an undertaker, in the federal census he consistently listed himself as “carpenter.” He also held the posts of Constable and City Messenger.
Roland Litchfield Jr. was another of those undertakers who started out as a carpenter while simultaneously holding the posts of City Messenger and Superintendent of Lamps. Once he became an undertaker, Litchfield took full advantage of advances in technology, as described in this advertisement the City Directory of 1859 regarding preserving bodies that could be “conveyed hundreds of miles”!
Many in the undertaking profession were also appointed by the Mayor as City Undertakers. As such, they handled arrangements for persons who died unidentified or were considered indigent. By 1852, there were twelve appointees listed in the City Directory, including Amos P. Rollins and Roland Litchfield, Jr.
CASKET OR COFFIN?
Why coffins became referred to as caskets is a little murky. The general consensus seems to be that the magnitude of death during the Civil War is what drove the change in terminology—and the shape of containers for the deceased. The English word “coffin” derives from the French “cofin” which originally meant a basket. The primary difference between coffins and caskets was that early wood coffins had six sides and were hexagonal to accommodate the width of shoulders. Caskets, on the other hand, were and continue to be rectangular.
What about the connection to the Civil War? There are varying views, but most agree that changes in funeral rituals were created in response to the personal and national heartache caused by the unprecedented death toll. People desired more significant ways to pay homage to the deceased. More elaborate coffins— caskets—were part of that impulse. Over time, elaborate caskets were also meant to convey the social standing and wealth of individuals.
William Lockhart, who had emigrated from Nova Scotia to the U.S. at age 16, was yet another carpenter turned coffin maker. By 1885, Lockhart had a large manufactory on Bridge Street in East Cambridge.
Lockhart died in March of 1902, just six months before his new plant was erected on First Street. His brothers carried on the business, until in 1906 the company was absorbed by the National Casket Company, which operated out of the East Cambridge plant for several decades before closing its doors in 1976.
Today’s post was written by CHC volunteer Kathleen Fox
Sources
“A History of Funerals in the United States.” Frazer Consultants, July 30, 2020. https://web.frazerconsultants.com/2016/07/a-history-of-funerals-in-the-united-states/
Short, Jessica. “A Brief History of Funeral Directors.” Gather. Accessed March 9, 2022. https://blog.gather.app/a-brief-history-of-funeral-directors.
“Funeral Homes and Funeral Practices: Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: Case Western Reserve University.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University, May 11, 2018. https://case.edu/ech/articles/f/funeral-homes-and-funeral-practices.
Further Reading
“Morticians: A History.” Accessed March 9, 2022. https://blog.borgwardtfuneralhome.com/morticians-a-history/.
Zahn, Jonas A. “A Brief History of Caskets.” Northwoods Casket Company, September 16, 2021. https://www.northwoodscasket.com/northwoodscasket/2011/03/brief-history-of-caskets.html.