150 likes | 281 Views
Funeral Transportation. Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train 1865. Readings Question #1. What are the French and Latin origins for the word hearse? Describe the first hearse. Early Methods.
E N D
Funeral Transportation Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train 1865
Readings Question #1 • What are the French and Latin origins for the word hearse? Describe the first hearse.
Early Methods • bier (bear): “forerunner of today’s hearse; a hand stretcher on which the uncoffined body was carried to the grave” • horse-drawn carts: 1648 “hearse on wheels”
Colonial Hearses • wagon • horse-drawn hearses • “Gentleman’s Coaches” • “liverymen” • 1787: American funeral hearses • early pioneer: simple
Hearses with Horses1850 - 1910 • Readings Question #2: • What impact did the Civil War have on the style of hearses? • Readings Question #3: • Compare and contrast the hearse of the 1850’s with the hearse used during the Civil War.
Readings Question #4 • Compare and contrast the “funeral cars” of the following innovators: James Cunningham, Hudson Samson, and Crane & Breed.
Gas and Electric Vehicles • 1885: Baltimore- electric street railway Readings Question #5: Describe the first trolley funeral car. “a specially designed train car run on a city’s trolley line to transport casket and mourners to cemeteries on the outskirts of the city”
Gasoline-powered Hearses • Fred Hulberg: 1908 NYC • Crane and Breed Manufacturing Company: 1909 “auto-hearse”
Other Funeral Vehicles • Ambulance: 1909 • Undertaker’s Buggy: “vehicle used by undertakers to transport the necessary mortuary paraphernalia to the homes where funerals were typically held….had an appearance similar to a hearse, but were much less ornate” • Limousine: early 1920’s
Hearse Sizes and Colors • up to Civil War: black • after the war increase in length and width • children: white • larger funeral cars: darker colors • most popular: black • light-grey: carved hearses • World War I: black then grey
Cadillac Hearses 1930 1938
National Coach 1957
Transportation of Flowers • regular hearses equipped with special trays or receptacles • first flower cars: 7 passenger touring cars • emergence of vans and other converted vehicles
Readings Question #6 • How did the evolution of funeral transportation influence the responsibilities of the funeral director? Lincoln’s Funeral Procession