Since the beginning of time, death has played a role in the lives of every person. Disease, the lack of proper nutrition, the lack of sanitary conditions, childbirth, and the lack of medical knowledge often played a role in the average life span.[1] In pre-Civil War America, mourning and funerals were deeply personal. The Civil War, however, brought new meaning to death in America. The war’s casualties brought about the need for creating new practices in the funeral industry, and by the end of the Civil War, those new practices had changed the way Americans mourned their loved ones. The 1900s saw funeral practices, and mourning customs started to shift even more to private affairs.

            To better understand the shift in customs and practices, it is essential to understand where they started. In pre-Civil War America, death, though familiar and a part of everyday life was deeply personal. Funerals took place in the home, with women and men from the community assisting the family in preparing the body for burial by washing and laying out the body. Someone would sit up with the body for three days to ensure that death had occurred, and the men would dig graves.[2]  In other words, only those who knew the family closely would actively participate in ensuring a proper funeral. However, the Civil War will actively change the practice.

            Mourning customs, however, did not change as much during the war era. According to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, men were not exempt from mourning customs. They did, however, have it significantly easier than women. The appropriate mourning attire consisted of a dark or black suit with a black armband or hatband for men. Mourning expectations for widowers did not exceed three months.^[3] Unlike their counterpart, widows remained in mourning for two and a half years. Dress for women in mourning encompassed three stages – Deep Mourning, Second Mourning, and Half Mourning. In a deep mourning period, women wore black dresses with no trim, and the only acceptable jewelry was jet—furthermore, women in deep mourning worn long veils initially made of crepe.^[4] Due to health concerns, however, the crepe veils were discontinued. ^[5] Each subsequent mourning stage lessened the restrictions upon women based upon colors they could and could not wear.^[6]  Additionally, mourning was dependent upon the individual that died.

Mourning should be worn, as we are told by a professed authority,

For a husband or wife, from one to two years, though some widows retain their mourning for life.

For a parent or grandparent, from six months to a year.

For children above ten years of age, from six months to a year; for those below that age, from three to six months; and for an infant, six or seven weeks.

For brothers and sisters, six to eight months.

For uncles and aunts, three to six months.

For cousins, or uncles or aunts related by marriage, from six weeks to three months.

For more distant relatives or friends, from three weeks to as many months, according to the degree of intimacy. [7]

Additionally, there are rules about receiving visitors, sending and receiving mail, and invitations and announcements for the deceased.[8]

            The Civil War brought the advent of embalming. This process preserved the body to prevent decomposition from occurring immediately, enabling bodies to be shipped from the battlefield to home. In many cases, the embalming process occurred on the battlefield, and the body was delivered to their home’s front door. In April 1865 and the two-week viewing and travel schedule that finally took him home to Springfield, Illinois, the death of Abraham Lincoln created a powerful marketing tool for the idea of a non-decomposing body.[9] This new marketing tool paved the way for the undertaker to earn an income by selling his services.  

            The late 1800s through to the early 1900s saw professional undertakers’ creation, with schools for morticians as they now would be called forming around 1882.[10] Funerals moved out of the home and into newly created funeral parlors. Caskets became more of what we know today, and the process and responsibility for preparing the body for burial no longer fell to the women of the community. Though, in rural areas, this remained the exception.  One such funeral home is the Diuguid Funeral Home, located in Lynchburg, VA.

            According to their website, the Diuguid Funeral Home is the second oldest funeral home in America and the first one in Virginia. Started by Sampson Diuguid, a hand-carved furniture maker known for his craftsmanship, the Funeral Home started by happenstance rather than design. As his reputation grew for his furniture, Diuguid started receiving requests for coffins. On an exciting note, the Diuguid’s are responsible for designing and creating a church truck, which in the funeral industry allows for the casket to move up church aisles without the need for pallbearers to carry it.[11]

The cost of funerals in 1870 varied, as evidenced by this ledger. Notice that according to this particular page, that funerals cost anywhere from $30 to $75. Is this the typical range of pricing for funerals? Another page from the same year shows us that no, this is not the typical range of funeral prices. The ledger below shows that the price ranges from $10 to $130 for Col. R.R. Garland.[12]

By 1900, funeral practices and mourning customs started to shift. Though most of the mourning clothing remained the same, there are slight differences in the styles. Fabrics also changed, and it was increasingly popular to purchase mourning clothing instead of making it at home.

Additionally, prices did not necessarily reflect change so much as it did the financial standing of the family paying for the funeral. Funeral homes tended to charge those who were well off more for their funerals than someone who could not afford it. In fact, in Lynchburg, there was an Overseer of the Poor who often paid for the services provided by the funeral at a significantly lower cost. The ledgers of the Diuguid Funeral Home in 1900 changed significantly from a hand-written ledger to a pre-printed ledger that recorded more information such as cause of death and much of the information that can now be found on death certificates. In fact, their records are so detailed that should a record not exist for an individual with the State records it is highly possible that Diuguid’s records contain what any researcher or genealogist may need to locate.

As it can be seen in 1900, according to this ledger page costs could go as high as $365 for a prominent member of society, but $4 for a two week old infant. Notice how the ledger side is completely different from the 1870s pages where the funeral home did not retain data.

No longer did families build homes with funerals in mind, no longer did the decease remain in the home until burial. Funeral Services had altered significantly the way that families mourned. The death of a loved one went from a very public showing to a more reserved private affair.

[1] According to the National Park Services, the average life span during 1870 was 50. See for more information: “The Custom of Mourning during the Victorian Era,” The Custom of Mourning during the Victorian Era (Washington, DC: National Park Services, 0AD), 1.

[2] Elizabeth Schmitt, “Home Funeral History,” National Home Funeral Alliance (The National Home Funeral Alliance, 2020), https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/home-funeral-history.html.

[3] For more information see: Louis Antoine Godey and Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Godey’s Lady’s Book (Philadelphia, PA: Louis A. Godey, 1864), 186; Alice A. Johnson et al., The Household Companion: Comprising a Complete Cook Book; Practical Household Recipes, Aids and Hints for Household Decorations, the Care of Domestic Plants and Animals and a Treatise on Domestic Medicine (Toronto, Canada: The John C. Winston Co., Limited, 1909), 193; Kelly Christian, “Good Mourning America: Good Death and Loss in the 19th Century,” National Museum of Civil War Medicine (National Museum of Civil War Medicine, August 23, 2017), https://www.civilwarmed.org/good-death/.

[4] Alice A. Johnson et al., The Household Companion: Comprising a Complete Cook Book; Practical Household Recipes, Aids and Hints for Household Decorations, the Care of Domestic Plants and Animals and a Treatise on Domestic Medicine (Toronto, Canada: The John C. Winston Co., Limited, 1909), 193.

[5] Ibid., 194-195.

[6] Ibid., 195.

[7] Robert Tomes, The Bazar Book of Decorum: The Care of the Person, Manners, Etiquette, and Ceremonials (New York, NY: Harper, 1873), https://archive.org/stream/bazarbookofdecor00tomerich, 270.

[8] Note: In sending letters of condolence, announcements of death and sending letters of acknowledgment from received letters that the paper is edged in black. For more information see: Tomes, The Bazar Book of Decorum, 270; Johnson et al., The Household Companion: Comprising a Complete Cook Book; Practical Household Recipes, Aids and Hints for Household Decorations, the Care of Domestic Plants and Animals and a Treatise on Domestic Medicine 194; Florence Hartley et al., The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness: a Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society: Containing Full Directions for Correct Manners, Dress, Deportment, and Conversation, Rules for the Duties of Both Hostess and Guest in Morning Receptions, Dinner Companies, Visiting, Evening Parties and Balls, a Complete Guide for Letter Writing and Cards of Compliment, Hints on Managing Servants, on the Preservation of Health, and on Accomplishments: and Also Useful Receipts for the Complexion, Hair, and with Hints and Directions for the Care of the Wardrobe (Boston, MA: G. W. COTTRELL, 1860), 32-35.

[9] Schmitt, “Home Funeral History,”

[10] Sam Ward, “Frazer Consultants,” Frazer Consultants (blog) (Frazer Consultants, July 12, 2016), https://frazerconsultants.com/2016/07/a-history-of-funerals-in-the-united-states/.

[11] “History & Staff,” Diuguid Funeral Service (FUNERALTECH & TA, January 1, 2020), https://diuguidfuneralservice.com/about-us/history-staff/.

[12] Searches for R.R. Garland have not yet yielded exactly who was this gentleman.. The only R.R. Garland found is a Confederate Veteran from Texas.