preservation
Preservation of the Dead (Europe)
In Europe before the American colonial period, any preservation of the dead was usually conducted for several key reasons:
Relics: To preserve parts of religious figures as relics.
Wakes: To preserve important figures for wakes that might last up to eight days.
Funeral Expenses: To preserve the deceased unburied until the family could pay their funeral expenses to burial societies. In this scenario, families aimed to provide a Christian burial but faced financial constraints.
By the 1700s, the methods of preservation had deteriorated significantly, with preservation efforts reduced to a rudimentary reliance on "sawdust and tar."
Preservation of the Dead (Colonial America)
Prior to 1800, various methods were employed to deter putrefaction of bodies:
Airtight Coffins: Sealing the body in an airtight coffin.
Sodium Aluminum Sulfate: Wrapping the body in a shroud soaked in alum to prevent decay.
Alcohol Immersion: Immersing the body in alcohol.
Disemboweling: Disemboweling the deceased and filling the body with charcoal to reduce odors and slow decay.
The primary motivations behind preserving the deceased included:
Providing adequate time for relatives to travel to the funeral.
Facilitating transportation of the deceased to the family burial plot.
The Problem with Airtight Containers
The Fisk Metallic Burial Case revealed that even airtight containers did not prevent putrefaction.
Undertakers attempted to deter putrefaction in these containers through various methods:
Poison Gas: Introducing toxic gases.
Preservative Fluids: Adding brine, alcohol, or similar fluids.
Deodorizing Devices: Utilizing deodorizing substances delivered through a tube or funnel to mask odors.
Corpse Coolers
In the early 1800s, refrigeration became the primary method for conserving bodies in the U.S., despite the knowledge of arterial injection in Europe.
Unlike their European counterparts, funeral professionals such as sextons, liverymen, and cabinet makers lacked scientific training to perform arterial injections.
Corpse Coolers:
Metal boxes designed to fit over the deceased, filled with ice to slow decomposition. These were the initial step toward more effective preservation methods.
The first patent for a corpse cooler was issued to John Good of Philadelphia, although it was cumbersome and the patent expired in 1850.
Development of Advanced Corpse Coolers
1846: Robert Frederick and C. A. Trump of Baltimore designed the first successful corpse cooler featuring:
A wicker cooling board on which the body was dressed and laid.
A metal casing over the torso filled with ice, including drainage spigots, lifting handles, and a lid.
1868: Charles Kimball of Massachusetts innovated a large refrigerator with two compartments:
One designated for the corpse and another for storing ice. This design foreshadowed modern morgue coolers.
1870: R. C. Andrus of New York patented a corpse cooler that reflected the Frederick and Trump design but consisted of multiple boxes:
Each designated for specific body parts: one for the head, one for the torso, and optional cases for the limbs.
Cooling Boards
Cooling boards were portable tables often featuring wicker panels, used for both embalming and holding wakes.
The functionality included:
Compartments for holding ice.
Headpieces to secure the head in position during preservation.
Rise of Arterial Embalming in the US
The increase in demand for cadavers for medical study from medical schools fueled the rise of embalming practices.
Undertakers expressed a desire to display the deceased in a casket rather than on cooling boards.
The Sanitation Movement: This movement heightened the need for embalming to prevent disease transmission.
The Civil War Impact:
The war resulted in large concentrations of deceased individuals in small areas, leading to sanitation concerns.
Families sought to have their loved ones returned for burial, and medical embalmer-surgeons showcased their skills to soldiers.
Baggage handlers called for improved preservation and sanitation when transporting bodies by railway and steamship.
Dr. Thomas Holmes: The Father of American Embalming
Dr. Thomas Holmes (1817-1900) is often referred to as the "Father of American Embalming."
Professional Background:
Served as a coroner’s assistant in New York City from 1840-1846.
Self-taught embalmer who began teaching embalming techniques before the Civil War.
Innovations:
Developed a fluid consisting of arsenic and zinc chloride named “Inominata” (meaning "no-name") which he sold for $3 per gallon, though he never patented this fluid.
Dr. Thomas Holmes and Body Transportation Innovations
Holmes patented an airtight portable elastic bag (body bag) that could be filled with deodorants and preservatives for transporting deceased soldiers.
An injection pump apparatus was also patented to facilitate embalming.
Although he never served in the army, he received official permission to prepare, coffin, and ship military dead.
Holmes claimed to have embalmed a total of 4,028 officers and soldiers, indicating a likely reliance on assistants for such a high number.
Upon his death, he squandered his wealth, with one of his last requests being that he not be embalmed.
Colonel Elmer Ellsworth's Embalming
Colonel Ellsworth had a personal connection with President Abraham Lincoln.
On May 24, 1861, Ellsworth was shot while removing a Confederate flag from a tavern rooftop in Alexandria, VA, becoming the first ranking casualty of the Civil War.
He was embalmed by Dr. Holmes, and many attendees witnessed Holmes' skilled embalming techniques.
Brown and Alexander Embalming Contributions
Brown and Alexander were prominent surgeons and embalmers based in Washington, DC.
Henry P. Cattell, the stepson of Brown, notably embalmed Little Willy Lincoln, the 2-year-old son of Abraham Lincoln, in 1863.
Additionally, Cattell also embalmed President Lincoln in 1865 after Lincoln passed.
Lincoln's body was not interred for 21 days, and during this time, his funeral train traveled from Washington, DC to New York and finally to Springfield, Illinois, garnering a viewing audience of approximately 1.5 million people.
Pioneers in Embalming Technology
J. Anthony Guassardia:
Filed the first patent for embalming dead bodies in 1856, which involved injecting an arsenic-alcohol mixture, charging the body with electricity, washing it in various chemicals, and placing it in a coffin filled with further arsenic-alcohol solution.
W. R. Cornelius:
Provided embalming services for both Confederate and Union soldiers.
Prince Greer:
Recognized as the first documented Black embalmer, who worked with Cornelius between 1863 and 1871; he was formerly enslaved.
The Civil War and Medical Practitioners
Washington, DC emerged as the primary center for embalming due to its proximity to battlefields in northern Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Most embalmers were either doctors or chemists, collaborating with undertakers to manage deceased bodies after significant battles, primarily focusing on officers.
Post-Civil War, many medical specialists moved away from embalming, leading to undertakers who had learned the trade establishing their own firms.
Issues Leading to Regulation: Dr. Raymond Burr
Dr. Raymond Burr faced allegations of fraud and attempted extortion for embalming an officer without consent and demanding payment to return the body.
This incident prompted General Ulysses S. Grant to rescind existing permits for embalming-surgeons, leading to the creation of new regulations.
The “Order Concerning Embalmers” was issued in March 1865 by the War Department, establishing:
A licensing system requiring testing and bonding for embalmers.
Standard fees for service and funeral goods to be mandated.
Commercial Fluid Manufacturers
Chemical fluid manufacturers employed traveling salesmen to promote their embalming products.
They provided training and instructional materials to undertakers and issued diplomas in embalming.
Additionally, they developed new chemicals, ensuring a reliable supply for undertakers.
The Professors in Embalming Education
These undertakers engaged in selling their own chemicals while offering demonstrations on their usage across the country.
Professor E. H. Crane: Served as a medical embalmer during the Civil War; marketed the “Crane’s Electro Dynamic Mummifier.”
Professor George M. Rhodes: Purchased Crane’s fluid, rebranding it as “Professor Rhodes’ Electrical Balm.”
Professor Samuel Rogers: Developed and sold “Fluid Allekton” and held the patent for the trocar developed in 1878.
Professor Felix A. Sullivan: Known for having the largest traveling embalming school from 1890 to 1900; traveled to London, introducing chemical embalming to local undertakers, earning the title “Dean of Embalmers of the English Speaking People.”
Chemical Suppliers in the Late 19th Century
Key companies developed significantly during this period:
Champion Chemical Company: Founded in 1878 by Edward Hill and Scipio Baker; still in operation today.
Clarke Chemical Works: Founded by Joseph Clarke, who published “Clarke’s Text-Book on Embalming” in 1888 and was instrumental in establishing the Cincinnati School of Embalming.
Embalmers Supply Company (ESCO): Established in 1887, it produced the “Non-Poisonous Big Four,” four fluids devoid of metallic salts or formalin, and remains operational today.
Dodge Chemical Company: Founded by A. Johnson Dodge in 1893 and remained family-owned until its 2025 sale to Matthews Memorialization; Dodge launched a school in 1907.
Influential Figures in Embalming History
Dr. Richard Harlan (1796-1843): Engaged in the European sanitation movement and plague control, he introduced Jean Gannal’s “History of Embalming” to the U.S. and had it translated into English in 1840, becoming a pivotal reference until 1900; he advocated for embalming as a sanitation necessity.
Dr. Auguste Renouard: Known as the Dean of early embalming instruction; founded the Rochester School of Embalming in 1882.
Joseph H. Clarke: Initially a coffin salesman, he learned embalming from Professor Rhodes and collaborated with Dr. C. M. Lukens to establish the Cincinnati School of Embalming (now Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science).
Notable Contributions and Changes in Embalming Education
A. Johnson Dodge:
Received training in a St. Louis medical school and later became principal of the Massachusetts College of Embalming in 1893 before founding the Dodge School of Embalming in 1907, which he renamed to the New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science, and Embalming in 1910.
Also established the Dodge Chemical Company.
Dr. William Hartley:
Associated with Hartley Miller Funeral Home; founded the School of Sanitation and Embalming at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the first mortuary school in Maryland (operated 1895-1926) with a five-week course.
Female Embalmers and Women in the Profession
Lina Odou: Originally from Switzerland, she was a friend of Florence Nightingale and established the Lina D. Odou Embalming Institute in NYC in 1901, specifically providing education for women, exclusively training female embalmers, and established the Women’s Licensed Embalmer Association.
Lena Simmons: A pupil of Lina Odou, co-founded the Genung-Simmons Embalming Institute in Syracuse, NY, as a co-educational institution and developed the “blind stitch,” a type of subcutaneous suture for embalming.
Transformations in Embalming Practices
Arsenic vs. Formaldehyde:
Initially, arsenic and metallic salts were favored for their effects on the body's appearance, keeping it soft and pliable but posed poisoning risks to embalmers and leached into groundwater of cemeteries.
By 1920, formalin solutions entirely supplanted metallic salts in embalming fluid formulations.
Arterial Injection vs. Cavity Treatment:
Arterial Injection: Seen as the preferred method for medically trained embalmers; allowed the preservation of the body systematically through blood vessels.
Cavity Treatment: Some untrained practitioners resorted to using a trocar for cavity embalming exclusively, referred to derogatorily as “belly punchers.” The industry ultimately moved towards a combined approach, integrating both arterial and cavity methods.
Embalming Practices at the End of the 19th to Early 20th Century
During this period, embalming typically occurred at home, in places like bathrooms, basements, or barns, facilitated by portable equipment transported in a black suitcase.
Cooling boards were utilized as tables during the embalming process, which could be collapsed for convenient transportation.
Embalmers predominantly used metallic poisons until formaldehyde became standard in the 1920s,
Methods initially relied on gravitational techniques, followed by hand-held pumps and jug systems for injection and drainage at the femoral artery, with bodies dressed and displayed upon cooling boards for wakes.