A Better Place describes the practices around death and burial in 19th-century Ontario. Funeral rituals, strong religious beliefs, and a firm conviction that death was a beginning not an end helped the bereaved through their times of loss in a century where death was always close at hand.
The book describes the pioneer funeral in detail as well as the factors that changed this simple funeral into the elaborate etiquette-driven Victorian funeral at the end of the century. It includes the sources of various funeral customs, including the origins of embalming that gave rise to the modern-day funeral parlour. The evolution of cemeteries is explained with the beginnings of cemeteries in specific towns given as examples.
An understanding of these changing burial rites, many of which might seem strange to us today, is invaluable for the family historian. In addition, the book includes practical suggestions for finding death and burial records throughout the century.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 393/.109713
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn-on
- ISBN
- 9781459709966 9781554888993
- LCCN
- GT3213.A3
- LCCN Item number
- O67 2011eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (234 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00232818 (OCoLC)819816895 (CaOOCEL)464702
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- COVER 1
- Half-Title page 2
- Title page 4
- Copyright 5
- Table of Contents 6
- Prologue 10
- PART I: Death and Burial 14
- Introduction 16
- Chapter 1: Death and Attitudes 20
- Chapter 2: Pioneer Death and Burial 30
- “the body was washed and laid out” 35
- “the coffin was always home-made” 36
- “preparation was made for the wake” 38
- “neighbours and friends, old and young, begin to assemble” 39
- “there was in the morning a service of more than ordinary solemnity” 40
- “Then the coffin was placed upon the bier and covered with the mortecloth” 41
- “the ‘old log church cemetery’” 43
- Chapter 3: Elaboration is the Norm 48
- The Funeral Cortege 49
- The Hearse 51
- The Coffin 54
- The Wake 57
- Women and Funerals 59
- Newspapers 59
- Chapter 4: Victorian Customs, the Civil War, and the Rise of Funeral Homes 64
- The Death of Prince Albert 65
- The Civil War 74
- The Rise of the Funeral Home 77
- Chapter 5: The Beginnings of Cemeteries 84
- Cemeteries in the Countryside 85
- Cemeteries in Towns and Villages 90
- Winter Burials 92
- Tombstones 95
- Chapter 6: The Establishment of Cemeteries in Three Towns 100
- Niagara-on-the-Lake 101
- Kingston 106
- Peterborough 112
- Chapter 7: The Establishment of Cemeteries in Toronto 118
- Chapter 8: Differences According to Religion 130
- Anglican 132
- Jewish 133
- Mennonite 135
- Quaker (The Religious Society of Friends) 137
- Roman Catholic 139
- Chapter 9: Origins of Funeral Customs 146
- The Wake 147
- Coffins 148
- Wearing of Black 150
- Flowers and Food 151
- Tombstones and Epitaphs 154
- Mementoes of the Dead 157
- Conclusion 164
- PART II: Genealogical Implications 166
- Introduction 168
- Chapter 10: Death and Attitudes 170
- Finding Local Histories 170
- Nineteenth-Century Diseases 171
- Consolation Literature 171
- Chapter 11: Pioneer Death and Burial 172
- Church Records 172
- Estate Files 174
- Coroners' Reports 176
- Other Sources for Pre-1869 Death Records 177
- Chapter 12: Elaboration is the Norm 178
- Official Death Registrations 178
- Newspapers 181
- Chapter 13: Victorian Customs, the Civil War, and the Rise of Funeral Homes 184
- Family History Sources at Home 184
- Funeral Homes 185
- Chapter 14: The Beginnings of Cemeteries 186
- Finding Burial Records 186
- Chapter 15: Differences According to Religion 190
- Anglican 191
- Jewish 191
- Mennonite 192
- Quaker (The Religious Society of Friends) 193
- Roman Catholic 193
- United Church of Canada 194
- Timeline 196
- Glossary 200
- Epilogue 204
- Notes 208
- Bibliography 222
- PART ONE — DEATH AND BURIAL 222
- PART TWO — GENEALOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 233
- Acknowledgements 236
- Of Related Interest 238
- Back Cover 242
