Shuffling off this Mortal Coil:

a Look at the Folklore of Mourning

 

Lecture by

Mary Jo Lanphear

Town of Brighton Historian

 

 

Thursday Oct. 30, 2008

House Tours begin @ 6:30 p.m.

Note: House is not handicapped accessible

Talk by Mary Jo @ 7:30 p.m.

@ Oliver Culver House

70 East Blvd. 14610

 

 

Shuffling off this Mortal Coil: a Look at the Folklore of Mourning

Mary Jo Lanphear
Town of Brighton Historian
           
            When death occurred, our ancestors put aside the tasks of everyday life and took up the rituals of mourning.  Seemingly more elaborate than today's observations, these practices included special foods, clothing, and ceremonies. Handed down from generation to generation, the familiar customs brought comfort to the bereaved and reinforced the cohesion of the community.
            "Telling the bees" of a death in the family was a common practice. The supposition was that the bees would die if not told of the death.  Bees pollinated the crops and thus were important to the economic success of the farm family.  In 1858 John Greenleaf Whittier described the ritual of draping the hives in black in his poem "Telling the Bees."  Today, the phenomenon of colony collapse reinforces the concern about lost colonies of bees.
            In more urban areas, the custom of transporting the deceased in a horse-drawn hearse became a common practice in the second half of the nineteenth century.  Black plumes adorning the top of the hearse denoted the wealth of the deceased, six or eight being the maximum.  (David Allen's ad from city directory)
            In both rural and urban areas, headstones carried expressions of mourning.  Carved epitaphs and inscriptions told about the dead but sometimes the choice of the designer of the headstone conveyed additional information.  Carrol Sheffield Cross's headstone in Lakeview Cemetery in Pulteneyville was designed by prominent architect Claude Bragdon, indicating the Cross position in the community.  (Photo of Cross headstone)
            For more information on this interesting topic,

come to the Oliver Culver house on October 30 at 7:30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Free & Open to All!