Shootouts, quick-draw duels, and outlaws being filled with lead by the lawman of the day are just a few of the everyday occurrences of death in the Old West. However, what is seldom discussed is what happens in the aftermath of all the shootings that occurred. Once the smoke settled and the smell of gunpowder faded, a body or bodies littered the ground. Now was when the Undertaker entered the picture. This profession was not for everyone. Yet, it was a necessity. Unlike early Pioneers, who buried their dead at points along their long journeys where the actual death occurred, the townsfolk had to go another route. They had to employ the talents of the local Undertaker to move their loved one’s body through the process up to its burial.
Death in the Old West – Dealing with Reality
To many today, the Undertaker’s profession is a mixture of misinformation and misrepresentation from television, movies, and other media. Here, we’ll examine the life of the man dealing with death and illustrate that to him, it was just another day at the office.
As mentioned above, pioneers who traveled westward faced many hardships. From diseases to hunger to harsh weather and attacks from natives, death was common. This was for those trying to make a better life for themselves and their families in the West. Since they constantly moved, the dead body was typically buried where the death had occurred. They had little time to mourn and had to continue on the move. However, once the pioneers reached their destinations, along with many others, small settlements were established. Then larger towns came into existence. At that point, the bodies of the dead needed to be tended to. Thus, the Undertaker, as a profession, was born.
Undertakers Wore Many Hats
Logically enough, the first Undertakers in the 1800’s were furniture makers and carpenters. These men were well-versed in all things created from wood. From cabinets to shelving to furniture, like rocking chairs and dressers. With their talents, it wasn’t difficult for them to construct a wooden coffin for the dead. The townspeople sought out these men. Many carpenters or furniture makers continued their primary professions while they worked on the side to produce coffins. Though death has been illustrated greatly in media depicting the Old West, the fact was that there indeed wasn’t enough work for the carpenter to make coffins all day, every day. The Jack-of-all-trades was indeed a title fit for a carpenter/undertaker of the mid to late 1800’s.
The local carpenter or furniture maker took on the task of coffin construction, but it didn’t stop there. He also drove the hearse, which was almost always a converted horse-drawn cart (constructed by themselves) that offered elaborate decorations, wood-carved paneling with intricate detailing, and fabric curtains that draped downward and covered every window on the wagon. From the coffin’s construction to the transporting of the body, the next logical step (at least in the eyes of people in the mid-nineteenth century) for the woodworker turned Undertaker was to perform the funeral. This not only included the tasks mentioned above, but they also provided the music for the service and became the border to the family members of the deceased who were in town for the funeral. The final nail in the coffin (no pun intended) was the Undertaker, who usually dug the grave for the body.
Tending to the Body
The Undertaker, as mentioned, held many jobs within the bubble of their unique profession. Dead bodies naturally decompose, and before 1859, bodies had to be cleaned up. They were smothered essentially with flowers to mask the stench of decay. After three to four days, the bodies would have to be buried. The rot and decay would become unbearable to anyone paying their respects to the fallen loved one or friend. However, after 1859, this changed dramatically. At that time, a Russian chemist named Aleksandr Butlerov discovered Formaldehyde. Butlerov created this new solution by dissolving a gas in water and adding alcohol as a base. This latest creation stabilized bacteria in the corpse and considerably slowed decay. This allowed bodies to be preserved.
This, in turn, slowed the entire process of having to bury the body within days. This helped the Undertaker considerably. The mourning family members could plan and pay for elaborate funerals and detailed preparations. This increased the Undertaker’s revenue. He could charge for all steps with which he would be directly involved. What began and ended with making coffins has now expanded to a very lucrative business. Also, it should be noted that death in the Old West was not just shootouts and murders. There were rather more mundane causes like old age, sickness, and accidental deaths.
Death in the Old West – Getting Paid
The Undertaker earned money in a few different ways. First, if the town was large enough to support such a profession, the town would directly employ the individual. With an average life span of thirty-seven years, people died of natural causes regularly. Their bodies needed to be attended to in order to keep the town “clean” of the dead. Second, since Undertakers were carpenters and woodworkers, they would sell coffins to families needing them for their on-site burials on their property. Finally, as mentioned above, the Undertaker wore many hats centered around the days after a person’s death. Hence, every step of the way until burial would equate to money in the Undertaker’s pocket.
As most other jobs became routine, so did the Undertaker’s. Although his daily tasks centered around death, he was an integral part of a town’s infrastructure and daily activities. Their construction, woodworking, and furniture-building skills were their indirect path into the field. Once established, these men carved a prosperous career from those townspeople whose lives, unfortunately, had come to an end.
For more information, visit: https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industrial-america-1876-1900/american-west-1865-1900/
