sorry I was in a bit of a hurry last night - to expand a little, my conversation with Eor over this had to do with it being a good idea to know what to do with bodies because a rather gruesome event happened when a cousin of mine was asked to build a casket for someone who died unexpectedly. And people don't know how to handle bodies these days.
But when we started talking about your question, I did say I thought smaller living spaces in cities were what gave rise to having the body laid out someplace else besides in the home, and it seems I was on the right track by what I found here:
J. J. Farrell, in Inventing the American Way of Death, 1830–1920 (1980), describes common funeral-related practices that prevailed through the mid-to-late 1800s among people of European descent. Most people died at home during this period, and funerals and burials were handled by the immediate family and neighbors. After the death, women in the family would wash, dress, and prepare the body for burial. Men were responsible for making the plain wood coffin or securing it from the local carpenter. Male survivors dug the grave, and in some cases carved the grave stone. The wake was typically held at home, followed by a committal service at grave-side.
As industrialization flourished, American cities grew more crowded, and living spaces became smaller. When death occurred, many families did not have the physical space for a wake in the home. D. C. Sloane (1991) cites three other reasons for the expanding roles of undertakers in the late nineteenth century: (1) the rise in popularity of embalming; (2) a longer distance from the home to the cemetery necessitated someone to organize the procession; and (3) families were concerned about ensuring that all the formalities were followed. The National Funeral Directors Association was established in 1882. The group decided to use the term funeral directors, rather than undertakers, in an effort to portray a more professional image. During the twentieth century, the role of the funeral director continued to expand into areas previously held by the family and the clergy.
no subject
But when we started talking about your question, I did say I thought smaller living spaces in cities were what gave rise to having the body laid out someplace else besides in the home, and it seems I was on the right track by what I found here:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3402200154.html
J. J. Farrell, in Inventing the American Way of Death, 1830–1920 (1980), describes common funeral-related practices that prevailed through the mid-to-late 1800s among people of European descent. Most people died at home during this period, and funerals and burials were handled by the immediate family and neighbors. After the death, women in the family would wash, dress, and prepare the body for burial. Men were responsible for making the plain wood coffin or securing it from the local carpenter. Male survivors dug the grave, and in some cases carved the grave stone. The wake was typically held at home, followed by a committal service at grave-side.
As industrialization flourished, American cities grew more crowded, and living spaces became smaller. When death occurred, many families did not have the physical space for a wake in the home. D. C. Sloane (1991) cites three other reasons for the expanding roles of undertakers in the late nineteenth century: (1) the rise in popularity of embalming; (2) a longer distance from the home to the cemetery necessitated someone to organize the procession; and (3) families were concerned about ensuring that all the formalities were followed. The National Funeral Directors Association was established in 1882. The group decided to use the term funeral directors, rather than undertakers, in an effort to portray a more professional image. During the twentieth century, the role of the funeral director continued to expand into areas previously held by the family and the clergy.