Before there were Hearses

 

Prior to 1851, coffins were transported in a variety of ways, as hearses and formal processions were not always the norm. The sources suggest that transportation methods depended on the era, location, and circumstances of the deceased.

Methods of Coffin Transport:

• Bier: Before the use of hearses became common, coffins were often carried on a bier, which is a frame or stand for carrying a coffin.
• Pallbearers: Eight pallbearers would carry the coffin, often taking turns..
• Handkerchiefs: In the case of a child's funeral, young girls would sometimes serve as pallbearers, carrying the small coffin using handkerchiefs passed under it.
• Wagons: Wagons were used to transport goods and people, and would likely have been used to carry coffins. A man was crushed by a stone when his wagon overturned while he was hauling it for a bridge.
• Sleds: In at least one case, a sled was used to transport the bodies of men who had been attacked.
• On the back: In one case, a man constructed a coffin for his brother, and carried it on his back to the burial site.
• Horseback: Coffins could be transported on horseback, with or without a rider.

Additional details related to funerals:

• No Carriages: Funeral processions did not include carriages before the use of hearses became common.
• Procession Formation: Funeral processions were led by the minister and physician, followed by the pallbearers with the coffin, the family of the deceased, and then other men and women in pairs.
• Bell Tolling: Church or courthouse bells were tolled to mark a death, an important ritual in the funeral process.
• Children's funerals: For children's funerals, young girls dressed in white often acted as pallbearers.

It should be noted that these descriptions come from different time periods and areas, and so transport may have varied over time and place.