September 23, 2022
Colonial Era Funeral Customs

This weeks Musings from Main was inspired by the fall season with its holiday of Halloween, and the South Windsor Historical Society's tour of the God’s Acre Cemetery program to be held Saturday, September 24th, from 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Old Burying Ground
God's Acre

According to local historian, Barney Daley, the land for the first Burying Ground (in what would eventually become South Windsor) was acquired from Job Drake in a land swap in 1708. There was no established cemetery on the east side of the Connecticut River prior to this, with most burials taking place across the river in Old Windsor. The first grave is reported to be that of a man, Thomas Morton, who fell from a cherry (others say an apple) tree. In early colonial days, when Morton passed away, a funeral could be an all day affair.

The Aanspreeckerr or Inviter
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, funerals were more intimate, and mourners were invited to a funeral by an inviter. From Dutch New Amsterdam up to Albany, the inviter (or aanspreecker) would dress in all black, travel to the friends and family of the deceased inviting them to the funeral. No one during this time attended a funeral uninvited. By 1691, inviters were licensed and appointed public servants who charged for their services. They were hired by the family, and charged by the distance traveled and the amount of time spent inviting people. If the bereaved family could not afford the service, it would be provided without charge. By 1731, the aanspreeker was paid in English shillings instead of Dutch guilders, and they charged by age of the deceased.

Funeral Pies
Food has been associated with funerals throughout time and cultures.  German colonists, commonly referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch, were known to bring raisin pies to funerals.  So common was the practice that a raisin pie was given the nickname “funeral pie.” Why a raisin pie?  Practical reasons;  few colonial era homes had fresh fruit readily on hand, raisins have a long shelf life and are available year-round. They made a handy (and delicious) pie filling no matter what time of year a funeral was held.

Funeral Gifts
It was a common practice in New England and among the Holland Dutch to give funeral gifts to mourners. These gifts could be rather extravagant and amount to considerable expense.  When Waitstill Winthrop passed away in 1717, one fifth of his estate went to pay for funeral gifts consisting of among other things; scarves, gloves and sixty expensive funeral rings.

The practice was so widespread that in 1721 and 1724, laws were passed in Massachusetts making it illegal to give lavish gifts at funerals. Despite these laws the custom persisted to the point that, during and after the Revolutionary War, fines were imposed on family members who continued the practice of extravagant funeral gift giving.

The sources used for this Musing are all available for further research in our reference library. Stop in during our open hours from 10am to 3pm on Mondays and Thursdays, or make an appointment with our archivist, Leith Johnson, to explore these resources.

Sources used for this Musing are listed below.

Coffin, Margaret M., Death in Early America: The History and Folklore of Customs and Superstitions of Early Medicine, Funerals, Burials, and Mourning, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers, New York, NY, 1976.
Colman, Penny, Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial, Henery Holt and Comapny, New York, NY 1997.

Daley, Barney, E., God's Acre, Barney Daley, 1984.