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This is an article that Rabecca
of the Yankeereb sutler (Oregon sutler).
I hope you find it informative and can us the information at your next public
event.
Sharron Lawler,
Union Civilian Leader
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Someone suggest I talk about Mourning dress and traditions, so, here goes.
Lets
start before the Civil War. Death was handled by the family. Women
(called layers out of the dead) would bath the body, dress it in a sleep gown.
(Think of the horror movies with vampires in long white gowns, that's a sleep
gown). They would lay the body in the parlor and sit vigil for 3 to 5
days. This was to make sure the body would not come back to life.
Many bodies in a coma were prematurely buried. During the waiting period,
a coffin with built or ordered by a furniture maker. After the waiting
period the family would either bury their family member on their own property or
arrange to have it buried in the church yard.
Upon
the death of a family member, it was customary for the women of the house to go
into mourning. They would dress in solid black and put crape on their
dresses.(widow's weeds). Crape should be put on in one piece (
1 inch below the waist and come to within 2 inches of the hem). (see
Crape below) They would recluse themselves in the house for a whole
year following the death. They would see no one except close family.
If
a lady went out of the house (very unlikely) she would wear a black bonnet with
a long, very opaque, black veil. The veil usually hung down below their
hips. The veil should have a deep hem. She would also have
black gloves, shawl or mantle and black parasol (if necessary). Dressing
like this was a sign to everyone that she was in mourning and to leave her
alone.
After
a year in seclusion, she could deminish the crepe and the veil became shorter
(shoulder length).
After
eighteen months, she could do away with the crepe and add a little white, grey,
mauve, purple or lavender (second mourning colors) to her black dress. The
change should be gradual. No veil or a very short one (chin length).
She could begin receiving vistors and could go out of the house.
During
the next six months the black would start to shrink. More and more of the
second mourning colors would be added. After 2 years and a day, she could
bring herself out of mourning and back into the world. Some ladies waited
yet another 6 months or longer before "coming out of mourning".
People thought that the length of mourning showed how much love and respect you
had for the deceased.
CRAPE
Crape
is a crisp or crimpy (produced by heat) fabric with no shine (very dead looking
fabric). The desired optical effect of mourning was the abolition of
reflection. Crape cannot be worn with non-deep mourning materials.
Thus, crape is inadmissible with velvet, satin, lace, bright or glace' silk,
embroidery, or fringe. Fabric's to wear crape with are, paramatta, merino,
cashmere, woolen barege or grenadine or barathea. The materials last
mentioned were of the required 'dead' quality. Canton crape had an
undulating and graceful line. The more typical and 'hard' crape was
rightly crimped; making is harsh and repellent. A type of crape made at
Norwich, of mixed silk and cotton, eventually became bombazine. Crape has
been asociated with mourning for 300 years before 1850.
The
effect of rainwater upon crape gave cause for distress. A receipe of 1856 to
remove water stains from black crape:
When a drop of water falls upon a black crape veil or collar it leaves a
conspicuous white mark. To obliterate it,
place a piece of old black silk underneath and with a camel's hair brush dipped
in common ink, go over the stain.
Wipe off the ink with a little bit of old soft silk. It will dry
immediately and the white mark will be seen no more.
Ladies
that wore crape in warm weather, find it leaves blackness on the arms and neck
which cannot easily be removed even by soap and warm water. The ladies
kept a cox containing equal proportions of cream of tarter and oxalic acid to
remove the stains. The mixture, if swallowed, was poisonous.
It
was thought unlucky to keep crape in the house after mourning had ended.
This may account for the rarity of mourning crape today.
JEWELRY
Only
jet ornaments are permissible for mourning. Neither gold, silver, or
precious stones can be worn in the first stages of mourning, but mixed with jet
are permissible during second morning. Jet is a kind of hard coal, an
anthracite or lignite, probably formed from driftwood.
Jewelry
of sentiment was that made from hair. They were not mourning jewelry.
It was made both at home and professionally. We are all familiar with the
locket, brooch or ring in which some beloved curl is enshrined. This jewelry is
sentimental jewelry to remember someone close to you.
MOURNING
ETIQUETTE
The
etiquette of mourning was strict and the rules intricate; it was easy to
make a mistake. The women's journals of the period are full of anxious
requests for clarification, often prompted by an attempt to combine economy with
correctness.
During
the first year, no invitations could be accepted. The worst taste was to
be seen in public places. A widow who did not follow etiquette was liable
to have her conduct misinterpreted. No wonder Scarlett was such a scandal.
Writing
paper and cards and envelopes also showed mourning, having a small black border
around the edge.
Servants
were put into mourning dress when a member of the family died. Servants
were thought as much as extension of the family as the house and its contents.
MOURNING
WAREHOUSES
The
growing demand for mourning clothes prompted a mushroom growth of mourning
warehouses. The first and most famous, 'Jay's Mourning Warehouse' opened
in 1841.
Before
the establishment of these shops women who wished to equip themselves with
mourning were obliged to rush to different places to buy separate articles of
dress. Their house were invaded by milliners and dressmakers and the
chamber of grief was disturbed. The warehouses shortened and lightened the
chore; the old rule that full mourning was not put on until 8 days after
bereavement no longer applied.
The
general manufacture of the sewing machine after 1850 mechanized the dressmaking
industry. and assisted the rapid production of mourning orders. A
lady could now, find out she was a widow in the morning and be dressed in
mourning in the afternoon. Here she could obtain bonnets of the most
subtle design and more ornate speciments of sable. Collars of white
or black crape, tulle and muslin. Everything for deep mourning or second
mourning could be found here.
These
warehouses were the beginning of our modern day department stores.
Mourning
warehouses conducted funerals too.
Vistors
to someone in mourning - complimentary black was sometimes worn but was not
necessary.
LENGTH
OF MOURNING FOR OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS
Husband
- 6 months - only had to wear a black arm band and could still attend parties
and business. Could marry again anytime. (A true mans world). Men
were the only ones to attend a funeral. Women were home in mourning.
Children
- 12 months - could wear black but mostly wore white
Grandparents
- at first it was 9 months, but now 6 months is sufficient. Two months in black
silk with moderate amount of crape, 2 months in black with no crape and 2 months
in second or half mourning.
Brothers
& Sisters - 6 months - 3 in crape, two in black and one in half mourning.
Aunt
& Uncle - 3 months - black no crape. First month with Jet
Relations
by marriage were mourned exactly in the same degree as blood relations, with
some exceptions. For instance, a lady would mourn for her uncle by
marriage for two months, if his wife (her aunt) were alive. If her aunt
were dead, the mourning for the uncle might be curtailed to one month.
There was the strange institution of 'complimentary' mourning - the 2nd wife of
a man must wear slight mourning for 3 months for the death of his 1st wire
parents, or two months for his 1st wife's brothers or sisters.
And
of course when Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was in deep mourning for the
rest of her life.
Hope
you enjoyed this issue
If
you want to read more:
Death,
Heaven and The Victorians by John Morley
Inventing
the American Way of Death 1830-1920 by James Farrell
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