grave digging

[Cravens]

Seeking information, books, articles on the 19th century occupation of grave digging.

Thank You,
Greg Colvin
a.k.a. David Cravens
Hairy Nation Boys

[ElizabethClark]

Mr Colvin, where have you looked thus far?

You might not find "Grave Digging for Fun & Profit" as a primary source. :) One book on the funeral industry that I found very interesting was "Buried Alive" by Jan Bondeson. You might also find descriptions of grave diggers in period fiction, though that might give you a stereotype of the job, rather than the actuality. You might also look at church records to see what information is available on the folks who were hired to dig graves, and then see if you can find more about those individuals through tax or census records.

[boreguard]

Being raised my my grnadparents (mostly because I just didn't go home) I can tell you that in South Louisiana it was a family custom for the family to dig the graves for loved ones themselves. I'm sure that in cities it was of course a different story, but I do know that my great grandparents were both buried in graves that were dug by their sons. Listening to my grandmother recount this and many other stories it became apparant that it was an act of...love, respect, and family dignity.
I'll look to this post for others input.

[markj]

Seeking information, books, articles on the 19th century occupation of grave digging.

Thank You,
Greg Colvin
a.k.a. David Cravens
Hairy Nation Boys

Greg,

If you'll contact me privately I'll send you some potentially interesting items from the New York Times.

Regards,

Mark Jaeger
markj@purdue.edu

[Cravens]

Thanks for all of the input. I think it is an occupation that is overlooked for the most part. I do agree that family played a big part in burials in the 19th century. I actually knew to men in Clark County, Missouri that dug graves by hand into the 1970's and ealry 80's. Hard physical labor that virtually went unnoticed.

Greg Colvin
"David Cravens"
Hairy Nation Boys

[Johan Steele]

My father continues to dig graves by hand and has been doing so since the late 1960's. It is a physically demanding job as well as one requiring an attention to detail and dedication to a job well done. It's so much more than just digging a hole.

When I say physically demanding I mean being able to move approx 5 tons of earth, more if it's wet clay. It means being able to recognize what kind of shovel to use and when, knowing when it's time to sharpen the shovels & spades. And whether or not cribbing is neccessary etc.

[Missouri Mule]

Wonderful topic and one that I too would have overlooked as a career for someone in the 1860s.

I am aware of one gentleman in the Clark County area (actually, it's Lewis County in LaBelle, MO I believe) that still digs graves by hand. With all of old, small cemeteries in NE Missouri, it comes in handy when you don't want to disturb existing graves. I have heard from reliable sources that he can dig a grave by hand fasterthan someone using a backhoe.

[Cravens]

The two gentlemen I knew digging graves by hand, one now deceased, were powerful, muscular men who never complained, whom now I respect now more than ever! Thanks again for all of the feedback. I welcome more!

Greg Colvin
Hairy Nation Boys
11th Iowa Co. G

[mobluegraysoldier]

Greg,
I think you will find that many of the professional grave diggers were employed by the church or other organization in charge of the cemetary. Otherwise, for the most part, they were either family members, relatives, hired hands or neighbors of the deceased. In the cities I am sure that it was more common to find grave digging to be a profession, but in the rural areas, especially those with family cemetarys, for the most part grave digging was a happenstance situation.
As far as the military went, you will probably find that most grave digging was done by enlisted men detailed to that duty, as well as prisoners of war. You will also find that slaves, and runaways/freedmen were employed in that duty. If you do research about Gettysburg, you will notice that several weeks after the battle many of the dead who had not been claimed by relatives were still laying in the fields, and that a special order had to be issued for the internment of the dead. You will also find that many of the dead never recieved proper internment, they were allowed to lay where they fell.
Kevin Baker; aka, mobluegraysoldier