Studebaker Hearse circa 1863 Bodie, California -- Ghost Town un-edited

In the funeral industry, a hearse isn't usually called a hearse. It's referred to as a funeral coach. Funeral directors find that term a bit more dignified and a little less frightening than the more familiar word. In this write-up, however, I will continue to refer to these vehicles as hearses, because that's how most of us know them. The word "hearse" comes from the Middle English "herse," which referred to a type of candelabra often placed on top of a coffin. Sometime in the 17th century, people starting using the word to refer to the horse-drawn carriages that conveyed the casket to the place of burial during a funeral procession. Hearses remained horse-drawn until the first decade of the 20th century, when motorized hearses began to appear.
The photographed Studebaker Hearse (1863) in this posting would have participated in many a burial story such as the following:
The black hearse with gold accent paint, brass and silver decorations was filled with flowers visible through the glass windows. Ostrich feathers adorn the hearse while the coffin inside was shiny and polished. The hearse pulled by either black or white horses was first in the funeral possession followed by coaches full of mourners who sat behind drawn blinds. Normally, unmarried women and children had white horses to pull the hearse while men had black ones and if the family wanted black horses and none were available, the funeral director would dye the horses black to suit.
The men wore full mourning with crepe bands around their top hats and the ladies wore black crepe gowns with black veils and gloves and dabbed at their eyes with black edged handkerchiefs. Mourning fans of black ostrich feathers were held at the ready and ladies wore jewellery made of jet or black amber.
The procession made its way from the deceased person’s house towards the cemetery but often made a detour through a busy part of town to get the maximum effect for the money spent. Once the trip through town was complete, the procession moved into a brisk trot until the cemetery gates were reached and then a sedate walk was in order towards the chapel for the ceremony. The burial itself was witnessed by the men only and then the whole group returned to the house for a meal.

Read less