CREMATORIUM AT LANCASTER, PA.
(Interior View.)
On Dec. 20, 1883, Mr. John Storer Cobb, who was one of the projectors and founders of the New York Cremation Society and the United States Cremation Company, requested Bostonians (in the columns of a leading newspaper) who were in favor of substituting incineration for inhumation as a means of disposing of the dead, to furnish him with their names and addresses. After the receipt of these names he called a meeting, which took place Jan. 24, 1884, and the result of which was the organization of the New England Cremation Society. Organization was effected under Chapter 115 of the Massachusetts Public Statutes; but the commissioner of corporations refusing to allow such incorporation, the society not wishing to organize under the general corporation law, whereby the par value of shares must be $100, and all stock subscribed for and paid in before it could commence operations, applied for a special charter, embodying its views and needs. But the time for the introduction of new business having expired, it was obliged to wait till the next session of the legislature. Early in the session it presented a bill for incorporation, which took the form of a general law, authorizing the formation of cremation societies.
It was the intention of the society to at once incorporate under this act, place the stock of the society on sale, and as soon as possible erect a crematorium in the near vicinity of Boston. The bill passed both houses of the legislature, but was amended, so that now the par value of shares must be either $10 or $50, and, as under the general corporation law of Massachusetts, the whole capital stock must be subscribed and paid in before the society can commence operations.
The capital stock of the society is $25,000, distributed into 2500 shares, each of the par value of $10. At present the society numbers about 75 members. The officers are: John Storer Cobb, president; Charles A. Holt, treasurer; and Sidney P. Brown, secretary.
Inspired with the necessity of a better method of disposing of the dead, Dr. John O. Marble began the agitation of the question in Worcester, Mass., in November, 1884, by reading a paper upon the subject before 25 of the most prominent physicians of that city. Much to his surprise and pleasure they heartily approved of the plan of cremation as a substitute for the present time-honored, but, to the living, dangerous custom of earth-burial. At the solicitation of one of them, who is the enthusiastic president of the Worcester Natural History Society, the doctor delivered a lecture upon the subject of the “Disposal of the Dead, Cremation Preferred,” before a large audience in the hall of the society on the evening of Dec. 4, 1884.
The people of the conservative city of Worcester seemed to appreciate the sanitary necessity, and began intelligent inquiries, which Dr. Marble answered in eight communications in the Worcester Daily Spy. The movement was favored by almost all of the best citizens, and, after considerable hard work on Dr. Marble’s part, took shape in the organization of a society. The constitution was signed by, and the society is composed of, persons of the very highest position, socially, professionally, and in every respect. The society is not yet quite ready for the erection of a crematory, but it is expected that such result will follow in the near future.
The Cincinnati Cremation Company was incorporated on Oct. 18, 1884; it was organized two or three weeks later. The capital stock of the company is $25,000, divided into 1000 shares of the par value of $25 per share. No member is permitted to own more than 20 shares. In the spring of 1885, the company purchased a site for the erection of Cincinnati’s crematorium. The site is on a commanding eminence on Dixmyth Avenue, west of Burnet Woods and within a quarter of a mile of the terminus of the Clifton line of cars. The property is within city limits; it is easily accessible, being on a fine drive; its elevation will give the crematorium a distinguished prominence, while the view to the west and south is extended and beautiful. The front measurement of the site is somewhat over 300 feet, with a depth of 350, comprising an area of more than two and a half acres, at a cost of $4000. The basement of the Cincinnati crematorium has been finished; the furnace is being erected, and will be completed in a short time. At present, the company counts 325 stockholders, with quite a representation of ladies. About $15,000 of the stock has been subscribed for.
A crematory on Sixth Avenue, in the centre of the city of Pittsburg, Pa., was completed in January, 1886. The furnace (constructed by Dr. M. L. Davis) is heated by natural gas to at least 2200 degrees. The apparatus is owned by Mr. H. Samson, the ex-president of the National Funeral Directors’ Association, who is a wide-awake man, and thinks the funeral directors (vulgo, undertakers) are very shortsighted to allow cremation associations to be organized; they should be willing and prepared to take care of and make such disposition of the dead as the people want. The use of natural gas enables Mr. Samson to have his furnace in the basement of his business house. The first cremation in this apparatus took place on March 17, 1886, when the remains of Milton Fisher, of Columbus, O., were incinerated. The body was placed in the retort at 7.30 o’clock, and in less than an hour was reduced to ashes. This was the first time that natural gas had ever been used for cremating purposes; and its advantages were apparent at once.
The National Cremation Association, which was organized and incorporated Feb. 10, 1883, has so far met with success, as its object to make propaganda for the principle of cremation and keep its ideas before the eyes of the public has been fully sustained, as the discussions and arguments pro and contra in the press of Philadelphia, Pa., where it is located, will prove. According to its constitution, this association agrees to cremate the remains of any active or passive member in good standing at death, when so desired. The expenses of the funeral and cremation are carried by the association.
Since the incorporation of this society, one of its members died, May 10, 1884, and was, in accordance with his wishes, cremated. The body was transferred to Washington, Pa., on the 13th of the same month, and there reduced to ashes, which were returned to the care of the family of the deceased.