Coffin Warch???

[joe]

1855 Boston City Directory shows that Prof. Webster's newly-executed body was moved from the Leverett St. Jail by Peak John, coffin warch., 36 Friend, h. 7 Leverett What the heck is a "coffin warch"? Anybody have a clue?

[Kat]

THat's a good question Joe!
I bet the answer is fascinating!

I Googled and it asked me if I meant "coffin watch?"

Hope someone can explain this.

[diana]

As Kat says, Google isn't helping .....

But then again, maybe Google's implication is correct -- that it is a misprint and they do mean coffin 'watch'. There seemed to be quite a concern in those days about people being buried alive because medical pronouncements of death often weren't as reliable as they should have been. I've read of instances where people asked that bells be installed inside their coffins in case they woke up after the earth had been shovelled onto them, for example. I wonder if there were professional coffin watchers to try to allay such fears.

On another tack, is it possible Webster was infamous enough that people might try to collect grisly souvenirs from the corpse -- so the prison assigned someone that night? I'm wildly speculating here. I know about the case but I can't remember the public reaction offhand....

Can we get a clue from the words that follow 'warch'? i.e. 36 Friend, h. 7 Leverett. What are those references? Do we know?

[Harry]

If that is a period after the word "warch", then warch may be an abbreviation for a longer word but for the life of me I can't figure out what that word would be.

I did find reference to the word itself in old English dialect. It meant "to ache" . How that would apply to your question, Joe, escapes me.

See the bottom of this page: http://tinyurl.com/l5gwt

The article does though contain references to funerals and such.

[joe]

I found the word "warch." in another Boston City Directory, too. 1870 or so. It has to do with an undertaker, I think. Can't find out anything on this end. I agree with Harry that it is an abreviation for something, but has nothing to do with "watch". I googled it and laughed at the number of times that folks spelled "watch" "warch". Ebay, being many.
Guess I'll just call the guy an undertaker.
Joe

[diana]

This is going to nag at me now.

The following is copied from an 1845 Boston City Directory:

1 Willcutt Susan, widow of Joseph, coffin warch. 98 Sea

As Harry pointed out -- the word 'warch' seems to be abbreviated in Joe's excerpt -- and it is abbreviated here, as well. But what is the full word?

[Kat]

That'll keep you busy and off the street!

BTW: Where are all these Boston City Directories?

[diana]

I don't know where Joe got his. I just stumbled on this link when I was researching 'warch.'

http://www.damrellsfire.com/cgi-bin/directory_search.pl

[joe]

Joe sez: I got it from Godfrey, Kat. Click on MA in the list of states and you'll find it along with some other nifty bits of resource.
Joe

[Shelley]

I think graverobbers was the right idea and it may be coffin watch, or coffin watcher-this from Ken Ames' excellent book, Death in the Dining Room-
"
"Mourning had two stages: deep, or full, mourning and half-mourning. Each stage had its own rules and customs of decorum. When someone died, all the members of the household (including the servants) would adopt deep mourning. Curtains were drawn and clocks were stopped at the time of death. Mirrors were covered because of a lingering superstition that the spirit of the deceased could become trapped in the reflective glass. The body was watched over every moment until burial. Indeed, the prevalence of grave robbers prompted many to hire guards to watch over the grave"

[Shelley]

Some fascinating designs for "safety coffins"
http://www.deathonline.net/what_is/safety.cfm

[Kat]

If it was "Corfin Warch" it would sound Cockney...but they got the "coffin" right.

[joe]

If it was "Corfin Warch" it would sound Cockney...but they got the "coffin" right.

I had thought of that, but "warch" was also discovered in the 1870s. Don't know what to make of that word.

[snokkums]

Maybe they meant watch and just misspelled it? Sometimes papers will do that.

[RayS]

I think graverobbers was the right idea and it may be coffin watch, or coffin watcher-this from Ken Ames' excellent book, Death in the Dining Room-
"
"Mourning had two stages: deep, or full, mourning and half-mourning. Each stage had its own rules and customs of decorum. When someone died, all the members of the household (including the servants) would adopt deep mourning. Curtains were drawn and clocks were stopped at the time of death. Mirrors were covered because of a lingering superstition that the spirit of the deceased could become trapped in the reflective glass. The body was watched over every moment until burial. Indeed, the prevalence of grave robbers prompted many to hire guards to watch over the grave"

I do not think that grave robbing was ever a problem in America in the late 19th cent. That was done by Burke & Hare to provide specimens for medical teaching.

[Wordweaver]

1855 Boston City Directory shows that Prof. Webster's newly-executed body was moved from the Leverett St. Jail by Peak John, coffin warch., 36 Friend, h. 7 Leverett What the heck is a "coffin warch"? Anybody have a clue?

I consulted the curator of a funeral musem. Here's the text of his e-mail to me:

> We're thinking (especially my director who does a lot of genealogy) that
> there is either a typo in your source, or that it is old and difficult
> to read. The reference "warch." is actually, we think, "wareh.,"
> instead. Either the little crossbar on the 'e' is faded, or as I said
> it might be an original typo? The reference "wareh." was common to
> refer to a 'warehouse.' Coffin warehouse was a common term at that time
> for a business dealing in undertaking and its accoutrements; in this
> case Mr. John Peak.

That makes sense to me.

Lynn

[joe]

Thanks, Lynn! I do believe the mystery is solved. Warehouse is the right word.
Joe

[doug65oh]

Well, I'll be dipped - at least one mystery solved! Thanks!

[shakiboo]

My sentiments exactly, Doug!

[Kat]

WOW! I'm impressed! Yay Lynn!

[Kat]

Ooops. I just thought of something: Can I ask why it would be listed in different years the same way if it was a misprint?

[joe]

I bet that the later year (1870-something??) was just copied from the 1850 source. Thre are several such errors in the Ironwood city directories. The ones up thisaway were compiled, usually by the local womens' club or students at the Woodward School of Business. Simply copies of the earlier editions to save time and money (students got paid a pittance). They did, however, pick up some corrections and additions to the population.
Joe