Skip to main content

Funeral Accounts (loose items from Register of Funerals), 1914-1926

 File — Box: 1, Folder: 4

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of document and contains one ambulance service account book, funeral accounts, one register of funerals, and some miscellaneous documents and notes. The Ambulance Record Book dates from 1956 to 1962. Entries are chronological, as services were rendered, and include the name of patient, transportation points, billing name and address, and amount charged. Reasons for transport are not included. The ledger reveals that the Brimmer ambulance served House Springs and its surrounding communities such as High Ridge, Cedar Hill, Byrneville, Dittmer, Catawissa, Hillsboro, and Fenton.

There are notes and invoices relating to the ambulance service that were tucked into the Ambulane Record Book (f.1). The notes are arranged alphabetically by name. Some of the notes provide the reason for transport and may have been instructions given to the ambulance driver.

Clues to the business and its services are found in the business card for Henry Brimmer & Son and in the stationery from J. H. Brimmer (f.2). The business card still carries the names of Henry Brimmer and notes that they offer motor service. A letter written to the Bureau of Vital Statistics by John H. Brimmer on his letterhead reveals that in 1942, John still operated the hardware store and expanded into farm implements and electrical and plumbing supplies. On the same letterhead, it is confirmed that he is also a funeral director, an embalmer, and offers ambulance service. A blank invoice from circa 1955 reveals that the Brimmer Funeral Home operated a 24 hour ambulance service. There is one check from the Jefferson County Treasurer’s Office for John H. Brimmer monthly pay of $15 for serving as county judge. There is also a sample ballot for November 1944 general election with number notations on the front and back, possibly made by John H. Brimmer, whose name is on the ballot.

The funeral accounts are in chronological order and provide only the date of service, name of deceased, article purchased, which in the earliest days is often only a coffin, and price. There is some duplication in the pages between 1899 and 1913. The next account book covers the dates November 1941 to February 1942. Only the final two entries in the 1941-1942 account book provide more biographical information about the deceased: Louis F. Bauer and Francis X. Deruntz.

Some invoices for funerals conducted in the years circa 1915 to 1926 were tucked into the register of funerals (f.4). The invoices enumerate the funeral expenses. The name on the invoice most likely is name of the person ordering the funeral and not the name of the deceased. There are no accounts for the following years: 1914, 1927-1940, 1942-1962.

The register of funerals dates from 1914 to 1926. It provides basic information about the deceased, including: name, age, cause of death, date of burial, and often the place of burial (f.5). It also includes all the cost information for the funeral and who ordered the funeral. The register reveals that the number of funerals ordered in a given year spanned from eight to eighteen.

Dates

  • 1914-1926

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.29 Cubic Feet ( (5 folders, 1 volume))

Language of Materials

English

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository

Contact:
225 S. Skinker Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63105 United States
314-746-4510