Undertaker
Although shopping for a funeral is not generally considered part of a shopping trip, it is interesting to note how much a funeral cost in 1886. This was a furniture store that turned into a funeral parlour. Two hundred and twenty-four dollars and sixty cents was the cost of the funeral for Sherriff Joseph Augustine Woodruff. The Woodruffs chose a red cedar casket with silver handles and an engraved name plate. The outside case was made with white oak. Other costs included: the hearse to the cemetery with four carriages and the washing, laying, and embalming of the body. Crepe, ribbons, and gloves were all paid for as part of the ceremony.
Thomas McIntyre immigrated from Scotland to Canada. In 1834, he established a business as a furniture maker and upholsterer. Thomas' son John was born in St. Catharines in 1845. He was an undertaker. It was a natural progression to go from building furniture to building coffins. John Brewer McIntyre founded the Ontario Undertakers' Association and he served as the Mayor of St. Catharines from 1889-1890 and 1901-1902. It was said that he was so well-liked that he never canvassed to be Mayor. He was a thirty-second degree Mason and had served as the Grand Master of the Independent Order of Oddfellows of Ontario.
McIntyre building