Defunct Funeral Parlors of Franklin County

338 Lincoln Way East, Chamberburg. Former location of the H.W. Cramer Funeral Parlor.

 

Thanks to the popularity of a previous post, in which I explored the forgotten funeral homes of Luzerne County, I've decided to follow up with a post about Franklin County's former undertaking establishments and funeral parlors, along with some fascinating information about the funeral directors who owned them. 

Of course, these are just a few of many similar businesses which operated in and around Chambersburg over the years. Since embalming was rarely practiced before the Civil War, and with Chambersburg's important Civil War history and large number of war veterans, it should be no surprise that Franklin County's county seat became a haven for entrepreneurial undertakers in the late 19th century-- a time when many embalmers were "self-taught". Thanks to stricter state regulations, however, by the 20th century many Pennsylvania funeral directors were highly-educated professionals, with many obtaining their education in the "funeral arts" at the Eckels School of Embalming in Philadelphia, which, at the time, was the leading school in the country for aspiring funeral directors.

127-129 S. Main St.

 

J.A. Sellers & Sons, 127-129 South Main Street (circa 1924-1937), Chambersburg

The Sellers family has been involved the funeral directing business since 1850, when cabinetmaker Daniel A. Sellers opened an undertaking establishment in St. Thomas. Daniel Sellers operated both businesses at opposite ends of the same building, and remained in operation until Daniel's retirement in 1905. In 1895, his sons (J. Allen and Samuel Frisby) established a funeral parlor called J.A. Sellers & Brother on West Market Street. In April of 1896, the brothers moved their establishment to 165 S. Main Street (the site of the present-day Capitol Theatre building). Interestingly, prior to becoming a funeral parlor, this location was the site of a slaughterhouse known as the People's Meat Market, which stood across from the old Queen Hotel.

After the death of Samuel Frisby Sellers in 1923, J. Allen's sons, Robert and Daniel, joined the family business, which then became known as J.A. Sellers and Sons, and the funeral parlor was moved to 127-129 South Main Street, in the building currently occupied by Merle Norman Cosmetics. In June of 1937, the business moved once more, to its present location in the stately Chambers-Colhoun Mansion on Chambers Street.
 

76 N. Main St.

H.W. Kramer Funeral Parlor, 76 North Main Street (circa 1923-1925), Chambersburg 

Born in 1890, Herbert W. Cramer learned the undertaking business under J.A. Sellers, by whom he employed until 1923. In October of that year he opened his own funeral parlor in the Appenzellar Building at 76 North Main Street. Cramer moved to 64 South Second Street in 1925 (now the site of the Masonic Lodge parking lot) and, a few years later, became one of the founders of the Lincoln Cemetery. In 1944 the establishment was relocated to the former J.F. Boyd Estate at 338 Lincoln Way East. The following year, Herbert's daughter, Priscilla, became the first licensed female funeral director in the history of Franklin County and joined her father in business. Unfortunately, the arrangement didn't last long; Cramer sold his business to county coroner J.D. Goshen in 1947. He passed away in 1970.

71 N. Main St.

 
E.M. Smith Funeral Parlor, 71 North Main Street (circa 1884-1906), Chambersburg

Born in Thurmont, Maryland, in 1850, furniture salesman Ezra Milton Smith opened his first of several successful undertaking parlors in Chambersburg on March 1, 1883, on East Market Street. The following year he purchased a larger building on North Main Street, which currently houses Bistro 71.

As Smith's undertaking business flourished he found it difficult to devote time to the furniture trade. Smith sold his funeral home to George MacDonald in December of 1906 in order to focus his attention on cots and bed springs, which he manufactured next door to his former funeral parlor, at 73 North Main. 

Though MacDonald's arrival in Chambersburg was lauded with much fanfare (he was a graduate of the Pittsburgh School of Anatomy), it seems that he quickly lost interest in the profession. In March of 1907, after just three months in Chambersburg, MacDonald announced that he had taken a position selling medical supplies in Pittsburgh and he sold the funeral parlor to brothers Herman and Paul Kraiss. As for Ezra Milton Smith, he passed away in 1927 at the age of 77.
 

47 Lincoln Way West (left side of building)

Kraiss Brothers Funeral Home, 47 Lincoln Way West (circa 1924-1936), Chambersburg

After buying out George MacDonald, the Kraiss brothers, Herman and Paul, remained in Chambersburg for the next 29 years, operating a funeral home at 47 Lincoln Way West for much of that time, in a building currently being used as apartment housing. Herman also served as a member of town council, holding the presidency between 1922 and 1926.

 

In March of 1936, Herman purchased a property at 154 South Second Street (pictured above) for use as a mortuary, which he continued to operate until October of 1947, when he sold the business to one of his assistants, Robert R. Barbour. In June, his brother, Paul, assisted by his son Arthur, opened a new location at 159 Lincoln Way West, which stood on the site of the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Herman passed away in 1950 at the age of 72.

 

520 Philadelphia Ave.

Kraiss Funeral Home, 520 Philadelphia Ave (circa 1949-1959), Chambersburg

Like his brother Herman, Paul G. Kraiss was born and raised in Tioga County. After the brothers dissolved their longstanding partnership in 1936, Paul relocated to Lincoln Way West. In November of 1949, Paul and his son, Paul H., established the Kraiss Funeral Home at 520 Philadelphia Avenue. The elder Paul and his wife occupied the second floor of the Colonial-style brick building, while the younger Kraiss and his family occupied the third floor. An adjoining property (the Bream estate), at 502 Philadelphia Avenue, was also purchased for use as a showroom. At the time of its opening, the Kraiss Funeral Home was the most elegant in Franklin County. With a seating capacity of 200, the funeral home boasted a large reception hall, wall-to-wall carpeting, lavish drapery and original paintings by local artist LeRoy Search. In 1957, Paul G. Kraiss retired and moved to Shippensburg, where he lived until his death in 1969 at the age of 92.

 

1047 Lincoln Way East

  

Gillan Funeral Home, 1047 Lincoln Way East (1949-1956), Chambersburg

In 1949, William J. Gillan, a 33-year-old funeral director from Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, puchased a newly-built brick home on Lincoln Way East from Walter Brake and established the Gillan Funeral Home. Gillan, who had been born and raised in St. Thomas, was the son-in-law of Robert Sellers (of the J.A. Sellers & Sons Funeral Home), and was a graduate of the Eckels School of Embalming in Philadelphia. Joining Gillan in this enterprise was one of his employees from Vandergrift, Albertus M. Shaw. With a seating capacity of 175, the new funeral home was poised to be a top competitor to the Kraiss Funeral Home on Philadelphia Avenue.

Unfortunately, domestic problems contributed to the establishment's demise after a few years. After Gillan filed for divorce from his wife Marie in 1957 on grounds of desertion, his financial assets had dwindled to such an extent that he was unable to pay his court-ordered support fees. As a result, the property on Lincoln Way East (which also served as the family home), was seized by order of the county court and sold at a sheriff's sale. Gillan then moved to Maryland, where he was hired by funeral director Robert Wilhelm, and remained there until his retirement in 1978. Gillan died in 1997 at the age of 80. Today, the former funeral parlor is the home of EXIT Preferred Realty.
 

15 S. Washington St. (left)

Martin Funeral Parlor, (circa 1910-1937), 15 South Washington Street, Greencastle

Born in Franklin County in 1880, David Martin learned the cabinetmaking and undertaking trade as an apprentice to T.J. Crall in Waynesboro. He went on to work for Chambersburg funeral directors E.M. Smith and J.A. Sellers until 1910, when he passed his state examination for embalming and opened a funeral parlor on South Washington Street in Greencastle for 27 years. Martin operated this establishment until his sudden death in 1937 at the age of 56. One week after his death, it was announced that the business would continue to operate, with Arvid Minnich as manager and David's son, Ralph, as assistant. Martin's wife was granted a special "widow's license" by the State Board of Undertakers and assumed ownership. Ralph Martin eventually moved to Hagerstown and worked as a funeral director for the Rest Haven Funeral Chapel for twenty-five years.

 

200 S. Main St.

  

J. Coover Undertaking & Embalming, 200 South Main Street (circa 1866-1885), Chambersburg

Jacob Coover was born in Letterkenny in 1832 and settled in Chambersburg in 1853. Like many undertakers of the era, Coover was a cabinetmaker by trade and engaged in undertaking as a "side gig". Although he had no formal training in embalming, Coover had an ardent interest in the funeral arts, and, in 1853, partnered with David M. Eiker. Though the partnership was dissolved during the years of the Civil War, Coover and Eiker re-entered the undertaking business in 1866, setting up shop in a newly-constructed building at the southeast corner of South Main and Washington streets. After Eiker's retirement, Jacob formed a partnership with W.H. Mong, with Mong serving as Coover's assistant. Coover continued to operate the establishment after Mong's death in 1879. In 1885, he sold the funeral parlor to George Denton.

An 1889 advertisement for George Denton

 

Many self-taught undertakers of the times were unaware of the dangers of embalming chemicals and safe sanitation practices, and Coover was no exception; he suffered poor health for much of his career and died in 1889 at the age of 57. During his career, Coover buried over 3,600 people-- which was approximately 50% of the borough's population at the time of his death. Although the building now houses the La Michoacana Mexican Store, clues of the structure's past can be seen in the chapel-like windows of the second story.