Many people ask me during my presentations about the art of
embalming and how it came about in the U.S.
Embalming actually started with the Egyptians as you know...
they spent days and sometimes weeks preparing a body for
burial...it was a lengthy and precise process.
The 'father of embalming' in the U.S. has been credited to
Dr. Thomas Holmes. Holmes developed most of the
embalming procedures which are still used today. He
experimented with many different chemicals and actually did
embalming near the battlefield where soldiers were killed
during the civil war. One still photograph here depicts what
an 'embalming' station actually looked like near those
battle fields. Because of his embalming, hundreds and thousands
of men killed could be sent home for burial in their local
communities. Most of those early fluids were banned many
years ago as they contained very dangerous chemicals like
lead, arsenic, mercury and zinc. So thanks to Dr. Holmes
for the art and science of embalming. Although fewer
people are choosing embalming today, those who do select it
owe a debt of gratitude for his work out in the field.
It's a most interesting facet of the funeral industry.
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