W. H. Eicholtz & Sons

Microfilm MS 1214-MS 1218

• Introduction
• Biography
• Scope and Content
• Contents List
• Additional Information for Researchers

Introduction

The records of W. H. Eicholtz & Sons-early Abilene and Atchison, Kansas, framers, casketmakers, and undertakers-were given to the Kansas State Historical Society by George H. Eicholtz, grandson of W. H. Eicholtz, in 1966.

Quantity

256; Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 2

Biography

William H. Eicholtz was born in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1843. As a young man, he served in the Civil War from that State. He came to Abilene, Kansas, about March of 1870 and opened a cabinetmaking business that also did other kinds of woodworking. As often happened to carpenters, he found casketmaking to be an important part of his business. By 1880 he was Abilene’s first undertaker in addition to the woodworking business.

As time passed, the undertaking work predominated over the family’s wood products. In 1887, W. H. Eicholtz moved to Atchison, Kansas, and operated an undertaking business there; at the same time, other employees continued the work in Abilene. William’s son Herbert Karl (1883-1946) joined the firm as his assistant. After William’s death in 1909, Herbert and his brother Harold operated the firm. In 1929 they built the building still housing the business. Herbert retired in1944 and sold the funeral home to long-time employees Leslie G. Rasher and Frank Hoover. Two years later Rasher bought out his partner. Paul G. Martin, one of Rasher’s employees, bought the firm in 1958 and renamed it the Martin Funeral Home. The business continues in Abilene.

Scope and Content

The major part of this collection consists of “Undertaker’s Register and Account Books,” 1881-1944. These books are a record of undertaking services performed by the Eicholtz family and employees. Because this firm was Abilene’s only funeral home for many years, these records may serve as a fairly-complete register of deaths and funerals in the Abilene area.

W. H. Eicholtz also practiced his profession in Atchison for about a year (1887). Those records can be useful in researching deaths in that area during the year he was there.

Inserted into the registers were a number of other papers. These have been removed and combined into discrete series.

The largest such series is correspondence, 1890-1945. These letters are mostly concerned with accounts owed to the Eicholtz firm. A few of the early letters concern the family’s framing and cabinetmaking business and shipments of remains. Most of the correspondence from the period of World War II concerns members of the armed forces killed in war.

Statements of moneys owed by the Eicholtz firm comprise accounts payable, 1893-1951.

Closely allied with the correspondence are the accounts receivable, 1884-1944, statements sent by the firm to those who engaged its services.

The remaining records are small series of forms relating to the funeral business: “Standard Funeral Purchase Records”, 1937-1943, contracts with families for funeral services; “Receipts for Grave Digging,” 1907-1909, from the Abilene Cemetery; “Burial Statistics,” March 21, 1924, an application for burial in that cemetery; one “Undertaker’s Return-Sale of Burial Case,” February 22, 1904, a State Board of Health form; a “Standard Certificate of Death,” [July 16, 1921,] submitted to the State Board of Health; a death notice submitted to Kansas City newspapers, August 6, 1939; and business cards & notes containing addresses, 1904-1936.

The collection concludes with two registers of personal bills received by W. H. Eicholtz, 1899-1900.

Contents List

Series Descriptions

Subgroup 1: [Index to Undertakers' Register and Account Book of Frank O. Shearer (subgroup 2), A. S. O’Dowd (subgroup 3), and Part (v. 3, 1892-93) of W. H. Eicholtz & Sons (subgroup 4, series A). 1887-1895.]

Index to Undertakers’ Register and Account Book, vol. 3. This series indexes entries for three undertakers affiliated with the Eicholtz firm. Each entry contains the name of the family member or other person responsible for arrangements and the page on which the entry is found.

Subgroup 2: [Undertakers' Register and Account book of Frank O. Shearer]. 1887 Aug-Nov.

Part (pp. 1-4) of Undertaker’s Register and Account Book, vol. 3. List of funerals and undertaking services arranged by Shearer, an employee of W. H. Eicholtz, during the period August through November, 1887. Each entry contains the place of service, Shearer’s name as funeral director, names of deceased & clergyman, date of death, date & place of interment, and charges & payments.

Arranged chronologically by date of initial contact with the company.

Indexed by subgroup 1.

Subgroup 3: [Undertakers' Register and Account Book of A. S. O’Dowd] 1888 July-1889 January

Part (pp. 5-23) of Undertakers’ Register and Account Book, vol. 3. List of funerals and undertaking services arranged by O’Dowd, an employee of W. H. Eicholtz, during the period July, 1888, through January, 1889. Each entry contains the place of service, O’Dowd’s name as funeral director, names of deceased & the clergyman, date of death, date & place of interment, and charges & payments.

Arranged chronologically by date of initial contact with the company.

Indexed by subgroup 1.

Subgroup 4: [Records of W. H Eicholtz and Sons] 1881-1951. 254 Items.

This subgroup contains records of members of the Eicholtz family.

Series A: Undertakers’ Register and Account Books. 1881-1944. 11 vols.

Registers of undertaking services performed by W. H. Eicholtz and other members of his family. Although there are minor differences in the contents of each volume, all the volumes include the date service was rendered, the name & address of the deceased, the cause of death, undertaking services performed with charges, and payment information. The first volume (1881-1887) was entered into a blank volume; the other volumes contained printed forms that were completed by the undertaker.

Beginning Nov. 21, 1887, each entry also includes names of the funeral director, family member responsible for the deceased, clergyman, & pallbearers and date & place of interment. Beginning Oct. 10, 1891, each entry also contains the number of funeral for the year, certifying physician’s name, where the funeral was conducted, name of person requesting services, and the date the bill was rendered. Starting Apr. 9, 1895, a diagram showing the placement of the casket in a vault or plot is shown. Entries after July 23, 1902, have in addition the time of funeral services; the occupation, age, marital status & religion of the deceased; size & style of coffin or casket with name of manufacturer; and place to where body is to be shipped. Starting Apr. 3, 1906, place of death is given. Beginning July 13, 1914, entries also include names of next of kin; contributing cause of death; residence of the certifying physician; date of birth of the deceased; and name, date of birth, & birthplace of deceased’s father & mother with mother’s maiden name. Starting Aug. 9, 1930, the clergyman’s address is given.

Occasionally slips were inserted between the pages providing additional personal information about the deceased or members of his/her family. These have been left in place.

Arranged chronologically by date of initial contact with the company.

Each volume is indexed separately by the first letter of the surname. Prior to September, 1922, entries are indexed by name of person responsible for the account. After that date, entries are indexed by the name of the deceased.

Series B: [Correspondence.] 1890-1945. 80 items.

Letters and telegrams received and sent concerning accounts, shipments of remains, and other business matters.

Arranged chronologically by date of authorship.

Series C: [Accounts Payable.] 1884-1944. 92 items.

Statements of accounts rendered to the Eicholtz firm by other companies. Most of the bills pertain to transportation, clothing, tools, and advertising costs incurred by the business. Most statements include the firm name & address, date, service performed or commodity sold to the Eicholtz company, and price.

Arranged chronologically by date of statement.

Series D: [Accounts Receivable.] 1893-1951. 27 items.

Statements of accounts due the Eicholtz firm by those using it services. The statements usually include the name & address of the person receiving the statement, date, name of the deceased, itemized list of services or products provided, and total amount due. Some statements consist of a complete ledger of the account. Some statements are on forms provided by courts or other institutions, and one statement includes a court order mandating payment.

Arranged chronologically by date of statement.

Series E: Standard Funeral Purchase Records. 1937-1943. 6 items.

Contracts between the Eicholtz Funeral Home and those engaging its services. Each record contains the date, full name of deceased & age, name of person making arrangements & relationship to deceased, costs of services & vault, payments in advance, costs of extra items added later, total charge, terms, signatures & addresses of purchaser & cosigners, and name of representative of the firm.

Arranged chronologically by date of contract.

Series F: Receipts for Grave Digging. 1907-1909. 8 items.

Receipts for money received by the city clerk in payment of charges by the Abilene Cemetery for gravedigging. This fee was usually paid by the person making funeral arrangements, although occasionally payments were made by the Eicholtz firm. Each receipt includes the date, from whom payment was received, amount received, location of the grave, and the signature of the city clerk.

Arranged chronologically by date of receipt.

Series G: Abilene Cemetery, Burial Statistics [Applications for Burial]. 1924 Mar. 21. 1 page.

Application for permit to inter Marie Schneider in Abilene Cemetery. The form includes the place of birth, dates of birth & death, age, names of parents, marital state, residence, cause & place of death, and hour & date of the burial.

Series H: Undertaker’s Return-Sale of Burial Case. 1904 Feb. 22. 1 page.

Form completed by W. H. Eicholtz to be sent to the State Board of Health upon the sale of the burial case in the death of Annie Dower. Information on the form includes the name, sex, marital state, age, race, occupation, & citizenship of the deceased; date, place, & cause of death; names & addresses of the attending physician & the undertaker; and date of sale.

Series I: Standard Certificate of Death. [1921 July 16.] 1 leaf (2 pages).

Death certificate to be submitted to the Division of Vital Statistics, Kansas State Board of Health, in the death of Jennie Williams Paret. Information on the form includes the place of death; full name & residence, sex, race, marital state, name of husband, date of birth, age, occupation, & birthplace of Mrs. Paret; her father’s name & birthplace; and the name & address of the informant.

Series J: [Obituary Report to Kansas City Newspapers.] 1939 Aug. 6. 1 leaf (2 pages).

This form was apparently a standard obituary report used by the three major Kansas City newspapers. The single form comprising this series was completed for the death of Michael Grant Swartwood. Contained in the report are the State, county, & city; name, residence, sex, marital state, date of birth, age, birthplace, occupation, & employer of the deceased; place & time of death; date last worked; number of years in this occupation; length of residence in the city where the death occurred; military service information; name of wife; parents’ names & birthplaces; doctor & address; cause of death; name & address of informant; place of burial or removal; when reported to each newspaper; and names & addresses of survivors. Annotated on the reverse of the form is the name of the cemetery, the church where the funeral was held, and the surname of the minister.

Series K: [Business Cards and Other Addresses.] 1904-1936. 13 items.

Addresses retained by the Eicholtz Funeral Home. Some of these are on standard business cards, others are on forms and slips of paper. Many of these names and addresses presumably relate to undertaking services performed by the firm, although these addresses did not relate to the register entries from which they were removed. Similar documents with information on relatives of the deceased were kept with the appropriate register entries. Some of the business cards are from suppliers to the firm.

Arranged alphabetically by surname of first or principal name found on the item.

Subgroup 5: [Personal] Bills [Received by W. H. Eicholtz.] 1899-1900. 2 Items.

Two numbered ledgers (no. 1-2) of bills received by Eicholtz. Each entry contains the date, item or service purchased, and the amount paid.

Ledgers arranged numerically. Within each ledger, entries are arranged chronologically.

Microfilm Roll List

Additional Information for Researchers

Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access to the papers.
The subject of literary rights was not addressed at the time of donation, consequently copyright is presumed to belong W. W. Eicholtz’s heirs.

Suggested Citation

The suggested citation form for this collection is:

[name of document], [date of document], [series], [subgroup], W. H. Eicholtz & Sons collection, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm MS [roll number].

Some examples of specific documents:

Martha E. Harlow “Record of Funeral”, May 12, 1932 (p. 134), Undertakers’ Register and Account Book, 1930-1937 (vol. 10, box 5, series A), Records of W. H. Eicholtz and Sons (subgroup 3), W. H. Eicholtz & Sons collection, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm MS

G. F. Allen, chief disbursing officer, Division of Disbursement, U. S. Treasury Department, to H. H. Eicholtz, May 3, 1935, Correspondence (series B, box 6), Records of W. H. Eicholtz and Sons (subgroup 3), W. H. Eicholtz & Sons collection, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm MS

Ernest C. Comstock “Standard Funeral Purchase Record,” May 31, 1939, (series E, box 6), Records of W. H. Eicholtz and Sons (subgroup 3), W. H. Eicholtz & Sons collection, Kansas State Historical Society microfilm MS

This collection has been arranged to the document level, described to the series level, listed to the file-unit (folder) level, and cataloged to the subgroup level. The entire collection has been microfilmed on microfilm rolls MS 1214-MS 1218, available through interlibrary loan.

Processed by

Snell (?)

Date

1966 (?)

Reprocessed by

Knecht

Date

1986

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