The intimate task of caring for the dead had long fallen under women s sphere of responsibilities. But after the Civil War, the sudden popularity of embalming offered new financial opportunities to men who set up as undertakers, pushing women out of their traditional role. In Texas, from the 1880s to the 1930s, women slowly regained their place by the bier. Many worked while pregnant or raising children. Most shouldered the additional weight of personal tragedies and persistent sexism. All brought comfort to the bereaved in the isolation of the Texas frontier, kept its cities free of deadly disease and revolutionized an industry that was just coming into its own.

• Pages: 128

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

• Imprint: The History Press

• Series: The History Press

• Publication Date: 11th September 2023

• State: Texas

• ISBN: 9781467154277

• Format: Paperback

• BISACs:
  HISTORY United States State & Local Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX)
  SOCIAL SCIENCE Death & Dying
  HISTORY Women