Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

Undertaking Courage: Catherine Wyand's Eastland Story

• Natalie Zett • Season 2 • Episode 61

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This episode discusses the contributions of women morticians by first focusing on one woman mortician's involvement in the Eastland Disaster. 
Highlights.

  •  An obituary from the Oak Leaves dated December 30, 1947, about Mrs. Catherine Wheeler Wyand, who ran an undertaking business in Chicago. 
  • Catherine Wyand's background. The 1880 Cook County, Illinois census reveals that Catherine and her husband John were living in Chicago, with John working as a blacksmith. 
  • Somewhere between 1880 and 1895, the Wyands entered the funeral business, with Catherine being the one of the few woman undertakers in Chicago at the time.
  • investigate the Eastland disaster victims from my family's neighborhood of South Lawndale (now Little Village), 
  • Focus on Anna Brenner, an 18-year-old Western Electric employee who perished on the ship. Anna's Find a Grave biography, contributed by Sonia Sanchez, reveals the tragic story of Anna, her cousin Catherine Heiser, and Catherine's boyfriend on the day of the disaster. The Chicago Ancestors page lists Catherine Wyand as the undertaker for Anna Brenner, making her possibly the only woman undertaker who worked with Eastland victims. 
  • Introduce the fascinating history of women embalmers, referencing Morgan Conn's MA thesis, "Women for Women: The Forgotten History of Early U.S. Women Embalmers." I highlight pioneering women in the field, such as Henrietta Smith Bowers Duterte, Lina Odou, Lena Reynolds Simmons, and Mrs. E.G. Bernard,--many of whom founded embalming schools and made significant contributions to the profession. 
  •  Emphasize how Catherine Wyand's story adds a new dimension to the understanding of the Eastland Disaster and the often-overlooked contributions of women in the funeral industry. 
  • Mention contemporary mortician Caitlin Doughty, who continues to challenge and change the funeral industry with her work and advocacy.
  •  Encourage you to contribute to Find a Grave to help preserve and share historical information.  We can keep these stories alive and ensure that the legacy of these remarkable individuals lives on!

    Links:
  • Connie Knox, Find A Grave - Top 5 Tips (youtube.com)
  • Anna Brenner - Find A Grave
  • Lena Reynolds Simmons
  • Henrietta S. Bowers Duterte (1817-1903) • (blackpast.org)
  • Women's Activism NYC (womensactivism.nyc)
  •  
Speaker 1:

Hello, I'm Natalie Zett and welcome to Flower in the River. This podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery. Hello everyone, this is Natalie and welcome to episode 61 of Flower in the River podcast. Before I get started, I want to extend a thank you to Tommy Henry, the host of the Chicago History Podcast. I want to say thank you, tommy, for the shout out that you gave to my show this morning. I did not expect that, particularly at four in the morning, but what a way to start the day Now.

Speaker 1:

I've mentioned Tommy's podcast many times. I want to say again that he has been an inspiration, not only because of the fascinating Chicago history that he uncovers, but also for the excellence with which he presents it. We've exchanged several emails and I so appreciate his generosity and kindness. So if you haven't had a chance to check out his podcast, check it out. Tommy's deep research uncovers compelling stories, some of which may even be new to Chicago locals. So thank you, tommy, for keeping these stories alive and helping bridge the gap. For someone like me who loves Chicago from afar and this actually ties into my theme for today, that is, discovering long lost stories I guess that's the theme for every one of my podcasts, because so much of this again has either never been uncovered or has not been shared in many years. And speaking of wonderfully generous people, I also want to thank Connie Knox, the creator and host of Genealogy TV.

Speaker 1:

This is on YouTube and Connie has graciously allowed me to share her insightful and instructive video on using Find a Grave. I promised that I was going to talk about this further, but Connie has done a bang up job with this and I wanted to share her video with you. It's about 12 minutes and it's fantastic. I will put the link in the show notes, but listen to her other videos too, only because number one she's really engaging and she's very much hands-on, and she also tells you what to do when things don't go as you expect them to go when you do the research. I promised I'd dive deeper into this platform, into Find a Grave, because, believe it or not, find a Grave is anything but a dead zone. When you visit, find a grave, you're not just observing the past, you're actively keeping memories alive. So I want to summarize what Connie has in her video find a grave top five tips for maximizing the use of this website.

Speaker 1:

The first thing she suggests is to search by cemetery rather than search by name. Searching by cemetery rather than searching by name can yield more comprehensive results, potentially uncovering relatives or whoever you're looking for buried in the same location. This has really been good advice for me as I've uncovered some of these long lost Eastland stories, because I want to figure out who these people's families are. That's part of who they are, a big part of who they are. And number two become a contributor. I'm taking my own medicine here and I'm doing more and more of that, and I will share again at the end of this episode a couple of profiles that I've updated and what that process has been like, and it's a very exciting way to be part of this. If you're going to use other people's photos or whatever, make sure you have permission and please, unless it's your personal story, please, if you find it someplace, cite your sources. I know I say that over and over again and I'm going to continue doing that because that has been the biggest disappointment for me to go to someplace, see a story about somebody that's purportedly from a source of truth and it's like where did this come from?

Speaker 1:

The other thing, too, that Connie suggests there's a way where you can lay virtual flowers on these graves. It's really kind of a cool thing. So leaving a virtual flower on a memorial site indicates that you've visited it on a memorial site indicates that you've visited it, and this is also a way to keep track of which pages you've reviewed and also to show respect for these people. And if you're really inclined and you live in an area with a cemetery, which most of us do, volunteer as a photographer by taking photos of gravestones in your local area and adding them to the website, you can provide valuable service to those who cannot visit these sites themselves. Again, accessibility is so important. Not everyone can travel to someplace you know 500 miles from where they live, and there are so many ways where we can use technology to bridge those gaps. And again, not everybody has the mobility, not everybody has the money to travel all over the place and partake of these events or to do this kind of deep research or to do this kind of deep research.

Speaker 1:

Suggestion number five is to use the mobile app. The Find a Grave mobile app allows for easier and more practical searching while on the go, and there is also a bonus tip that Connie shares. That's already been done for the Eastland anyway. You can create virtual cemeteries to organize memorials of specific family lines or surnames or disasters. Please visit Connie's YouTube channel, not just for the five tips on using Find-a-Grave, but for all of the information that she provides that can really help up your genealogy and history research. She is excellent at what she does. Speaking of graves, there is this theme all the way through.

Speaker 1:

I want to introduce the next part of the podcast with an obituary. Indeed, you know I like obituaries, right. I'm sure you do too. Otherwise you wouldn't be showing up here each week. This obituary is from many years after the Eastland disaster and maybe, as I'm reading it, you'll see a connection. It is from a publication that was known as the Oak Leaves. It's now called the Oak Park Leaves I think it's the same publication, and this is from December 30th 1947. Again, this is out of Oak Park, illinois Headline.

Speaker 1:

Mrs Catherine Wyand dies after short illness. Mrs Catherine Wheeler Wyand died Christmas Eve at 92 years at the home of her daughter, mrs Pauline Weimer, 737 Highland. She had been ill but three days. Mrs Wyand was born on September 27th in Albany, new York, and at 19 was married to John Wyand was born on September 27th in Albany, new York, and at 19 was married to John Wyand. She came as a bride to make her home in Chicago. Mr Wyand died in 1892, and Mrs Wyand continued his undertaking business on the West Side until 15 years ago when she came to Oak Park to make her home with her daughter, the only living of five children. Mrs Wyand enjoyed the best of health and took a keen interest in everything. Only two years ago, at the celebration of her 90th birthday, she was active and gay. She was assisted as co-hostess by her only sister, mrs Carolyn Netzel, who came from Platt Smith, nebraska, to help celebrate but who is now unable to attend the services. Mrs Netzel is now 89 years old. Services were conducted on Tuesday morning at Ascension Church with interment at St Boniface, mrs Pauline Beimer and her sister, mrs Catherine Netzel. Also seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Speaker 1:

Our first clue is pretty, pretty easy. Actually. It's the word undertaking or undertaker the profession. Now I want to define these terms before we go too far, only because a lot of people might not be acquainted with them, and I do have quite a number of listeners from across the pond and I want to just let you know what these different terms mean. So the rest of this will make sense. So undertaker is an older term. It's still used, but not as much, and it was historically used to refer to someone who undertook the business of funeral services.

Speaker 1:

Funeral director I bet you know what that is. This is the more contemporary and widely used term. It emphasizes directing or managing all aspects of funeral preparation and services. A funeral director handles the logistical and administrative duties, including sometimes preparing the body, arranging the ceremony and supporting the bereaved family. This term is favored because it represents the role professionally and comprehensively At least that's what's said in the readings that I found Mortician. Now, this term is often used interchangeably with funeral director, but it can specifically emphasize the technical skills required for preparing the body for burial or cremation, such as embalming and restorative work. Morticians are trained in both the care of the body and the administrative aspects of funeral services, much like funeral directors. Again, this is super simple, super high level and I'm sure there's a lot of crossover and this sort of thing, but that's, at a high level, what these terms mean.

Speaker 1:

Now we're going to go back to Katherine Wyand, the woman whose obituary I just read. Let's find out a little bit more about her, because she's going to factor in the Eastland disaster. So this is from the 1880 Cook County, Illinois census. In 1880, catherine was married to John and had two children, and they were living in Chicago. John was from Germany, he was born there in 1845 and worked as a blacksmith in 1880. So there's no mention of John being an undertaker. And Catherine was identified as Kate in the census and she was born in New York in 1846. And her job in 1880 was keeping house. And there were a couple children at that point too, living with them. And, by the way, catherine and John were both teenagers when the Civil War broke out in 1861, just to put them in context. And they were living on 22nd Street, which today is Cermak Road. Anybody from Chicago knows Cermak Road and it is a big, big road and it's named for Anton Cermak, who was the mayor of Chicago from 1931 to 1933. He probably could have gone on longer had he not been assassinated? Yeah, he was with the then President, franklin Roosevelt, and was the unintentional target of an assassin who actually meant his bullet for the president and got Cermak instead. The street was named to honor Cermak, also because it passed through the neighborhoods of Pilsen and Lawndale, and Cermak was a Czech immigrant.

Speaker 1:

And now back to Catherine and John Wyand. I was really curious about them. At this point I thought how did they get from blacksmith and keeping house into the undertaking business? Well, somewhere between the 1880 census and 1895, which is the actual year of John's death, by the way, at age 50, he and Catherine were in the funeral business. How they did this, catherine were in the funeral business. How they did this, what kind of training they had, I don't know yet. And in the Chicago City Directory from 1889, john and his son Joseph are listed as undertakers. By 1904, catherine is listed in the Chicago Directory under Mrs Catherine Wyand, undertaker 924 West 22nd Street. And as far as I can tell, she may have been the only woman Undertaker in Chicago during that time period.

Speaker 1:

How is Catherine Wyand part of the Eastland legacy? I will tell you that earlier this week, as I was preparing for the show and not quite knowing what I would be doing, I thought huh, it would be interesting to go back to my family's neighborhood that would be South Lawndale, which is currently known as Little Village, via the Chicago Ancestors site which is operated by the Newberry. And this is incredible for historians to be able to plug in an address and find out all the history that is associated with that address or with that name or with that community. And it seems to specifically focus in on the turn of the 20th century, maybe the late 1800s as well. And I was just curious to know about how many people in South Lawndale perished on the Eastland besides my great aunt.

Speaker 1:

The geographic boundaries of present-day Little Village in Chicago, which was previously known as South Lawndale, have mostly remained unchanged. The neighborhood spans an area of wait for it approximately two miles. In the past, this compact area had a high population density and a combination of residential, commercial and industrial areas. So within that two-mile radius there were approximately 49 people, including my great aunt, who's omitted in the Chicago Ancestry's database, probably because this database is only including Western Electric employees, I think. So 49 people from this small neighborhood died on the Eastland, so I was curious about that. I wanted to see who are these people, what churches were they part of, what ethnicities did they represent, etc. And so I was looking at the detail for each person who died in my family's neighborhood of South Lawndale and saw a listing for Anna Brenner. Anna was 18 years old and she was of German heritage and she was working as a timekeeper at Western Electric. But there's one aspect of Anna's listing that makes her truly unique and stand out, and I'll get to that. But let me first introduce you to Anna so you get a feel for who she was. So here's her obituary from the Chicago Tribune, july 31st 1915.

Speaker 1:

Brenner. Miss Anna, 18 years old, 2330 K Kroll Street, lived with her parents, albert and Anna Brenner. She was the sister of Agnes, margaret and Nicholas Brenner. The funeral was held from the residence Tuesday to St Paul's Church. Burial was at St Maria Cemetery Cemetery. I did locate Anna's bio on Find a Grave and found something wonderful. Yes, and listen to the magic of Find a Grave Quote.

Speaker 1:

Anna Brenner was a passenger on the Eastland, the guest of her cousin and Western Electric employee Catherine Heiser. Catherine's boyfriend also accompanied the two cousins. The threesome was standing at the rail when the Eastland went over and all three went into the river. Anna and Catherine's boyfriend could swim. Catherine could not. In an attempt to give those who were in the water something to hold on to, people along the wharf threw wooden crates into the water. Anna and her cousin's boyfriend were struck in the head by the crates. They both drowned. Catherine, the only one of the threesome who could not swim, was saved. Anna's father, albert Brenner, had to go identify his daughter, anna. She was brought in her coffin to her home on Bell Avenue for the wake. It was her 18th birthday. Anna's mother, after whom Anna was named, could never forget her oldest child. Years later and over the years, anna's mother constantly told her granddaughter, margaret, anna's niece, that she looked just like Anna, that she looked just like Anna.

Speaker 1:

This was written by Find a Grave contributor Sonia Sanchez. Not sure what her relationship is to the family, but she's obviously family. So stories like this are just so incredibly valuable. They give us an insight and a connection to these people. We find out who they were. Who was she? She wasn't just a name. She wasn't just someone who died on the Eastland. She was Anna Brenner. She was 18. She had family. She had friends. She was looking forward to the day. She was probably looking forward to her birthday. So thank you, sonia Sanchez, for this contribution.

Speaker 1:

And a little bit about the cemetery. It actually is now known as St Mary Catholic Cemetery in Mausoleum, previously and still sometimes known as St Maria's Cemetery in Mausoleum, previously and still sometimes known as St Maria's Cemetery. It's in Evergreen Park, which is part of Cook County, illinois. But wait, there's more. And here it comes. So what stood out for me and why I went headfirst into Anna Brenner's history? Headfirst into Anna Brenner's history? Well, there was this additional detail from the Chicago Ancestors page Undertaker Mrs J Wyand. That would be our Catherine Wyand, who I introduced you to. The address of the Undertaker was 2055 West 22nd. Now, as of this moment, as far as I can tell, catherine Wyant might have been the only woman undertaker involved with the Eastland victims. Again, that remains to be seen, but right now it looks as if she was the only one. Catherine was about 70 years old when she stepped in to help with the Eastland disaster.

Speaker 1:

Of course, I had to go looking for the history of women morticians, women undertakers, in America at the turn of the 20th century. Further research revealed that there actually is a very no-transcript. I want to quote from this intro to an MA thesis that was submitted by Morgan Kahn and this is from Miami University in Oxford, ohio, 2023, so it's very recent and she wrote a paper called Women for Women the Forgotten History of Early US Women Embalmers, quote. Through my research, I have found records of women working as licensed embalmers. Quote. Through my research, I have found records of women working as licensed embalmers, or lady assistants to embalmers, in almost every US state between 1880s to 1910s. Though more research is needed to fully understand the scope of women embalmers, I believe that a further examination of primary source documents throughout the country would show that women's work as embalmers would not have been restricted to major cities or even specific regions of the country. And there's a lot more to Morgan's paper, but I want to stop here and introduce you to some of these women who were very influential during this time period.

Speaker 1:

Henrietta Smith Bowers Dutier. She was born in July 1817 in Philadelphia, pennsylvania, and she grew up in the city's Seventh Ward, a prominent African-American neighborhood, and worked as a tailor before marrying coffin maker Francis Dutier in 1852. After her husband's death in 1858, henrietta defied gender norms and racial norms by taking over his business. She also supported the abolition of slavery, acting as an agent of the Underground Railroad by hiding runaway slaves in coffins or disguising them as part of funeral processions. Oh my gosh, I would have loved to have met her. Dutier was a philanthropist supporting the AME Church of St Thomas, the Philadelphia Home for Aged and Infirmed Colored Persons and the Freedmen's Aid Society Fair. By the time of her death, on December 23, 1903, at the age of 83, her business had become one of the most successful African-American enterprises in the city, serving both Black and white clients. Her legacy as a pioneering businesswoman and activist continues to inspire today. We're not done yet, though. Hold on.

Speaker 1:

Lina Odu L-I-N-A-O-D-O-U, born in 1853, died in 1919. Lina D Odu, a pioneering nurse in the early 20th century, recognized the need for women to enter the field of embalming, which was exclusively performed by men at that time. Born in Spain and educated in London, odoo was influenced by a meeting with Florence Nightingale and went on to serve as a nurse during the Franco-Prussian War and work among the poor in London slums. After moving to the United States, odu worked for the St John's Guild Hospital in New York City, where she likely heard requests from mothers for women to embalm their deceased daughters and young children. Recognizing the need for delicacy and dignity in handling the deceased, odoo set out to study embalming in Europe and the United States. By 1898, odoo had acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to teach other women. She initially partnered with a well-known funeral company in New York City to set up a training school for women. In 1901, she incorporated her own school, the LD Odu Embalming Institute, which was the sole embalming school for women at that time. Odu's school provided not only a needed service for families who lost loved ones, but also career opportunities for women when options were very limited.

Speaker 1:

Again, lena was born not quite 10 years after our Catherine Wyand, and I don't know where Catherine studied. I have the feeling she didn't go to New York to study. But she most likely was aware of these schools before she got involved in the undertaking business, or perhaps when she was already involved. I guess we'll never know about that and Lena obviously contributed quite a bit to the profession. Our next person well, her first name is also Lena, it's L-E-N-A. Her full name is Lena Reynolds Simmons.

Speaker 1:

Author and teacher, attended Lena D O'Doo's embalming school before co-founding her own institution, the Genning-Simmons Embalming Institute, with her husband, charles A Genning, in 1900. The school, located in Syracuse, new York, always welcomed female applicants. Simmons made significant contributions to the field of mortuary sciences. She actively wrote about her embalming chemistry research in funerary publications and served as a faculty member at the school. Served as a faculty member at the school. Additionally, she developed the quote-unquote blind stitch, a subcutaneous suturing technique used in arterial embalming. The Gennig-Simmons Embalming Institute provided opportunities for women to practice as professionals in a field dominated by men. So the school changed hands over time and was eventually taken over by someone called Morris Whiteman, who unfortunately contributed to the school being shut down because of his improprieties. It was shut down in 2013. However, the school's impact on the mortuary sciences and its role in providing opportunities for women in the profession remained significant.

Speaker 1:

I'll read her obituary. This is from the Post-Standard in Syracuse, new York, may 16th 1951. Mrs Simmons writes tomorrow. Services for Mrs Lena Reynolds Simmons, founder of the Simmons School of Embalming and Mortuary Science, will be at 2 pm tomorrow at the John G Butler Funeral Home, the Reverend Ellsworth C Rehman of Betts Memorial Universalist Church officiating. She died Monday at the home of her daughter, mrs William B Squires, 1474 Comstack Avenue.

Speaker 1:

Mrs Simmons was a nationally known fixture in the instruction of funeral directing and embalming and toured the US and Canada delivering lectures. She opened the Syracuse School of Embalming and Sanitary Science in 1900. In 1919, the school was given one of her first training contracts and taught students under the first GI Bill of Rights. Mrs Simmons and I can't read this, this is blurred something schoolwork continued until her retirement in 1920 or 1930, again difficult to read. She was a life member of Chapter 567 OES and belonged to the Betts Memorial Universalist Church. She was a former member of the New York State Embalmers Association.

Speaker 1:

Surviving are a daughter, mrs Squires. A son, baxter G Simmons. A sister, mrs Daniel W Fuller of Eaton. This is New York three grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Burial will be in Eaton Cemetery. Eaton Friends may call today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm today. We're not done yet.

Speaker 1:

Finally, I just have to mention that there was a Mrs E, like Edward G, like George Bernard of New Jersey, who founded the Bernard School of Embalming and, believe it or not, I still can't find any real details about this, but it's on my radar and I'm sure with a little more research I'll be able to find out some more details about Mrs Bernard, the fact that these women did this not just became embalmers or morticians, but founded schools of mortuary science. They did this before women were even allowed to vote, discovering the story of Catherine Wyen, perhaps the only female undertaker who assisted with the Eastland disaster. This adds an extra dimension to our understanding of this historical event. Catherine's presence reminds us that women have been making significant contributions in this field for a long time, often without recognition. And again, it's intriguing to imagine that amidst the turmoil and heartbreak of the Eastland disaster, there was a 70-year-old woman once again defying any stereotype and limitation, and she stepped up and got to work. Catherine's story is a testament to the tenacity and determination of women and so many others whose stories have been overlooked or forgotten by history and, as far as I'm concerned, not anymore. Her story is here To bring this full circle.

Speaker 1:

There's another contemporary mortician, caitlin Doty. And now Caitlin, along with being a mortician, she is a writer and she is an advocate, a very active advocate for funeral industry reform, and she continues to challenge and change the funeral industry with her work. Caitlin also did an engaging episode on the Eastland disaster and you can find Caitlin on her YouTube channel, and that includes the video on the Eastland disaster, and you can also find her on her website and, of course, I'll give you the links. So we started off by talking about Find a Grave, and that's how I'm going to close this episode and let you know that I was able to add the obituaries and accompanying texts for both Lena Reynolds Simmons and Catherine Wyand to their respective profiles on Find a Grave. I will show you on my website the before and after screenshots and it's a reminder to me that now when somebody goes hunting for Catherine or Lena, they'll have that additional piece of information.

Speaker 1:

So please consider getting involved and listen to Connie Knox's video. It will inspire you and jump in and start contributing, because you can be part of history and you can also help history move forward. Take care and have a great week. Hey, that's it for this episode and thanks for coming along for the ride. Please subscribe or follow so you can keep up with all the episodes, and for more information, please go to my website. That's wwwflowerintherivercom. I hope you'll consider buying my book, available as audiobook, ebook, paperback and hardcover, because I still owe people money and that's my running joke. But the one thing I'm serious about is that this podcast and my book are dedicated to the memory of all who experienced the Eastland disaster of 1915. Goodbye for now. Thank you.

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Natalie Zett

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