The William Lafferty Memorial Funeral and Carriage Collection shows the development of the
funeral business since the mid-180Os through an
exhibit of caskets, funeral clothing, and hearses
collected and preserved by James William Lafferty
(1912-1987). William was the fourth generation
of Laffertys to serve West Union and Adams
County. Characteristic of the early history
of the profession, William Voris (W.V.) Lafferty
(1830-1922) founded the business in 1848 to meet
the demand for caskets, which he, as a furniture
and cabinetmaker., was often asked to build.
As embalming gained favor during the Civil War,
W.V. taught himself this practice. As professional
instruction became desirable and later required
for undertakers, W.V.s son Theodore (1862-1914)
and Theodore's son Latour (1889-1933) completed
courses in the field. The collection features artifacts belonging to W.V. Lafferty, as well as those
used by Theodore and Latour.
Dedicated to the
memory of James William Lafferty, the family
opened the collection in 1994. The turn of the
21st century marks the sixth generation of
Laffertys in the funeral business.
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