Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 February 1883 — Cremating a Body. [ARTICLE]

Cremating a Body.

A Washington, Fa., special says: A telegram was received by T. V. Harding, trustee of the LeMoyne Crematory, on Wednesday, from Dr. Kaufman, of 212 East Tenth Street, New York, stating that the remai is of a three-year-old child would leave that night for incineration. The furnace fire was lighted between 4 and 5 o’clock yesterday morning, and long before the corpse arrived the -retort was in fine condition. The train at 11:30 a. m. brought the body, accompanied by Dr. Hoppell, a friend of the dead child’s parents. On arriving at the crematory the remains were removed to the brick building where the burning is done. The usual preparations were made, the corpse lifted into tho iron orib, wrapped in a sheet saturated with alum water, and slid into the retort. The ti' 1 was closed over

.. and th- com. menoed. The child was a ami of Dr. Samuel Hahn, of New York, whole body found its way into Dr. LeMoyne’s crematory in March of 1880. The Doctor’s widow, believing in the plan of cremation, had the remains of her aon Sent here. The corpse was dressed ha a white shroud, and enclosed in a metallic casket There were no services. At precisely 12 o’clock the retort door waa opened. Baa few minutes the alum-soaked sheet disappeared, and exposed to view what was left of the corpse. The flesh had entirely burned away, leaving nothing hat the bare bones. In a comparatively .short time these began to crumble and melt away, falling npon the iron rack upon which the subject rests. It generally requires two hours to complete the incineration, but to-day it was completed in much lees time, owing to the smallness of the body to be reduced. The retort will not be sufficiently 000 l to allow the removal of the ashes until Monday,when they will be taken out, and after being neatly packed in a little tin box, forwarded lo Dr. Kaufman, the child’s grandfather. The casket will also be returned to New York.