Kirk & Nice, Inc. records


Collection 3414

1831-1988, undated
(36.88 Linear feet ; 4 boxes, 148 volumes )

Summary Information

Repository
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Creator
Kirk & Nice, Inc.
Title
Kirk & Nice, Inc. records
ID
3414
Date [inclusive]
1831-1988, undated
Extent
36.88 Linear feet ; 4 boxes, 148 volumes
Author
Finding aid prepared by Matthew McNelis
Language
English
Mixed materials [Box]
1-4
Mixed materials [Volume]
1-148
Abstract
Kirk & Nice, Inc. is recognized as the United States' oldest continuously operating funeral establishment. Founded in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1761 by Jacob Knorr, originally the business was a carpenter shop that specialized in building furniture. Only on occasion was the request made for Mr. Knorr to construct a coffin. The Civil War and death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 revolutionized funeral services by popularizing the process of embalming the deceased along with encouraging citizens to outwardly mourn the passing of loved ones. In 1869 Jacob Knorr's business was re-named Kirk & Nice, after Benjamin R. Kirk and William Nice. During the 1860s and 1870s the carpentry shop gradually changed focus to funeral services, and the company continues to offer services to the residents of Philadelphia at two locations: Kirk & Nice, Inc. at George Washington Park in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and Kirk & Nice Suburban Chapel Inc. at Sunset Memorial Park in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. The collection consists of burial records that span from 1838 to 1969 along with administrative and financial records that span from 1831 to 1988. Administrative records include twelve ledgers that record services provided for the deceased, while the financial records include a payroll ledger, an index ledger that record payments from various clients, eight daybooks, and forty-six account books that record all services purchased by the families of the deceased.

Preferred citation

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Kirk & Nice, Inc. records (Collection 3414), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Return to Table of Contents »


Background Note

Kirk & Nice, Inc., one of the oldest funeral homes in America, was founded in 1761 by Jacob Knorr as a carpentry shop that specialized in the construction and repair of furniture for the residents of Germantown, Pennsylvania. Knorr only occasionally received requests for making coffins, with the dimensions of the coffin determined by using a string to measure the deceased’s height. Jacob Knorr passed away in 1805, and his sons, George and Jacob Jr., succeeded him until 1813, when Jacob Jr. also passed away. Upon Jacob Jr.’s passing, William Johnson, son of George Knorr, purchased the business and ran it until 1830, when John Nice purchased the business for $2,200. John’s son Samuel was the primary manager and in 1848 hired a new apprentice, Benjamin F. Kirk, who eventually married into the Nice family. Kirk was the nephew of Charles Kirk, a member of the Abington Meeting and acquaintance of William Still's. Eventually Benjamin, along with Samuel’s second son, William, purchased the shop and in 1869 renamed the business Kirk & Nice, a name which it still bears today.

Even as Benjamin Kirk was apprenticing at the shop in 1848, its primary function was still to build furniture. Events of the 1860s, however, popularized funeral services within the United States. The Civil War helped to raise awareness of the practice of embalming, as deceased soldiers were embalmed in an attempt to preserve the bodies so that they could be returned to their homes and buried locally. The death of Abraham Lincoln also popularized the procedure, as he was embalmed so that his body could be transported around the nation for a two-week period of mourning. This act allowed citizens to outwardly mourn the passing of a person, and it changed the way funeral services were conducted in the United States. After Lincoln’s death, funeral services became much more elaborate, and the demand skyrocketed for beautiful, expertly made coffins and compassionate services. Benjamin Kirk recognized the opportunity for his business to shift from carpentry to funeral service, and worked towards that goal until his death in 1917. After Benjamin’s death, John Henderson, Benjamin’s grandson, assumed control of the business until 1957, when Benjamin’s great-grandson Malcolm Henderson inherited the business. In 1993 Stewart Enterprises purchased the business from Maryann Henderson, the widow of Malcolm Henderson. Stewart Enterprises now operates two funeral homes under the Kirk & Nice moniker, one in George Washington Memorial Park in Plymouth Meeting and the other in Sunset Memorial Park in Feasterville. Kirk & Nice is officially recognized as the United States’ oldest continuously operating funeral establishment, and 2011 was the 250th anniversary of its business.

Return to Table of Contents »


Scope and content note

The Kirk & Nice, Inc. collection consists of 148 volumes and four boxes of records that span the years 1831 to 1988 and covers multiple aspects of the funeral home's business. All four boxes and eighty of the volumes are dedicated to burial records from the business. These records include biographical information on the deceased, as well as information on services and items purchased by the family for the funeral and burial service. These records are organized chronologically and from 1886-1969 are comprehensive in nature. There are twelve record books for services which include dates and times for the services, but no financial data. These volumes appear to be organized chronologically by date of initial purchase (usually a coffin).

The collection includes fifty-six financial books. Eight of the volumes record daily transactions, one volume contains payroll records and another contains an index of names along with a general list of services that were available. If a service was purchased by the family for the deceased, there are marks that indicate the transaction along with notes concerning the payment status. The final forty-four volumes are account books recording family purchases for the deceased. The material is organized by year and account, and each account contains all services purchased for the deceased by the family, regardless of date of transaction.

Return to Table of Contents »


Overview of Arrangement

Series I: Burial Records

Series II: Administrative Records

Series III: Financial Records

Return to Table of Contents »


Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19107
215-732-6200

Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Provenance

Gift of Kirk & Nice, Inc., 2009.

Accession numbers 2009.008 & 2009.015

Return to Table of Contents »


Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Kirk & Nice, Inc.

Genre(s)

  • Financial records.

Geographic Name(s)

  • Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--Genealogy.

Subject(s)

  • Burial Records--19th century.
  • Burial Records--20th century.
  • Funeral homes--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
  • Genealogy & local history.
  • Genealogy--Pennsylvania.
  • Lincoln Funeral.

Return to Table of Contents »


Bibliography

Young, David. W. "The Battles of Germantown: Preservation and Memory in America's Most Historic Neighborhood in the Twentieth Century." PhD Diss, Ohio State University, 2009.

Return to Table of Contents »


Collection Inventory

I. Burial Records 

Box
1-4
Volume
1-80
Box

Burial Records: 1838-1883 

1

Burial Records: 1884-1886 

2

Burial Records: 1886-1888 

3

Burial Records: 1889-1890 

4
Volume

Burial Records: 1891 

1

Burial Records: 1892 

2

Burial Records: 1893 

3

Burial Records: 1894 

4

Burial Records: 1895 

5

Burial Records: 1896 

6

Burial Records: 1897 

7

Burial Records: 1898 

8

Burial Records: 1899 

9

Burial Records: 1900 

10

Burial Records: 1901 

11

Burial Records: 1902 

12

Burial Records: 1903 

13

Burial Records: 1904 

14

Burial Records: 1905 

15

Burial Records: 1906 

16

Burial Records: 1907 

17

Burial Records: 1908 

18

Burial Records: 1909 

19

Burial Records: 1910 

20

Burial Records: 1911 

21

Burial Records: 1912 

22

Burial Records: 1913 

23

Burial Records: 1914 

24

Burial Records: 1915 

25

Burial Records: 1916 

26

Burial Records: 1917 

27

Burial Records: 1918 

28

Burial Records: 1919 

29

Burial Records: 1920 

30

Burial Records: 1921 

31

Burial Records: 1922 

32

Burial Records: 1923 

33

Burial Records: 1924 

34

Burial Records: 1925 

35

Burial Records: 1926 

36

Burial Records: 1927 

37

Burial Records: 1928 

38

Burial Records: 1929 

39

Burial Records: 1930 

40

Burial Records: 1931 

41

Burial Records: 1932 

42

Burial Records: 1933 

43

Burial Records: 1934 

44

Burial Records: 1935 

45

Burial Records: 1936 

46

Burial Records: 1937 

47

Burial Records: 1938 

48

Burial Records: 1939 

49

Burial Records: 1940 

50

Burial Records: 1941 

51

Burial Records: 1942 

52

Burial Records: 1943 

53

Burial Records: 1944 

54

Burial Records: 1945-1948 

55

Burial Records: 1945 

56

Burial Records: 1946 

57

Burial Records: 1947 

58

Burial Records: 1948 

59

Burial Records: 1949 

60

Burial Records: 1950 

61

Burial Records: 1951 

62

Burial Records: 1952 

63

Burial Records: 1953 

64

Burial Records: 1954 

65

Burial Records: 1955 

66

Burial Records: 1956 

67

Burial Records: 1957 

68

Burial Records: 1958 

69

Burial Records: 1959 

70

Burial Records: 1960 

71

Burial Records: 1961 

72

Burial Records: 1962 

73

Burial Records: 1963 

74

Burial Records: 1964 

75

Burial Records: 1965 

76

Burial Records: 1966 

77

Burial Records: 1967 

78

Burial Records: 1968 

79

Burial Records: 1969 

80

Return to Table of Contents »


II. Administrative Records 

Volume
81-92
Volume

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1926-1928 

81

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1928-1929 

82

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1929-1930 

83

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1930-1931 

84

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1931-1932 

85

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1932-1933 

86

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1933-1935 

87

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1935-1936 

88

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1936-1937 

89

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1937-1938 

90

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1938-1939 

91

Records of the deceased and services provided: 1939 

92

Return to Table of Contents »


III. Financial Records 

Volume
93-148
Volume

Payroll: 1923-1937 

93

Daily recordings of financial transactions: undated 

94

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1858-1887 

95

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1875-1877 

96

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1875-1879 

97

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1879 & undated 

98

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1927-1931 

99

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1931-1934 

100

Daily recordings of financial transactions: 1934-1937 

101

Account index and payment history: 1938-1940 

102

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1831-1861 

103

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1865-1874 

104

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1865-1868 

105

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1869 

106

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1874-1877 

107

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1877-1879 

108

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1882-1884 

109

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1884-1886 

110

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1886-1888 

111

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1888-1891 

112

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1891-1894 

113

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1894-1896 

114

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1896-1900 

115

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1899-1902 

116

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1899-1917 

117

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1901-1904 

118

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1903-1904 

119

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1904-1911 

120

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1905-1906 

121

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1907-1909 

122

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1907-1915 

123

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1909-1911 

124

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1911-1914 

125

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1914-1916 

126

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1916-1917 

127

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1918-1919 

128

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1919-1921 

129

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1921-1922 

130

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1923-1924 

131

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1924-1926 

132

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1926-1927 

133

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1927-1928 

134

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1928-1929 

135

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1929-1931 

136

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1931-1933 

137

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1933-1935 

138

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1935-1937 

139

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1935-1937 

140

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1937-1939 

141

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1939-1959 

142

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1959-1971 

143

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1970-1973 

144

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1972-1984 

145

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1973-1977 

146

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1977-1982 

147

Accounts of family purchases for the deceased: 1982-1988 

148

Return to Table of Contents »