Addie Hoyt Fargo Casket Hardware (pictures)

Following are a few pictures of the casket hardware that was found in Addie Hoyt Fargo's grave.  There was enough hardware retrieved to confirm that most of the contents of the grave had been compressed down into the northeast corner of the hole.  There were 12 handle brackets, enough for 6 handles, and 11 handle knobs - one knob short of the requisite for 6 handles.  Quite a bit of glass was retrieved from the grave and that supports the 'viewing window'  conclusion.  No hinges were found but a few nails and a couple of other hardware pieces.  The handles would survive longer than any other parts because they  had to be pretty durable.....the casket manufacturer wouldn't know the weight of the body...and they wouldn't want the handles breaking off while the pallbearers were carrying the body down the church steps. 

This pictues shows the handle brackets and the handle knobs.  There is some small amounts of week still in the handle knobs.  A metal rod ran through the wood handles to add structural strength.  The two handle brackets and knob on the right have been cleaned up and a close up is in another picture.

Not the best picure but it shows the ornate design on the handle brackets and knobs.  I cleaned this up and they came out pretty decently.

This picture shows two of the handle brackets with working hinges.  Originally, the handles hung at the side of the casket and when the pallbearer would pick it up the handle would come out to 90 degrees.  There is a stop in the hinge that to keep the handle from coming up any higher.

When I saw the hardware I thought the casket must have been pretty nice.   The viewing window was a nice feature allowing E J to say good by to his wife without being exposed to disease.  I recall Rosemary makes disparaging remarks about the casket in one of her blogs and I'll refute that when I find time.