A century ago when carpenters and cabinet makers used to make both furniture and the casket, it was not uncommon for undertakers to be in the furniture business, and or vice versa. Today caskets and furniture are made in different plants and by different companies.

Five generations of one family - the Strider family - either have been, or are now, connected with the ownership and operations of the undertaking business.

The story of the origin of this thriving business dates back to some 34 years after the establishment of one of the first, if not the first funeral undertaker or mortician, who was appointed for the town of Boston, Mass., by the Boston Board of Health in June 1816.

It was in 1850 that L.L. Sadler of Charles Town, opened a small undertaking business in a small framed building. The most noteworthy event, and certainly the one that claimed the widest attention, was his handling of the funeral of John Brown, on Dec. 2, 1859, after the fiery abolitionist had been tried for treason in the Jefferson County Court House and hanged from a tree in Charles Town.