Lady Is an Undertaker
Second license of the kind given to woman in Wisconsin
– Eau Claire Weekly Telegram | November 17, 1905

Mrs. Alex Dean recently passed an examination before the state board of health, of which Dr. Harper of Madison is the secretary through which she secured a diploma and a license to practice the profession of undertaking. Mrs. Dean is associated in business with her husband, Alex Dean, the undertaker, at Fourth Ave and Water street this city. This is only the second license of the kind given to a woman in this state. In the state of Illinois, there have been over 200 undertakers’ licenses issued to women, where the custom for all establishments of the kind is to have a lady undertaker.

Chad's Take: Congratulations to you Mrs. Dean....I mean Ellia.  

I love this article for several reasons. First it really shines light on the behavior of the early 1900s. Today women make up the majority of students studying to become a Mortician, yet back then, as you can see, a woman Mortician was big news in Eau Claire.  You may have also noticed that this great honor went to a woman named ............well just call her Mrs. Dean because it was common practice for newspapers of this time to not call women by their first names. I even have obituaries that did not list the first name of the woman. However I did some research and found at the Mrs. Dean’s first name was actually Ellia. Local historians believe that Ellia played a large role in the success of her husband’s business. 

I also like that this article shows how Water Street has changed over the years. Although there were several saloons operating on Water Street during the early 1900s, it was much more of a community business area then it is today. Most of us think of Water Street only as a watering hole for college students, but imagine how cool it would have been to see an undertaker operating on Water Street along with a Blacksmith, Butcher and numerous other forgotten trades. Well, at least we still have a barber on the street. 

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