Sep 24, 2018 1 min read

Mourning papers

Letters edged in black. “Your father’s career was one full of honor and dignity …” writes a friend in this letter of condolence to John D. McKennan in October 1893 when his father, Judge William McKennan, died at 77 in Washington County. Judge McKennan was one of the most foremost attorneys in Western Pennsylvania during his 21 years on the bench.

In the tradition of the Victorian era, stationery for social correspondence, during the period of mourning, was written on paper edged in black out of respect for the deceased. Edged letters continued to be sent for up to a year after a death, especially for women. The border would become thinner until it ultimately disappeared once mourning clothes were put aside.

Linda Zelch is a volunteer for the Washington County Historical Society and a member of the antiquities committee.