Purchase of Hearse:

From the records of the Church Board meetings from the 1870s which were kept by George Manchester, Clerk.  At the Board Meeting on March 12, 1871:

“The board unanimously recommended that Br. John J. Brown purchase a hearse of Langley and Bennett at a cost of $162 provided the sum of $200 is raised.”

After researching the City Directory for Newport for 1871 we found this ad for the Langley and Bennett furniture company.  This company not only built furniture but also furnished “everything connected with the management of funerals.”

1871 Advertisement for Langley and Bennet