The Song Outside the Door
A young child’s funeral in 1877 Seattle was interrupted by an act of profound community empathy.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock, the mortal remains of little Clara Hawks, aged 8 years, eldest daughter of Alfred D. and Mary A. Hawks, were to be conveyed to the cemetery. The funeral services were being conducted at the house by the pastor of the M. E. Church, and while in the midst of these services, the entire Sabbath School of that church appeared in front of the dwelling and sang the favorite songs of their little schoolmate, such as 'I need thee every hour,' and the 'Sweet Bye and Bye,' etc. It was an affecting sight, and a touching and appropriate expression of sympathy for the bereaved parents and of tender affection for the deceased.
“It was an affecting sight, and a touching and appropriate expression of sympathy for the bereaved parents and of tender affection for the deceased.”
In 1877, Seattle was a small, tight-knit town where the death of a child prompted spontaneous public mourning. Today, while Seattle has expanded into a sprawling metropolis, the city still wrestles with how to balance its rapid growth with the human need for communal grieving and civic connection.
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