Emerson brothers John (left); James "Ro" (middle); Jasper (right); George (standing).
Mark L. Emerson (1855-1915)
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History of the Emerson Funeral Home - Johnstown, Ohio
The Emerson Funeral Home was originally founded in 1837 by James Monroe “Ro” Emerson. Mr. Emerson was born in 1817 at St. Albans Township, Licking County, Ohio. He was a cabinet maker by trade and became an excellent casket maker due to local demand. It is said that when James Emerson was called to make a casket he carefully measured the deceased and then undertook to make a custom casket. Of course, in 1837 there was no license required to be an undertaker. James died suddenly from a heart attack in 1884 on the day his son, Mark L. Emerson, got married. The son decided to carry on the family business and in 1892 Mark L. received one of the first embalmer’s license to be issued in the state of Ohio . When Mark L. Emerson died in 1915 his son Paul S. Emerson became the third member of the family to manage the Emerson Funeral Home. In 1917 Paul put into operation the first motor funeral and ambulance equipment in rural Licking County. However, through necessity he continued to use horse drawn equipment on the rough rural roads until 1923. Paul’s son, Mark Lee Emerson, obtained his license and entered the family business in 1937 and served as an undertaker for the Johnstown community until his death in 1971. Mark’s wife, Delta Green Emerson and her son Mark III continued the funeral home operation. Although the Emerson Funeral Home is no longer in operation, it should be recognized for the five generations of the Emerson family who provided over 150 years of continuous service to the community. . . . Info from The Johnstown Independent newspaper |