Bonney-Watson funeral home in Seattle had its beginnings in 1868 when two cabinetmakers, Oliver Shorey (married to Mary Emeline Bonney) and A.P. Delin, branched out into making and supplying wooden caskets. In 1881 Shorey's brother-in-law, L. W. Bonney, became a partner in the firm, called Shorey-Bonney, until the Great Seattle Fire destroyed the establishment at Third and Columbia Streets in 1889. Shorey sold his shares to G.M. Stewart, and the firm became Bonney & Stewart, operating in a brand new brick building at Third & Columbia beginning in 1893. Ten years later, Henry Watson bought out Stewart, and the business became Bonney-Watson, as it remains as of 2018, the oldest continually operating business in Seattle.
This Bonney & Stewart receipt, made out to the estate of David Montross, list costs related to Mr. Montross's funeral and burial. In December 1894, everything necessary for burial, from the casket and plot, to the hearse, hacks and wagonettes, and the burial itself, could be had for $147 paid in installments.
Caption information source: Bonney-Watson website at http://bonneywatson.com/about/history.html
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
