The Smith Brothers Can Set You Up With a Hearse … Or a Cab — 1888
by Paula Bosse
Need a ride? (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
Need a hearse? No? Then how ’bout a cab?
Diversification is the key to success! Ed. C. and G. D. Smith — of the Ed. C. & Bro. Undertakers and Embalmers — branched out from the hum-drum world of mortuary science and entered the exciting world of transportation-for-hire (it really IS only a short jump from hearse to cab). Their Dallas Cab Co. provided the city with something brand new: Gurney cab service.
The “Gurney cab” was the invention of Bostonian J. Theodore Gurney — it was a two-wheeled, horse-drawn cab into which passengers entered through the back and, for a quarter, rode in sleek, well-appointed comfort. This new form of conveyance was an alternative to the larger, clunkier, slower “hacks.” Gurney patented his cab in 1883 and traveled around the country promoting his vehicle to large cities. He visited Dallas in March, 1888:
Dallas Morning News, March 18, 1888
He must have been pretty persuasive, because the “Gurney cabs” went on the streets less than three weeks later:
Fort Worth Daily Gazette, April 5, 1888
Gurney worked his way around Texas. Next stop was Fort Worth:
FWDG, April 14, 1888
Then Austin:
Austin Weekly Statesman, April 26, 1888
As to whether the more familiar hospital “gurney” (a wheeled stretcher) has any connections, some say yes and some say no (both arguments can be read here). Wouldn’t it be great if those Smith boys went into stretcher manufacturing a few years later? Cabs — stretchers — hearses: they’ve got you covered … coming and going.
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Ads from The Immigrant’s Guide to Texas — City of Dallas, 1888. They did, in fact, appear on the same page.
An interesting article — “The Short, Contentious, History of the Gurney Cab Company in San Francisco” by Donald Anderson — can be read here.
The fare for hiring a Gurney cab was 25 cents, which according to the Inflation Calculator, was about $6.00 in today’s money.
Click top ad for larger image.
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Copyright © 2014 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
Reading between the lines one wonders if the Gurney didn’t fail in Dallas for much the same reasons as the San Francisco link suggests. It’s maybe worth noting that there’s a horse-drawn landaulet shown at the right in one of the pics in the “Old Union Station in East Dallas” thread. Despite the new-fangled motor cabs seen around it, this traditional horse-drawn cab was presumably still turning a profit, circa 1910 or so.
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