This image comes from part of an expense submission by John Herbert to the estate of Michael Trautvetter, probated in Hancock County, Illinois, in 1869. Herbert's wife was actually Michael's niece.Herbert was allowed $4.50 per day for taking care of Trautvetter in his final illness. I'm not certain if there was a table of rates the court used or not. Interestingly enough, just for comparision, the refreshments at the wake were $4.75--just about the same as the per day allowance for care.
So to put that in modern terms, the refreshments at the funeral cost about as much as a one-day stay in the nursing home (smirk).
Note: this image comes from the scan I made while viewing the file at the Family History Library in Salt Lake.
