I am Josh Herrick , a senior history major from Mississippi University for Women. My primary academic focus is religion and understanding how it impacts society throughout time.

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This website is the culmination of my undergraduate Capstone research. The goal for studying this subject was to learn about funerary customs in America after the Civil War. Specifically, what aspects of religious life were altered in order to come to terms with the colossal loss of life that brought on grief. 

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The main source I studied were handwritten sermon journals composed by Rev. Thomas Benton Wood, a preacher situated close to Columbus, Mississippi, my hometown. The collection of records was always an interest for me ever sense I completed a summer internship at the local archives . This project was a way for me to dive deeper into its contents and learn about varying perceptions of heaven during a tumultuous era.