Sisk Brothers Funeral Home

635 Grand Avenue (demolished)

Sisk Brothers funeral wagon in front of St. Patrick’s Church, c. 1900. Photo courtesy Carmine Monaco from Sisk Bros

Now located in Hamden, Sisk Brothers Funeral Home was originally located at 635 Grand Avenue.

Founders Edward, Patrick, John, and Thomas Sisk were the sons of Irish immigrant Patrick Sisk, who came to New Haven in the late 1850s. For most of his life Patrick listed himself as a “carman,” also known as a “cart-man,” a common profession among Irish immigrants. Cart-men drove horse-drawn carts for hire that were the primary method for local collection and delivery of goods. As urbanization made walking funerals less practical, cart-men were employed to collect and transport the deceased, giving rise to the occupation of undertaker and the funeral home industry. In the 1870s Patrick listed his occupation as undertaker at the same address as his residence. Patrick died at age 49 in 1879 and his sons continued the business. Sisk Brothers moved from Grand Avenue to Dwight Street in the early 1930s, and the Dillon Brothers Casket Co. purchased the building.