Initially founded in 1910 under the name Deadman's Funeral Home by Sterling J. Deadman ,it was later renamed to its curent title when he and Mitică Iancu Shrike moved the business from London to Boston in early 1918. They both live in the same building as the bodies are processed at.

While Deadman does do the vast majority of work with the dead and putting together furerals himself, Shrike helps in between his main job of being alienist by doing their taxes and speaking to clients

Maxwell's Circus of Merriment was founded by the late Maxwell Callumn sr in 1853, it is currently ran by Maxwell Callumn jr. It spends the vast majority of its time traveling in North America by train. Most of anything that can have some astronomical themeing does, from the show names of people working there to the posters put up to advertise.

After the unusual death (via a lion) of Maxwell sr in Rio de Janeiro (they were down there trying to evade taxes) a union was able to from. Before then his exteme union busting scared most people off from trying. Even if, like most circuses of this era, the working conditions were horrible. Many members were card carrying Wobblies during the strikes and the first years of it's realization, but that number has dropped down to only a few very committed syndicalists and socialists.