In the early 1800s, the handle on a casket was referred to as a “huckle”, and the person who carried it was a “bearer”. This term was commonly used in the funeral industry and has since evolved to become a slang term for pallbearers.

Doc Holliday’s famous quote “I’ll be your huckleberry” was misinterpreted as a reference to a person carrying a coffin, when in fact it was a reference to the handle on the coffin, specifically saying “I’ll be your huckle bearer”, which means “I’ll put you in the grave”.

A Huckleberry was not a person that carried a coffin, but rather the handle on a coffin, and the person who carried it was a Huckle Bearer or Pallbearer.