Henry Hilmer

HILMER

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 11/19/2016 at 08:06:05

10 May 1912 - The Lowden News

Henry Hilmer, well known to many in Lowden, having been a resident here for some time, who has lately been traveling as an oil salesman out of Waterloo, hung himself on a box car at Sumner, Bremer county, on Saturday. His remains were buried at Sumner on Sunday. He had conducted a lumber business and operated a planing mill in Sumner about seventeen years ago and at that time was very successful. Later he moved to Waterloo and met with several financial losses. A Waterloo paper says that Sumner people had lost track of him the past five years and nothing was heard of him until a week ago when he appeared in that town a complete physical and financial wreck. He committed suicide by hanging himself by a three-foot rope from the steps of a box car and apparently choked to death. He had been dead several hours when found. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Dorothea Hilmer, of Waterloo, and by four sons, Alfred and Walter Jr. of Waterloo; Herman of Davenport, and Rudolph of Peoria. He was a brother of August Hilmer, editor of the Iowa Free Press of New Hampton. His father, Peter Hilmer, resides at Allison.

Later: We find from the Waterloo Times -Tribune of May 5th that Henry Hilmer, whose body was found suspended by a rope attached to the steps of a box car in a lumber yard at Sumner Saturday morning, did not end his own life is the belief expressed by his sons who returned to Waterloo after making a complete investigation of the circumstances of their father's death. Letters left by the deceased indicate that he was responsibly engaged and that even at the time of his death was contemplating immediate changes for his own betterment.

The condition in which the body of the deceased was found leads the sons to believe it was placed in that position by hands other than his own. There were no signs of a struggle such as would have been evident had he came to his death by hanging as indicated by the position in which the body was discovered. The face and body were not discolored in any way and a cap pressed firmly on his head showed no signs of being disturbed in any manner. An investigation of the facts surrounding their father's death is being made by the sons and more definite developments are expected in the near future.