SMITH, George Washington

SMITH, ZORNES, GREEN, SHARP, WILLIAMS, HENDRICKSON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 3/18/2015 at 14:57:20

Obituary ~ George Washington Smith
April 27, 1837 ~ February 07, 1912

The Leon Record
Leon, Decatur County, Iowa
Thursday, February 15, 1912, Page 1

ANOTHER SUICIDE CASE*

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George Smith Committed Suicide Last Wednesday,
Shooting Himself with a Shot Gun.

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Decatur county had another suicide last Wednesday, the victim being George (Timothy) Smith, an old man 74 years of age, who took his life at the home of Lee Zornes, a few miles northwest of Decatur City, by shooting himself in the breast with a shot gun. Mr. Smith had separated from his wife and had returned a few weeks ago from Nebraska. He had gone to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lou Green, and remained there a few days, but things were not pleasant and he went to the Zornes home where his son Benjamin, who married a daughter [Oria] of Mr. Zornes, resided.

Mrs. Smith was in the house when he came in from out doors and went into the front room. Soon she heard the report of the gun and out and told her husband that the old man was shooting in the house. When the son and Mr. Zornes went in they found he had shot himself in the breast, and was lying partly across a chair. He had removed his coat and vest, and placed the muzzle of the gun against his breast and pushed the trigger with his cane, death being instantaneous. So close had he held the gun that blood from the wound ran down in the barrel of the gun. County attorney Sharp went out and made an investigation, but decided it was a clear case of suicide and no inquest was held.

The deceased was an eccentric old man and his children claim his mind had been effected for some time. His funeral was held at Mt. Zion [a.k.a. Tennessee] church on Saturday.

NOTE: Another suicide case refers to the two previous issues of "The Leon Reporter" which each issue had published an article about a suicide case that had been committed within the county.

George Washington Smith was born April 27 1837, Belmont, Ohio. On June 16, 1861, he was married to Susannah Louise "Anna" Williams at Grand River, Iowa.

Oria Ethel (Zornes) Smith was born April 23, 1890, Decatur County, Iowa, the daughter of Levi "Lee" and Bertha M. (Hendrickson) Zornes, and died August 4, 1949, Grand Island, Nebraska. She married on August 16, 1911 Benjamin Harris Smith, who was born May 17, 1889, and died April 23, 1950, Grand Island, Nebraska.

Transcription and note by Sharon R. Becker, March of 2015