Con Kerwin d. 1897 @ abt age 30

KERWIN, MANNING

Posted By: Dorothy Gosse (email)
Date: 3/27/2011 at 18:54:53

Early Wednesday morning this community
was shocked by a report that
a man had committed suicide, some
time during Tuesday night by hanging
himself. The man who had committed
the rash act was named Con
Kerwin, and he was about thirty years
of age. No known cause for the deed
is known but the generally accepted
theory is that of temporary insanity.
The man had been in this vicinity for
three months, and on January 9th
went to the home of John Manning,
near the C. G. W. railway, about a
mile southeast of the city, and made
arrangements to work for his board
the rest of that month and also
through the month of February. He
talked some of working for Manning
through the summer and afterwards
changed his mind and said be was going
away. His actions all day Sunday
were so peculiar as to attract attention,
and he finally packed up what
clothing he had in a small bundle and
started east along the railway track,
saying he was going to Dubuque. How
far east he went is not known but on
Tuesday he again presented himself
at the Manning homestead and said
he had changed his mind about going
away and that he would remain all
summer. He was informed that Mr.
Manning had secured other help,
thinking he had gone for good. He
then asked permission to remain all
night, but was told that he did not
like to keep him on account of his actions
the previous Sunday. He then
offered an apology for his conduct to
Mrs. Manning and at once left the
house. This was the last seen of
him while alive. Some time during
he night he had returned and being
familiar with the premises entered
Mr. Manning's barn and deliberately
hung himself with a piece of rope attached
to a harness peg in the back
end of the barn where Mr. Manning
discovered him when he went to do
his chores in the early morning of
Wednesday. Everything indicated
that Kerwin had deliberately determined
to end his existence, as, when
found, his feet were touching the
floor, showing that he had held them
up until he was strangled to death.
Justice Irvine was given charge of the
case, but the evidence as to cause of
death was so conclusive that no coroner's
inquest was held. Wednesday
morning the body was taken to Boss
& Son's undertaking establishment.
A letter addressed to the dead man,
which had been in the post office two
weeks uncalled for, was opened by the
authorities and the address of relatives
discovered. Perhaps if he had
got this letter the act might never
have been committed, but despondent
and believing that no one cared for
him he thought that it was best to
take his own life. His brother arrived
from Silver Lake, Wisconsin,
Thursday morning, but was not very
communicative, but said that the
deceased man had not been home for
three years. Beyond that nothing
could be learned from him and he
asked that nothing be said about the
death in the papers. The remains
were interred in the Oelwein cemetery.

Oelwein Register - 9 March 1897
Note: grave not marked