Phipps, Eva & Marshall, Bertha d. 1896

MARSHALL, PHIPPS

Posted By: Barbara Hug (email)
Date: 7/28/2003 at 18:56:30

Double Suicide of Two Sisters

Mrs. Bertha Marshall, aged twenty, and her sister, Eva Phipps, aged sixteen, daughters of W. F. Phipps, of Rock Creek Township, died in the most horrible agonies from strychnine Tuesday forenoon. The circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs. Marshall were peculiarly sad. Three years ago she was married to Miles Marshall, a n’er-do-well, who two months ago deserted her and left her with her parents. She had one child, a little girl two years old and was soon to again become a mother. Mrs. Marshall had twice before attempted suicide and failed.

The young women went out in the field about 200 yards from the home to re-plant corn Tuesday morning. About 9:30 o’clock their younger brothers heard them screaming and when the family reached them Bertha was unconscious and Eva was in convulsions and Resisted all efforts to administer an antidote; saying she did not want to live longer.

The family and friends who gathered were so excited that the bodies were allowed to lie out in the boiling sun for nearly two hours.

P. A. Whitcomb, a neighbor of the Phipps family, gave the most intelligent connected account of the awful tragedy we were able to obtain. He said it was a most pitiful sight to see the little baby girl trying to arouse its mother who had ever before been quick to respond to its wants.

The sisters had evidently been contemplating the rash act for some time. Last Sunday, Eva visited at a neighbor’s and before leaving remarked that she was going away soon to be gone a long time and her friends might never see her again. The family had feared that the older girl would take her life but Eva was not suspected of having such intent.

It was a fearful death to die and no one who watched the death struggles of the girls would care to imitate their example.

The remains of the two unfortunate girls for whom the burdens of life had become too heavy were interred in the Liberty Cemetery Wednesday. Let us hope that the cloud, which obscured their mental vision here, will be lifted hereafter.

The father, W. F. Phipps, has been a resident of Rock Creek Township for thirty years and has lived for fifteen years where he now resides, seven miles northeast of Kellogg. ~ The Newton (IA) Record, Friday, June 19, 1896, Page 1, Column 3