William L. Carroll (1896)

CARROLL

Posted By: Pat Hochstetler (email)
Date: 5/11/2008 at 09:11:26

Winterset Reporter – April 16, 1896
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Suicide at Earlham.

News was received from Earlham Wednesday morning that W. L. Carroll, a young man about 21 years old, had committed suicide Tuesday night, by taking strychnine. His body was found about 9 o’clock at night at the old tile factory in the east edge of town. He was an intelligent, promising young man and his untimely death is lamented by all.

Winterset Reporter – April 23, 1896
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Earlham

This community was stricken the evening of the 14th by the suicide of William L. Carroll, one of the model young men of this place. Willie, as he was called, was a favorite with all who knew him, was raised here. He was 22 years old, had lived here most of his life. His father being section foreman he had worked under him the past few years. During the railroad strike of the telegraphers he helped Frank Kilingen, now baggage master at Des Moines, who was temporary agent at this place, and always did his duty amidst the abuse heaped upon him by the strikers and their friends. He applied for a position on the road as fireman but there were no vacancies. He then made a few trips as breakman, but during the dull times the extra men were laid off and he seemed to get despondent and complained of not feeling well. It appears that some years ago he got a fall on the ice and dented his skull which is supposed by some to have been the cause of his losing his sanity.

Winterset Madisonian – April 17, 1896
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SUICIDE AT EARLHAM.

A Young Man Named Will Carroll Poisons Himself with Strychnine.

The body of Will Carroll, a young man twenty-two years of age, was discovered last Tuesday night, lying in a small grove of willows, about two blocks from the Rock Island depot at Earlham. One of his hands was grasping a willow, and he appeared to have died in great agony. He was known to have purchased strychnine earlier in the evening, and an investigation showed that he died from poisoning with that drug.

He was the son of the section boss at Earlham, and had been employed in work on the section and about the depot. He was a young man of steady habits, and no cause for the suicide is known, unless, perhaps, he was discouraged on account of ill health.

Winterset Madisonian – April 21, 1896
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From Earlham

One of the most sad incidents which has ever occurred in the history of our little city, was the suicide of Wm. L. Carroll last Tuesday evening, April 14. Mr. Carroll was a bright and industrious young man, but had been in delicate health for some three months, and had in his spells of despondency threatened his own life several times, but not in such a manner as to arouse the suspicions of his parents to any great extent.

Last Tuesday evening about 7:30 he left his home apparently in good spirits, telling his parents he was going out for a walk which would perhaps do him good, and went to the drug store of J. E. Smith & Co., purchased of Mr. Smith ten grains of strychnine, telling him he was going to poison mice, and then went west on the railroad, about 30 yards from the depot and partially dissolved it in two drachms carbolic acid, then drank the contents. About 8:00 his father becoming alarmed about his not returning, came up town and gave the alarm, and in a very few minutes scores of men with lanterns were searching the town high and low for their schoolmate, their chum, their old friend and brother. The search proved successful and about 10:25 he was found lying at the end of a willow row, about fifty yards from where he had taken the deadly drugs, cold in the embrace of death.

There is no blame attached to his parents or anyone; the general belief is that he committed the rash act in a spell of temporary insanity. The funeral obsequies were conducted by the Earlham I.O.O.F. of which the deceased was a member. Rev. J. W. Stribling delivering the funeral sermon Thursday afternoon from the Friends church, after which the interment took place at the Earlham cemetery.