Columbus Hallgarth (1875)

HALLGARTH

Posted By: Ida Morse
Date: 7/30/2008 at 08:18:01

Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Thursday, June 10, 1875
Page 3, Column 3

Suicide -

(Winterset News-June 5th)

Young Holgarth, son of David Holgarth, committed suicide on Wednesday last. Some time since, during a religious revival, he became much interested and professed conversion. It was soon noticed that he had strange ideas and singular actions. He was so impressed with a notion that he must be better that some months ago he so mutilated himself, that his life was endangered. On Tuesday morning he asked his mother which was the worst, to kill oneself or another. At other times he has made inquiry as to the easiest way of putting end to life.

Tuesday evening about 5 P. M, he left the house. His parents and others searched for him, but in vain, until Wednesday in the early morning he was found suspended to a tree in a strip of woods North of the house dead. Coroner Dr Davisson was called and an investigation had, which developed the facts above stated. It seems the young man had taken a rope from his fathers stable, went to this strip of woods, climbed into a tree, slipped a noose over his head, tied the end to a limb and jumped off. The rope had about 86 inches slack, and the fall dislocated his neck. There was no evidence of any struggle as the leaves were all undisturbed about his feet, which as he hung touched the ground. Young Holgarth was about 19 years of age and for two years was a pupil in the public school in Winterset.
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Transcriber note: Transcribed as published, last name is "Hallgarth" per gravestone.

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