Albright, Frank 1865 - 1895

ALBRIGHT

Posted By: Doris Hoffman, Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/20/2012 at 20:06:53

Financial Trouble Causes a Young Farmer to Hang Himself

Frank Albright, a young farmer aged about thirty years, who lives about four miles west of Merrill, committed suicide Wednesday morning by hanging himself.

He got up early in the morning to go out and do the chores and going to the barn got a rope and tying one end to a beam and putting a noose over his neck, climbed up on a stall and threw himself off. Coroner Gray was called and as inquest held, the verdict being that he came to his death by his own hands.

He leaves a wife and six small children. He owns the farm that he has been living on but it is mortgaged and it is thought that the mortgage, combined with some trouble in settling his father’s estate has preyed upon his mind, causing him to take his own life.

The funeral will take place Friday and the remains will be interred in the Merrill Cemetery.

The Le Mars Semi-Weekly Sentinel
Thursday, February 21, 1895
Le Mars, Iowa

Frank Albright, One o f Liberty's Well
Known Farmers, Takes His Own Life.

Frank Albright, a German living In Liberty township, committed suicide Wednesday morning by hanging himself.

Mr. Albright had been very morose and troubled for some time as the result of financial difficulties and, as everything goes to show, had been meditating the fatal step for quite a period.

Last Saturday, Milton Hill, a young man who was a helper about the place, caught his employer preparing to take his life with a shot gun. Hill took the gun away, and persuaded Albright not to carry out his purpose.

Wednesday morning, however, Albright made a second, and this time, fatal attempt at his life. He arose at the usual hour and went with Hill to the barns to the milking and general chores. Hill’s duties a called him to a different part of the barn from that where Albright was at work, and when he had finished he went alone to the house. Presently Mrs. Albright missed her husband and
asked Hill to try to find him. The latter went down to the barn and began to call to Albright. Not receiving an answer he began to look around, and was startled to find that the body of Albright was hanging by a rope from the ceiling only a couple of feet from where he had just boon standing.

Appearances indicated that Albright had climbed upon the manger, tied the rope, which was a short piece of half inch hemp, to one of the beams and swung off. The ceiling was not more than 8 1/2 feet high and Albright's feet were not over two feet from the barn floor. As soon as he found out the state of affairs, Hill cut the body down and began to try to resuscitate it if possible. He soon found, however, that life was truly extinct, Hill drove to Merrill and telephoned to Coroner Gray, who impaneled a jury composed of Wm. Karley, Geo. Denuler and John Moesmier. The testimony at the inquest was substantially as above.

It is thought that financial troubles had unbalanced Albright's mind. Some time ago his father, who was already the owner of 400 acres of land in Liberty, had an opportunity of purchasing an additional quarter at a low price. He wished to place a mortgage upon his place to raise the money but Mrs. Albright refused to sign the mortgage. The old man then induced his son, Frank, to borrow the money upon his (Frank's) place, The latter did so and gave his father the money, $3000, without any security or evidence of the loan. Albright, Sr., died soon after. In the administration of the estate Frank has had some trouble in proving his loan and this is probably the cause of his self destruction.

The deceased was born in Joe Davis county, Illinois, in 1865. When 5 years old, ho came with his parents to Plymouth county, where he has since resided. He leaves a family consisting of a wife, and six children under eight years of age, to mourn bis sad death.

The Le Mars Semi-Weekly Post
Friday, February 22, 1895
Le Mars, Iowa