Ostrom, Charles E. 1859-1894

OSTROM

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 5/8/2010 at 16:14:08

Montezuma Republican (Montezuma, Iowa) June 20, 1894

A SUICIDE AT HARTWICK

Charles Ostrom Shoots Himself and Expires Instantly. A Sad Case.

Jefferson township was the scene of a terrible tragedy on Monday morning of last week. Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Ostrom, with their two boys, lived on an excellent farm near the town of Hartwick. The evidence shows that the man and wife had not gotten along very well for sometime. On the Monday morning in question Mr. Ostrom got his shot-gun and stated to his wife that he was going to kill himself; that they could not lived toether and if he left he would have to leave their two boys. She tried to disuade him from doing so rash an act and at the time really did not believe that he meant to do himself violence as he had frequently threatened to kill himself but had never done so. He pulled off his shoes and placed one of his toes on the trigger but told his wife that he could not discharge the gun in that way and wanted her to pull the trigger. He then had the gun in such a position that his wife feared that it would be discharged if she attempted to take it away from him by force so she rushed out of the house to call the hired man. No sooner had she left the house than the gun was discharged and when she came back into the room her husband was dead. The charge carried away a portion of a rib and entered his body just above the heart. The neighborhood was aroused and Coroner Conaway and Attorney J.T. Scott, of Brooklyn, were sent for. The inquest brought out the facts as above stated. The funeral was held Tuesday, conducted by Rev. W.J. Spire of the Congregational church. A large number of friends and relatives followed the remains of the unfortunate man to their last resting place, the procession to the cemetery being over a mile long. The deceased was born in 1859 and was married in 1892 to a lady north of Victor. He was a son of George Ostrom and stood well in the community having the confidence and esteem of everybody. His tragic death threw a shadow over the entire community. He left two letters which are appended below:

The following letter was addressed to C.G. Porter, Hartwick, Iowa, June 11, 1894:

The devil is to pay generally for some reason or other. I do not know as it is my fault. Maybe it is hell in some people. I have worked like a slave to get soemthing ahead so that we would have a nice home, have in fact nearly broke myself down and to what end; it has got to be scattered to the four winds just because some people are not contented to wait a few years to ride in their fine buggies. May is a woman only by spells. When the devil takes possession of her, then it is jaw from the time she wakes in the morning till she sleeps in the evening. I can make no calculations but what she will knock in the head if she finds them out. I don't know what will become of the boys if they are brought up wild as some people raise them. Look after them when there is no place to go. I have quite a property for somebody, and would like for the boys to have their portion, but I expect some one will run through with it before they get old enough to handle it. If I am out of the way May can have a good time dancing on my grave which is what she has wanted to do for the last ten years. Then get some one to spend what she has in drink and cards and treat her far worse than I have done, which is bad enough, God knows. I have done wrong I know and am sorry for it, but that does not help the matter now. But I have been sorely tried; they say if you step on a woman they will turn and sting you, which is what I have done. The only way out of the mire is to end myself some way. I know it is against the laws of God and man, but it will give May more to have a fine time with, and save lawyer's fees. So good by and forgive me, for God never will.
C.E. Ostrom.

The following letter was addressed to his wife:

Well May; I have done wrong I know and am sorry for it, but that does not help matters any. Probably when I am gone and you get some one that has more style and dash about them you will remember my good qualities if you think I had any. I know that I get out of humor sometimes and do things that I ought not to do. But if you stop to think you are not a saint yourself. May, for God's sake be good to the boys. Do not try to poison their minds against my memory if I did not always do right. You know everyone has their faults. Please try and bring them up so that they will be an honor to themselves and to you. If you can, forget that I ever existed and get some city dude that likes to go all the time and enjoy life as you would like to. Now good by. Be kind enough to bid the boys good by for me. God bless their dear little hearts, and keep as they should go, and out of the ruts where I got stuck. Good by, many you find health and happiness with some one more worthy than I.

CHARLES.

Notation: I believe the marriage date of 1892 is an error in the original obituary and was supposed to read 1882. (A researcher on Rootsweb.com has his marriage date as 01 Mar 1881 to Maria J. Slight.