Reinhardt HUETTER d. 1880

HEUTTER HUETTER SCHIEBER

Posted By: Allen Schieber (email)
Date: 7/31/2006 at 16:43:57

The Davenport Democrat - 1 October 1880: SHOTGUN FOLLY. A Farmer Attempts to Blow His Own Heart Out: There was a bloody attempt at suicide in Buffalo township, a mile and a half back of the village, day before yesterday. Mr. Reinhard Heiter(sic) has been a sufferer from rheumatism for a long period, and an appetite for his own good wines doesn't tend to his recovery. Th, it is said, there is domestic trouble in the house. Wednesday night after dinner he went upstairs to his room, seized a shotgun, placed the muzzle at his left sice, and kicked the trigger. There was a tremendous report, and he fell to the floor with a howl of pain and terror. Mrs. Heiter(sic) and her son-in-law and daughter fushed up stairs and found the husband and father on the floor, weltering in his own blood. He was placed on a bed, when he yelled for a butcher knife, that he might finish the work. Of course this was denied him, and Drs. Luetner and Gadd were sent for. They examined him, and found that while the charge of shot had torn his clothing and flesh, it had not penetrated behind the ribs - was merely a gaping, bloody, fleshy wound. Mr. Heiter(sic) will recover, if he doesn't try again - and he vows that he will.

The Davenport Democrat - 4 October 1880: The Fatal Shot. Friday evening's Democrat contained an account of the attempted suicide of Mr. Reinholdt(sic) Huetter, of Buffalo township, who on Wednesday last discharged the contents of a shotgun at his left side, with, it was thought, inflicing fatal injuries, as the shot followed on the outside of the ribs, but did not enter the vitals.

But Mr. Huetter died yesterday afternoon. He refused to do anything, we are informed, to save himself, as he wanted to died. But the symptoms were favorable up to Saturday night when his wounds commenced paining him, and from that time until death relieved him his agony was awful to behold. Mr. Huetter leaves a wife and eight children, while six other children have preceded him to the unknown realm.

The deceased had something of a sinigular sad interesting history, which was not without its tinge of romance.

Mr. Huetter was between fifty-five and sixty years of age. He was born in the village of Haltingen, Duchy of Baden, only three miles from Basle, Switzerland. His mother was a nobleman's daughter, and his father one of the wealthiest men in the Duchy, and of great influence. The revolutionary spirit of 1848 reached the Cuchy, and young Huetter joined the revolutionarists under Hecker, and became a soldier in liberty's army; in doing this he incurred the displeasure of his family, who were loyalists. The revolt failed; and he was one of the expatriated, and with four young men he came to America. After living in various places, he came to Davenport in 1858, and purchased forty acres of land in Buffalo township and on this forty acres he has lived ever since. It was wild land when he bought it - and he made a pardise of it; he devoted six acres to grapes, ten acres to fruits, and the remainder to vegetables, which he raised for the Davenport market. He entered into wine-making quite extensively, and found enjoyment, if not profit in it.

It is said above that there was a tinge of romance in his career; so there was, said romance for him, as will be seen.

After he had purchased his place in Buffalo township and built his little house upon it, he wrote to a young woman in Haltingen, whose family was on a part with his own in wealth and influence, and whom he loved before he joined the revolutionists, asking her to journey to this country and become his wife. Her parents consented, and Huetter's mother furnished her wigh a thousand dollars worth of goods and valuables, while her own family gave her a thousand dollars in money, and she left for America under the escort of a well-to-do friend of her father who had emigrated to Buffalo, N.Y., years before, and visitied his native land, and was now returning to America. Huetter was a happy man - no lover ever looked forward to a greeting of his betrothed who was to immediately become his wife, with more joyful anticipations than he. The young lady arrived in Buffalo and accepted the invitation to spend a few days with the family of her escort before making the then wearisome journey to Iowa. Huetter was to meet her in Chicago. She prolonged her stay in Buffalo to six or eight weeks, and then wrote Huetter of her intention to start for the West, taking a steamboat for Detroit - and when he was ready to go to Chicago he received a paper which announced the marriage of his betrothed to the nephew of the man who had accompanied her to America. Huetter seemed to be a changed man after that - his old acquaitances say. One day not long after this news came, he proposed marriage to a young woman who was working at a hotel in Davenport where he was taking his dinner, and she accepted him and he has said many times since that it was a stroke of good luck for him when his betrothed was married at Buffalo, so good a wife had his last choice proved. Sometime after the marriage of the false girl at Buffalo, her father died and bequeated her a comfortable sume - and Huetter's mother, now a widow, entered suit to recover from the bequest the thousand dollars she had expended for her when she left for America. The case was carried up to the highest tribunal in the Duchy, and was decided in favor of Huetter's mother, who thus received her thousand dollars, which she sent to her distant son. With it all though, Huetter never fully recovered from that early disappontment. It was only a few months ago that his mother died, and left him a goodly little sum, most of which is still due. He has a brother living in his native town, the present mayor of the place, and has represented the Duchy in the German Parliament. Two young men who came to America with Huetter , returned, under pardon, years ago, and are living on their estates, while a third is a wealthy citizen of Belleville, Ill.

Why did he shoot himself? As said before, he was a great sufferer from rheumatism, and beside, the day he did it he had words with his son, and in a fit of desperation he quietly left the dining room, went up stairs as if to lie down and the the deed.

The funeral was appointed for this afternoon. Among those who went from the city to attend it, was Justice Kaufmann, who knew Huetter when bothwere boys in their native town.