Grant Canfield

CANFIELD, POTTER, CARLSON, CHISMAN, ANDERSON

Posted By: John Evan Davis (email)
Date: 11/10/2014 at 06:48:37

Ottumwa tri-weekly courier, January 03, 1911
DEMENTED MAN ENDS OWN LIFE
GRANT CANFIELD, AGED 21, LIV¬ING NEAR CHRISTIANBURG, SHOT SELF SATURDAY.
During the absence of his mother from the house, and while his father was in Ottumwa, Grant Canfield, aged 21, residing with his parents, one fourth of a mile south of Christianburg, ended his own life Saturday by shooting himself with a twenty-two caliber rifle. His mother, hearing the shot, rushed to the house and found her son lying in his own room in a pool of blood. He succumbed in a few minutes. The parents are grief-stricken
over the death of their young son. He had been brooding over ill health and it is thought by his parents that be committed suicide while temporarily insane, he appeared to be in the best of health that morning when Mrs. Canfield went out of the house to do some work. Going to his room, Canfield secured his target rifle and placing the muzzle of the rifle to his body, pulled the trigger and fell to the floor. The decedent had been melancholy of late and the parents had been keeping a close watch over him. About a month ago be started to go to the railway tracks near his home in an effort to end his own life. He was stopped before he had an opportunity to do the rash deed. The elder Mr. Canfield was in Ottumwa when the shooting occurred and being notified of the sad occurrence, he hurried to his home. Coroner A. W. Slaught was summoned and went to the scene of the shooting in the afternoon. Deceased was son of Mr. and Mrs. N. Canfield. Besides his parents, one brother, Harold Canfield, survives him. The funeral was held from the house at 1 o'clock and at the Christianburg church at 2 p. m. Sunday.

COULD NOT BEAR THE SUFFERINGS
GRANT CANFIELD WHO ENDED LIFE SATURDAY BY SHOOTING SELF WAS DESPONDENT
That he could not stand his suffering another year were the words uttered by Grant Canfield to his mother prior to ending his own life Saturday by shooting himself with a target rifle, according to the testimony of his mother, Mrs. Josephine Canfield, at the coroner's inquest Saturday afternoon. Coroner A. W. Slaught held the inquest at the home of Noyet Canfield, father of the deceased, and a jury was empanelled from men in the neighborhood. C. R. Chisman, C. T. Lewis and Levi Gates composed the coroner's jury. Mrs. Canfield and neighbors who responded to her call for help, were the only witnesses. Mrs. Canfield stated that she had gone out of the house to feed the hogs when she heard a rifle shot and hurrying to the house, found her son lying dead on the bed, with a wound in the middle of his forehead. The verdict of the jury was that deceased had committed suicide. The funeral of the deceased was held yesterday afternoon at the Christianburg church. Rev. E. J. Shook, of the Willard Street Methodist Episcopal church conducted the services. The obsequies were largely attended by friends of the deceased, who was very popular in the community. The pallbearers were Lowell Potter, Seth Carlson, William Chisman, Edwin Anderson, Oliver Potter and Carl Chisman. Interment was made in the Chisman cemetery.