Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 200, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1910 — WOMAN 83 YEARS OF AGE SUICIDES BY DROWNING. [ARTICLE]

WOMAN 83 YEARS OF AGE SUICIDES BY DROWNING.

Mrs. James Shlndeler, In Poor Physical Condition, Drowns Herself In Water Tank on Farm. Mrs. James Shlndelar, aged 83 years, suicided at an early hour this Tuesday morning at the farm home in Jordan. township, H miles southwest of Rens telaer, by drowning herself in a stock water tank. The particulars as learned from Undertaker Zern Wright arp as follows: . i Sfc Mrs. Shindeler had been in very poor health for some time and for the past ten days had been unable to leave the house. She lived with her husband, and the 17-year-old daughter of John Hill lived with them. She is theij| granddaughter. At about 4 o’clock this Tuesday morning the wind was blowing hard and it rained hard also. Mr. Shindeler was conscious that his wife, who occupied a separate bed in the same room with him, had spoken to him, and that she had left her bed, but he did not wake up entirely. The granddaughter heard old lady get up and thought it was Mr. Shindeler closing the windows. A little later, however, she was certain that the windows were not closed and arose and closed them herself. She then went to the room of her grandparents and finding her grandmothe absent awakened Mr. Shindeler and they made a search of the house, but found no trace of her. They then went to the barn and tool shed and looked wherever there seemed any place for her to have gone, but found no trace. It was raining very hard. Finally Mr. Shindeler saw a small box used in the kitchen to keep a little gasoline stove on, on the ground at the side of the water tank and going there was horrified to find the body of bis wife in the tank, submerged in the water. He could not get her out by himself and the granddaughter ran to the home of • * Joseph Branson, about 400 yards away, and Mr. Branson hurried to the scene and helped to remove the body from the tank. She was dead and probably had been for an hour. The water tank was 2% feet deep, 5 feet wide and 10 feet long, and was braced with three metal straps across the top o* the tank. It was plain that she had taken the box so that she would be able to climb into the tank. She had gone in from the end, feet first. A number of neighbors gathered at the scene of the sad occurrence and there was no doubHbut that she had taken her own life. Dr. Collier, of Brook, who was called,,was also there and it was decided that a coroner’s inquest was not necessary. Mr. Shindeler worked for many years for Norman Warner and will be remembered by many Rensselaer peo pie. The funeral will be held at the Good Hope church Wednesday ; afternoon and burial will be made in Weston cemetery, in Rensselaer.