Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 December 1910 — VETERAN KILLS HIMSELF. [ARTICLE]

VETERAN KILLS HIMSELF.

John L. Johnson Takes Own Life Because of 11l Health. Lafayette, Ind., Dec. 5. —Battle Ground, a village seven miles north of here, was stirred, Saturday night, by the suicide of John L. Johnson, a well-known resident, who ended his life by blowing off the top of his head with a shotgun. He was seven-ty-five years old and a veteran of the civil war. He had lived in the town over half a century. His son Chester, with whom he lived, returned frqm a hunting trip and placed the shotgun in the bathroom. After eating supper the father left the dining room, went into the bathroom, slipped a shell in the gun, placed the barrel of the weapon in 'his mouth and pulled the trigger. 11l health is supposed to have been the cause. A few years ago he tried to kill himself by pouring gasoline on his clothes and setting fire to it. He was prominent in G. A. R. circles and had a gallant army record. He leaves a widow and four children.