Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1905 — Farther About Jack Leahy. [ARTICLE]

Farther About Jack Leahy.

Somr further facts can now be given regaiding John Leahy, the unfortunate yohug mau ,who ended h’s life late Sunday night, or early Monday morning, by suicide in the court house square at Rensselaer.

He had been in poor health ever since the termination of his long army and navy service over two years ago; and about Lur or five months ago, he develop 3d that most hopeless and depressing of diseases, epilepsy. Several seizures of the disease had greatly hastened the failure of his bodily health, and no doubt had more or less affected bim mentally, He several times hsdbeen heard to speak about his condition in a most discouraged manner, and to declare he would end his life if he wt>s sure he had epilepsy. His despondency was further much increased by his being reproved Saturday morning by Mr. and Mrs. Honan for having been indulging ia drink, a practice which his physicians had given very strict orders against, as being exceedingly dangerous in his condition. He took this reproc f much more teric ualy than intended, and had spoken of it to others in such a way, as tj lead to lhe report that they had turn d him f om their hom ; wberafis, oaly to make their warning nst liquor more impressive thev bad oaly threa‘eucd to refuse bim a he me in cise he again took to drink. The f >ct that no special significance was attributed to his ab:ence ::<om both Mr. Honan's and Mr, Walter’s places Sunday night, was the suppotiiion that he bed gone to Delphi to vi-dt his relatives there. Had it not been f>r this erronious supposition Mr. Honan would [have looked him up, and probably thus aveited, at least for the time baing, the young man’s fetal act.