Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1908 — Page 1

TWICE A WEEK

VOI* XU.

The Commercial Club Meeting.

The preponderance of other matters precludes the possibility of reporting at length the meeting of the commercial club Monday 'night It was a very representative gathering of leading citizens and all of them seemed to be of one mind, and that was to carry out the proposed plan Of Mr. Dean. It was decided to postpone action until the commercial club could be incorporated, and a. committ e consisting of Frank Foltz, J. A. Chapman and J. J. Hunt was appointed to act with the officers, Geo. E. Murray, E. L. Hollingsworth and Deles Thompson, to attend at once to incorporating. i The secretary was Instructed to collect dues from all members, and about thirty paid atonce and the committee was to collect from others. A small emergency fund is required to perfect the incorporation. The plan is heartily approved, and as soon as the organization is legalized a contract will be signed with Mr. Dean and the sale of lots begun.

The Michael-Heuson Wedding.

A very pretty church wedding was solemnized at St. Augustine’s Catholic church this Tuesday morning, the contracting parties being Miss Catharine Michael, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Michael, of Jordan township, and Mr. Philip Heuson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Nat Heuson, from north of town. The wedding took place at 9 o'clock and was performed by Rev. Thomas Meyer, pastor of the church. Mr. Joe Kolhoff officiated as beet man and Miss Stella Caln, of Goodland, was bridesmaid. A quite large audience witnessed, the ceremony. After the bride and groom had received the congratulations and best wishes of their friends at the church they went to the bride's home where a wedding dinner was served, which the relatives on both sides of the house participated In. A very enjoyable event that. preceded the wedding was a surprise shower, which Mrs. Joe Halligan arranged. Monday evening while the principals and attendants were rehearsing for the marriage at the church, Mrs. Halligan assembled some thirty-five ladies at her home on Front street and when Miss Michael reached there in company with Mr. Heuson she was greeted by all of them and a fine lot of presents of “house keeping*’ kind. A very pheasant evening was spent. Mr. and Mrs. Heuson will reside on the Michael farm, where they will at once take up the r. residence.

Death of Mrs. J. W. Speaks.

Mrs. J. W. Speaks, whose sickne s has been mentioned several times'Jau these columns, died Monday night at 8:20 o’clock, at the home of the Speaks family in the northwest part of Rensselaer. The funeral was held at the First Baptist church Wednesday morning at l(T:30 o'clock, Rev. 0. E. Miller, the pasor, having charge of the service. Mrs. Speaks leaves a husband, two daughters and five sons to mourn her death.

Death of Samuel H. Porter.

Samuel H. Porter, father of Mrs. S. S. Shedd, and who hag made his home largely with her for some years, died ah 12:15 Tuesday, after a brief illneM. He was 83 years of age. Besides his daughter, he leaves two sons In Chicago, vis. Dr. John L. Porter, and Mr. Frank Porter, the latter being In charge of one of the wholesale departments of the Marshall Field store.

Militia Banquet Postponed.

The banquet which Company M was to have held this evening has been postponed, In deference to Lester and Carl Speaks, whose mother was burled today. The banquet will be held Thanksgiving evening, being Wednesday night of next week. After a short drill at the armory the soldiers will proceed to the Roeenbaum hotel, whore they will make an attack on several turkeys and a table ' laden with other good things.

Christian Church.

The subject of the Sunday morning sermon at the Christian church Is, '‘Beware of the Leven of the Pharisees.” Tn the evening, “A Fallacy— That Our Souls Are Mortal.” ‘ All are welcome.

THE RENSSELAER REPUBLICAN

JAY W. WILLIAMS ENDED HIS LIFE

Poor Health and Worry Over Death of His Brother in Ohio, Caused Despondency.

ACT COMMITTED IN HIS STORE Community Shocked at the Terrible Ending of One of Its Leading Business Men end Host Highly Esteemed Citizens.

JAY W. WILLIAMS

From Tuesday’s Daily: Jay W. Williams, for many years a resident of Rensselaer, and for the past fifteen years engaged in the furniture business, took his own life at about 9:50 o’clock this Tuesday morning, using a 32-callber revolver, which he placed at his right temple before pulling the trigger. The act was committed In his store. Mr. Williams was In miserable health, and there seems no doubt that this was directly responsible for the act He had worried a great deal also about the death of his older brother, John Williams, of Bellefountaine, Ohio, whose funeral he attended Just before the election, and brooding over this probably served to temporarily unbalance his mind. That he was rapidly failing in health was noticeable to all who were acquainted with him, and'business men who saw him every day frequently mentioned his decline. It seems that the brother that recently died was very dear to him, being older and having during Jay’s boyhood days exercised a careful guardianship over him. Jay made two or three trips to Bellefountalne, Ohio, to see his brother during his sickness, and when the news of his death reached Rensselaer be was prostrated with grief. His health was then quite poor and his father-in-law, John Makeever, suggested that he wa* hardly well enough to attend the funeral, but he insisted on going.

He returned to Rensrelaer on election day and those closest to him say that he haa never semed right since that tinfe. He has continued to look after bls business and has made

almost daily visits to his farm northwest of this city. This morning he was at his store as usual and his two clerks, George | and Clinton Colvert, noticed nothing unusual about his actions. Between 8 and 9 o’clock he went to Rhoades’ hardware store and purchased 25 revolver catridges, caliber 32, from Mel Griffin, the clerk. He seemed perfectly rational and nothing unusual was thought of the purchase. In his desk at the store was a 32 caliber revolver that had long been unloaded, and both Mr. Colvert and son Clint knew that It was there and he had told them that he used to keep It at the bank, when he was cashier of the Makeever bank. They never knew of the revolver being loaded and probably It never was since he has been out of the bank. Just when he loaded the revolver this morning is not known. A traveling furniture salesman called on Mr. Williams last night and was told he was not

AND RENSSELAER JOURNAL

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1908.

feeling well and to stop in again this morning, and shortly before the suicide he had talked with Mr. Williams, but was told in an unusually abrupt manner that he did not care to make any purchases. He had just left the store and Mr. Williams talked for a few minutes to his two clerks, Dr. E. N. Ldy, and Chas. F. Rhoads, who were in the store. They were in the rear part of the main store room, near his desk, and while all were standing tbere, Mr. Williams left and went up the landing, where considerable furniture was displayed. A moment after he had gone up the steps a revolver shot was heard, followed by the noise of his falling body and fearing what had happened Dr. Loy and the two Colverts hastened up to the landing, and there lay the body stretched at full length on the floor. The revolver lay at his side, free from his hand, and the blood was gushing from a hole in his right temple. Dr. Loy put his ear down dose to Mr. Williams’ head and took up his arm to feel his pulse. He was not breathing and the heart action was almost stopped. A second later and the heart ceased to beat.

Word was at once telephoned to Mrs. Williams, who is also In very frail health and she was quite overcome. She was alone at the house and hurried down to her father’s apartments at the Makeever Hotel, and then went back to her home, where she gave completely away, and several neighbors have been caring for her. The disaster, it is feared, may prove more than she can bear. They have but one child, Mrs. Mamie Williams Porter, wife of Ctjas. H. Porter, of Chicago, and word was telephoned to her by Swaney Makeever, a cousin of Mrs. Will ams, and she will arrive here today. Mr. Williams was about 63 years of age, and was a veteran of the civil war, having served with on Ohio regiment, and being one of the younge t of the civil war veterans in Jasper county. He was a member of the city council of Rensselaer, and previous to being elected city councilman be was a member of the county council. He was a fine citizen, and a successful business man, and his death coming as It does is a terrible shock to his relatives, friends and acqualntancea Coroner W. J. Wright was at Roselawn, being the undertaker In charge of the funeral of Mrs. Crlsler, and in his absence, Zern Wright, his assl t> ant, took charge of the remains, and had them removed to the undertaking parlors. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

The Funeral of Jay W. Williams.

From Wednesday’s Daily: The funeral of Jay W. Williams, whose tragic death occurred Tuesday morning will be held tomorrow, Thursday, afternoon at 2:30 o’clock, at the M. E. church, the funeral being conducted by the pastor. Dr. H. L. Kindig. 'Both the Masons and the Knights of Pythias will attend the funeral in a body, the former having charge ot the services. Burial will be made in Wee ton cemetery. There are no new developments regarding the suicide, and If Mr. Williams left any note stating his reason for self-destruction It has not yet come to light Shortly before the purchase of the cartridges be sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his daughter, Mrs. Chas. H. Porter, in Chicago, and he had Mr. Colvert mall this, and It is possible that he may have told in that letter something about his contemplated act, but thia Is regarded by the family as improbable. He made a practice of writing to his daughter almost dally. The letter that he wrote Tuesday went to Chicago on the 3:56 train that day, and would not have been delivered until that afternoon after Mr. and Mrs. Porter had left to come to Rensselaer, where they arrived on the milk train. Mr. Williams* desk

The Building Occupied by Mr. Williams as a furniture store, and in which he shot himself.

and pockets were searched but nothing was found to Indicate that he had made any preparation for the act In the drawer where the revolver had reposed for so many years the other cartridges were found. He had purchased 25 and had placed 6 of them In the revolver, and the others were loose in the drawer. The relatives have reviewed almost every act of his for several days before the suicide, but can see no indication of any mental derangement He has, they say, thought constantly about the death of his brother, and all of the time his own health has been failing. He was very poor in flesh and, it Is thought, suffered a great deal of pain, although without much complaint. It is thought that Mr. Williams waited to perform his act of self-destruction until others besides his clerks, George and Clinton Colvert, were In the store, evidently wanting no doubt created but that his act was voluntary. Mr. Williams resided In Kentland for some years before' coming to Rensselaer, and during his young manhood was a telegraph operator. He had always kept In close touch with Kentland, where he had many friends, and he has been a subscriber to a Kentland newspaper for many years, and always read it carefully.

During his long residence in Rensselaer he has been a leading citizen, and for years was the only furniture dealer here. He had an immense stock of furniture, and enjoyed a large and profitable business. He also had considerable farm land, and managed about a section of land which his father-in-law, John Makeever, last year set aside for Mrs. Williams. In all of these matters he seemed entirely successful. He was also a member of the city council, having succeeded John McColly, whose death occurred almost two years ago. He was a regular attendant at the council and was a valuable member of that body. He was a leader In the Methodist church and an usher at the church services for many years. In every respect he was a good citizen, and a fine man, and his act is almost unbelievable to his vast number of acquaintances. Mr. Williams has one brother and one sister living. The formerr Is James J. Porter, of Cleveland, Ohio, who arrived here today to attend the funeral. His sister Is Mrs. John D. Stokes, of East Hampton, N, Y. who will be unable to come because of 111 health. ♦

Mt. Wilhiams’ Funeral Today.

From Thursday’s Dally: Rensselaer stores were doted this afternoon and all business suspended during the hours of the funeral of Jay W. Williams, which was conducted at the Methodist church. The funeral was directly in charge of the Masons, and the funeral sermon was preached by Dr. H. L. Klndlg, who as pastor of the church for the past five years has been a very close friend of Mr. Williams. The Knights of Pythias, of which he was also a member, and the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 89, to which he had long belonged, also attended the funeral in a body. We are in righ on the flour deal. For the next two weeks wo will sell our best known flour for |1.35, and our Sleepy Elye at 31.40. THE G. B. MURRAY CO.

Saturday’s Football Game With Hammond.

The high school will play Hammond Saturday and indications are that the game will be evenly matched, a thing that Rensselaer rooters like to see. The game three weeks ago with Oakwood, of West Lafayette, was a good game, but the visitors were too large, and in too good training for our lads and we were given a severe drubbing, the kind that it takes a long time to overcome. But the victory over Wolcott put the defenders of the red and black back into condition again and they were spared harsh knocks by the decision of Coach Harry Parker to use almost altogether open play. This served a double purpose; saving the boys from hard bumps and instructing them in a feature of the game that they have not been quite up in. Now they are, in very good condition for the Hammond game, which the boys have a particular desire to win and as this determination also extends to Hammond, the game should be a fine contest

Erastus Peacock Served With Notice

Deputy Sheriff Joe O’Connor “has served Erastus Peacock with the notice to show cause. If any there be, why he should not be held for indirect contempt of court because of failure to comply with an order of the court Issued about a year ago, directing him to pay to his wife for her support the sum of |7 a week, and the case Is set for hearing Friday afternoon of this week before Judge Hanley. Mr. Peacock is the railway mail clerk, who made an unsuccessful attempt to procure a divorce from his wife. He Is a head clerk in the railway service and receives an annual salary of 11500, and also a pension of |l6 a month, and he has not paid a cent toward the support of his wife since ordeied to do so by the court They had lived together for 39 years when he brought action for - divorce. The grounds that he alleged In his complaint were not substantiated and the good wife-was thoroughly vindicated by the court as she had been by the public before the trial of her husband brought her so annoyingly Into prominence.

It will be remembered that three years or more ago Peacock gave notice through the newspapers to merchants denying credit to his wife, and this action was considered most contemptible because people we e convinced that .she had never abused this privilege and, In fact, only resored to it when there was insufficient money In the home to meet the requirements of a meagrely managed home.

The public is entirely out of patience with Erastus Peacock and his dogged Indifference toward his good wife, and conditions are gradually assuming a point of hatred and animosity toward this man who could have been respected if he had shown even common decency in his treatment of his wife.

More Fires Set By Railroad.

A prairie and forest fire has been burning for two or three - days on the Lawler land west of Parr, and has burned over two sections or more, being very destructive to cord wood, forest trees and fences. Tuesday night about twenty-five men worked until 2 o’clock fighting the flames and finally got them quite under control, but they have broken out afrseh a few times since then and are being watched. The grass and timber is very dry and unless we have rain soon disastrous fires are certain to The teir.'tcry burned over west of Parr lies between the C. E. & I. railroad and the road traveled by the Fair Oaks rural mail route.

Muriate Licenses.

Nov. 16. Philip Heuson, born in Cloy county, Kans., July 28, 1886, present residence Rensselaer, occupation farmer, father’s name Nathaniel Heuson, and Katherine E. Michael, born Jasper county, Ind., July 9, 1886, present residence Remington, Ind., occupation housekeeper, father's name William F. Michael. First marriage for each.

CARD OF THANKS.

We wish to thank our many friends and neighbors tor their kindness during the sickness and death of our wife and mother. - - - J. W. SPEAKS AND FAMILY.

TUESDAYS—FRIDAYS

Celebrates 81st Birthday Anniversary.

George P. Daugherty was 81 years of age Wednesday, and his good wife prepared a fine turkey dinner In honor of the event and' the family, including the three sons and two daughters and eleven grandchildren had a most pleasant reunion. It la not- often that all the children and grandchildren can be gathered wlthl both grandparents under the samel roof, and it makes a very happy three) generation crowd when they do. *

Secures Fine Position in Montans.

Miss Orabelle Duvall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Duvall, left this Wednesday morning for Butte, Mont, where she has secured a fine position in charge of an independent library. Miss Duvall took a special course in library work at Indianapolis, which she completed some months ago, and since returning tor Rensselaer she has acted as assistant librarian to Mrs. Tillman, during the time the latter was engaged in the library index work. Her qualifications are excellent and it to very gratifying to her many friends that she has secured a good situation, although It takes her so far from home. Her brother Earl accompanied her as far as Chicago.

Found Vast Number of Gall Stones.

Joseph Nagle, whose wife was operated on at St. Elizabeth’s hospital at Lafayette last Friday, returned from there Tuesday evening, leaving Mrs. Nagle In a very satisfactory condition of Improvement from the operation. Mr. Nagle brought with him a bottle containing the gall stones which were 155 in number and many were the size of small pebbles. The operation seems to have been entirely successful, and it is thought and hoped that her health wl 1 be restored.

Funeral of S. H. Porter.

The funeral of Samuel H. Porter, who died Tuesday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. 8. 8. Shedd, was held Thursday at 12:00 o’clock at the Shedd farm residence, just east of Rensselaer. Rev. J. Carl Parrett, of .the Presbyterian church will conduct the service. Burial will be made In Weston cemeterv where his wife, who died in January, 1906, Is also buried.

Blue Rack Shooting at Parr.

On Thanksgiving day we will hold a blue rock shooting match at Parr, for turkeys, ducks and geese. A large number of shots are expected. CHAS. ROWEN, JESSE ELDRIDGE.

About thirty young single and married women are spending today at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kenton Parkison, In Barkley townchip, being the guests jointly of Mrs. Parkison and Mrs. Will Barkley. The ladles compose one of the Rensselaer sew clubs.

We are having some very beautiful weather now. The fall all along has been fine, although occasionally quite cold, but for the past three or four days and nights It has not been cold enough to freeze and yesterday and today the sun has shown brightly and the weather has be n Ideal Indian summer.

Chas. H. Porter, son-in-law of Jay W. Williams, and son of J. C. Porter, of this city, who has been living In Chicago for several years, accompanied his wife here from Chicago Tuesday evening, and after the funeral of Mr. Williams today be expects to return at once to Chicago and arrange to return to Rensselaer to live. Mrs. Porter is the only child of Mr. and Mn Williams and it is probable that Mr. Porter will have charge of his extensive business interests. Mrs. Porter has borne the misfortune of her father’s death with wonderful fortitude and has aid'd her mother in bearing the affliction. The latter is getting along very well, having come out’ from the first shock and having the assistance of her sister, Mrs. A. M. Stockton and many friends she Is braving the sorrow as well an could be expected. She was ab'e to attend the funeral this afternoon. “Uncle John’’ Makeever, father of Mra Williams is also bearing up very well. He has been quite , feeble since his accident of several wekes ago it having been much harder on hhn t an at first supposed. He will be 88 years of age on Dec. Ist. and must of course, take the very best care of himself throughout the winter moutna.

.sss "NO. 20. ,