| | 1859 |
Considerable surprise, and not less regret, was caused among every class of the inhabbitants on Monday, by the news that Mr. Beattie a medical gentlemen, long resident in the place, had poisoned himself by taking a large quantity of Prussic acid. The deceased was under 40 years of age, and no cause for the act can be given by his relatives and friends, except a depression of spirits which they had witnessed in him during the last six months. An inquest was held the next day, and the following witnesses called - Sarah Carswell, of Elham, said that she was in the ser-vice of deceased as allworks, and had been so for seven years. He dined at about one o'clock yesterday morning. Miss Godden and the wife of the deceased dined with him, and witness waited upon them. She did not observe anything particularly strange in his conduct. He seemed perfectly well at dinner, and had not been ill to her knowledge. At about half-past one she removed the dining-things, and she believed that deceased then left the house. About three o'clock she went into the dining-room, and saw the deceased lying on the sofa in the state in which the jury had just viewed his body. He was then breathing very short, and he died at twenty minutes before four, but she did not know from what cause. He had seemed to her very low for the last few days. Mary Godden, of Bristol, in Somerset, said she had been staying at the house of the deceased for the last two or three months, and during the whole of that time he had seemed to her very dejected and melancholy, he took but little dinner yesterday, and complained of a swimming in his head. He had told witness and his wife that he feared he should have a fit. Mr. D. S. Cresswell, of Elham, assistant to the late deceased, said that he had been in his service for the last ten years. Yesterday afternoon he went into his house at about three in the afternoon, and found deceased lying on the sofa in the drawing-room, breathless and pulseless. He found the bottle now produced under the head of the said sofa. Last Saturday it contained an ounce and a half of diluted Prussic acid. From the appearance of the deceased, and other circumstances, he was led to believe that lie died by taking that poison. For the last six months deceased bad been at times very low and melancholy. The jury retained a verdict of "Temporary Insanity."
Kentish Gazette 1st February 1859
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| | 1875 |
Death of wife Emma
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