The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-09-30
A Mother Murders her Four Chill.
dren md Comm its Suicide!

Orch uuO COhnhultS SuCtOei
Our citizens were shocked yesterday
morning by a Tumor that a horrible tragedy
had occurred near Grove City, village nine
miles from this place.
A woman by the name OF ChristiaDa
Schilling, residing with her husband about
half mile from the village Of Grove City,
Jackson Township, in this county, yester-
day morning, about one or two O'Clock, dur.
ing the absence OF her husband, murdered
her four children, three girls and boy, by
throwing them into well, and afterwards
jumping in herself.
It appears that Frederick Schilling, the
husband was attending wedding party near
Grove City when the deed was committed,
and that the wife, Christiana Schilling con-
veyed the children from their beds to the
we'll, distance Of one hundred yards, while
they were asleep, and then pitched them in
to it, and afterwards flung herself in. No
possible motive can be assigned for the deed,
and it ia the general impression among the
neighbors that Mrs. Schillng was insane.
Neighbors passing the house, which is mis-
erable log cabin, standing about quarter
of mile from the main road, say that they
heard the mother and her children singing a
hymn about ten O'Clock at night The hus-
band and father, it seems, did not return
from the wedding party until daylight, and
before that time lady neighbor having oc.
casion to draw water from the well, had dis
covered the bodies of Mrs. Schilling and the
four children floating on the surface. She
Immediately gave the alarm, and several
gentlemen came to the spot and raised the
mother and four children from the well.
The family consists Of boy named Valen-
tine, ten years of age, Christina, girl of
twelve years, Caroline, five years, and AO
gusta, three years Of oge. Mrs. SchilIing
was about thirty-six years of age, and was
to all appearances, an intelligent, healthy,
and handsome woman When our reporter
visited the house, the dead bodies OF the five
unfortunate beings were laid upon two beds
in the only sleeping apartment in the cabin,
and more melancholy spectacle it has ne.
yer been our misfortune to behold. The
children all looked healthy, robust and beau
tiful, and with the exception of slight scar
on the forehead of the boy, no marks OF Vio'
lence were visible. A crowd OF people ol
both sexes were in the room, all awe'strick.
en- by the horrible catastrophe Columbus
Statesman.
The Columbus Gazette gives some parti'
cuars relative TO this singular tragedy, as
follows:
We found Mr.. Christian Schilling-t
worthy and Industrious German, the hus
band and father Of the lfeless woman and
children-in an adjoining room. perfectly
overwhelmed with the affliction that had Sc
suddenly befallen him and from him We
gathered the following particulars, which
may be confidently relied upon.
The day before the dreadful occurrence
himself, his wife, and one or two of hi
children, were hard at work handing bricl
for the masons, who were walling up the
cellar for the new building. Itappears thai
a wedding had taken place in Grove City &
few days before, and the happy couple hat
left money to spend on Tuesday evening, tc
purchase refreshments for their friends tt
enioy themselves in their absence. Schill
ing after a hard days work, proposed tc
three of his hands that they should go alte
supper and participate in the hilarty of the
occasion.
About one o'clock Mr.. Schilling returned
home in company with his men, and mo-
wishing to disturb his wife, he crept into
bed in the dark, but soon found that he was
the only occupant. Immediately upon max
ing this discovery, he struck a light and
went into the children's room and found the
beds empty, but the children's clothing up
on the chairs and floor, as usual after retir
inc to bed. Alarmed, he and his mer
searched the stable, and out buildings ant
the fields, but in vain. The terrible thought
then flashed upon him that perhaps they
might be in the well, and expressing his
fears to his neighbors, clothes line with Q
hook attached was procured; and the two
hurried back to the deserted home.
Upon sounding the we'll with the hook
and line, the oldest child, girl ten years
old, and the next youngest, girl five years
old, were drawn up, locked together in close
embrace, to the top of the we'll and laid up
on the grass in front of the house.
The neighborhood was now more tho
roughly alarmed, and about hundred per
sons were soon congregated around the spot
One of the neighbors went down into th'
we'll, and fastened the body of Mrs. Schill
ing and the two remaining children to the
rope, and they were drawn up.
Mrs. Schlling, last spring, suffered I
long and serious illness, during which sh'
was subject to sudden fits Of arrangement
and while laboring under the evil influence
of the disease, she threatened often "to XII
herself and the children in the ,cater." Whel
in health she was kind hearted, industri
GUS woman, and when last seen, on Tues
day evening after sundown she was enjoy
ing herself listening to her little children
singing German songs in the garden.