Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-10-14

A Mother Murders Her Four
Children and Commits Suicide.
Our citizens were shocked yesterday morn
ing by rumor that horrible tragedy had
occurred near Grove City, village about
nine miles from this place.
A woman by the name of Christlana
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, du,
ring the absence of her husband, murdered
her four children, three girls and boy, by
throwing them into well, and afterwards
jumped in herself.
1t appears that Frederick Schilllng, the
husband, was attending a wedding party
near Grove City when the deed was com
mitted, and that the wife, Christiana Schil-
ling conveyed the children from their beds
to the well, distance of one hundred yds.
while they were asleep, and then pitched
them into it, and afterwards flung herself
in. No possible motive can be assigned
for the deed, and it is the general impres-
sion among the neighbors that Mrs. Schil-
ling was insane. Neighbors passing the
house, which is miserable log cabin. stand
ing about a quarter of mile from the
main road, say that they heard the mother
and her children singing hymn about ten
o'clock at night. The husband and father,
it seems, did not return from the wedding
party until daylight, and before that time
a lady neighbor having occasion to draw
water from the well, had discovered the
bodies of Mrs. Schilling and the four chill
dren floating on the surface. She immedi-
ately gave the alarm, and several gentle
men came to the spot and raised the moth
er and four children from the well. The
family consists of a boy named Valentine,
ten years ofage, Christiana, girl Of twelve
| years, Caroline, five years, and Augusta,
three years of age. Mrs. Schilling was
about thirty-six years of age, and was to
all appearances, an intelligent, healthy, and
handsome woman. When our reporter WIS.,
tied the house, the dead bodies of the five
unfortunate beings were laid upon two beds
in the only sleeping apartment in the cab
in, and more melancholy spectacle it has
never been our misfortune to behold. The
The children all looked healthy robust and
beautiful, and with the exception ofa slight
scar on the forehead of the boy, no marks
of violence were visible. A crowd of peo.
pie of both sexes were in the room, and
awe-stricken by the horrible catastrophe
| Columbus Statesman. ,..
The Columbus Gazette gives some par
ticuars relative to tliis singular tragedy, as
follows: a
We found Mr.. Christian Schilling-a
worthy and Industrious German, the hus
bany and father Of the lifeless woman and
children-in an adjoining room, perfectly
overwhelmed with the affliction that had
so suddenly befallen them; 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 bficI
for the masons, who were walIing up the
cellar for the new building. 1t appears
that wedding had taken place in Grow
City few days before, and the happy
couple had left money to spend on Tuesday
evening, TO purchase refreshments for theil
friends to enjoy themselves in their absense
Schilling, after hard days work, proposed
to three of his hands that they should &C
after supper, and participate in the hilarily
of the occasion.
About one o'clock Mr. Schilling return
ed home in company with bis men, and not
wishing to disturb his wife, he crept into
bed in the dark, but soon found that he
was the only occupant. Immediately upon
making this discovery, he struck light
and went into the childien's room, and
found the beds empty, but the children's
clothing upon the chairs and floor, as usual
after retiring to bed. Alarmed, he and his
men searched the stable, the out-buildings
and 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 hook attached was procured; and
the two hurried beck to the deserted home.
u pun oouHuilS thO "ch Will tuc uOOh Nuu
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 well and laid
upon the grass il front of the house.
The neighborhood was now more thor
oughly alarmed, and about q hundred per-
sons were soon congregated around the
spot. One of the neighbors went down in
to the well, and fastened the body of Mrs.
Schilling and the two remaining children
to the rope, and they were drawn up.
Mrs. Schilling, last Spring, suffered
long and serious illness, during which she
was subject to sudden fits Of arrangement,
and while laboring under the evil influence
of the disease, she threatened often SO kill
herself and the children an the gater."-
When in health she was kind hearted, in
dtstrious woman, and when last seen, on
Tuesday evening after sundown, she was
enjoying herself listening to her little child
rem singing German songs in the garden.
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