The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-05-19
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The Rutland Daily Globe.
MONDAY MORNING, MAY 10, 1878.
4 Terrible Suicidc--A Shocking Ca
Innity--A CuriOns CntnstrOphc.

One of The most horrible instances of sui
eide which we have ever seen recorded is
that of Richard =. Williamson, of Waynes-
ville Warren county, Ohio, which occurred
in that town last Saturday The deceased
was the eldest son of DIR. Francis William
son, of Waynesville, and had for some time
| past been living at the house of his parents
lie was somewhat peculiar but was never
! considered 20 be dpranged. or dangerous
either to himsefor to any one else indeed,
he was remarkable for his constant thought
fulness and kindness to every one. He was
an esteemed member of the Hicksite
Friends Society, and in all habits cxcmpla-
ry and proper On Saturday morning he
went out to Il neghboring farm, which he
owned but had leased, and employed him
| self in nending the fences and other trihing
jobs, nothing peculiar being remarked about
| him. During the afternoon he was seen in
an old log cabin on the place fixing up a
| sort of pen, with rails, in the large ten-foot
| fireplace. Mr.. Settles, the man who re-
| sides on the farm, remarked to Richard that
| he thought he was preparing to burn him
self up. Richards reply was "Pshaw,
| Nose, do you think me a fool?" Still,
Richard kept on with his mysterious work,
and, although his brother and Mr.. Settles
viewed him now with some anxiety, yet
they feared to excite him by asking ques-
tons or appearing to watch him. When
supper time arrived, Richard was urged to
come In to supper by Mr.. Settles, burhc
said he was going over to Mr.. Smiths to
stay all night, and that he would get his
supper there.
While in the midst of eating, it flashed
simultaneously in a torcible manner upon
the minds of Mr.. Settles and his assistant
that Richard was burning himself up in the
old log cabin. They rushed to the door,
and there, sure enough, they saw blazing
light issuing from the door of the cabin
With the utmost possible speed they ran to
the cabin, where, horror of horrors their
worst fears were but too terribly realized.
They saw a sight that almost paralyzed
them with terror. There, in that rail-pen
built in the large fireplace by his own
hands, was Richard Williamson, surrounded
with fire, and so fearully burnt and charred
that no one would have known him. He
had, 1t appears, made the fire and, entirely
nude, plunged into the flames as if about to
plunge into pleasant bath. He was taken
from the fire with difficulty, by means of
chain in the hands of Mr.. Settles, and, on
Sunday morning, the remains were placed
in coffin and brought to his parents home
These facts, which we gather from the
Miami Gazette, are almost without prece-
dent. Why young Williamson should have
deliberately chosen such a horrible means
of ending an existence which, he had before
remarked, had no charms for him, can only
be accounted for by the idea that he must
have entertained a conviction that he was
required to make a sacrifice of himself, and,
by frequent meditations on the deed and the
means, he had wrought himself up into an
ecstacy of fanaticism on the subject, so IA
tally carried out. The Gazette says that
he was but twenty-eight years of age, and
was esteemed by all as an upright man, and
among those who knew him most intimately
and well his qualities of mind and heart
made him an object of warm affection