Sharp County record., 1877-12-14
The Suicide of William f. COONm

liam F. Coolbaugh by his own ba,iE
saws the Chicago Tribune, has cas- /
Gloom over the whole city, and will N
casion a feeling of profound regret III
sadness in the business circles Of n
East and West, in which he was W.
known, formerly, as a leading mercb,t
and for many years a great bank
The unexpectedness of the event NJ
added to the force of the shock. ESE
question had been asked of any III
dent of Chicago which one of her pron}
nent citizens would be likely to endF
life by suicide on the morrow, Wilst
! F, Coolbaugh would have been almoI
the last to be selected. Apparently /
had every thing about him to makel
agreeable and worth living for. NJ
had hosts of warm friends. His seri
nature had made him widely esteemsI
He had amassed a large fortune byml
orable means, and lived in the midst /
all the luxuries that wealth can procnI
He was at the head of powerful, II
vent, influential banking institution. Rb
children were comfortably settledinHb
Passionately fond of field sports, he b
a robustness Of physiqae which enaT
him to enjoy them. Fond of good IyaI !
he was able to crafty his tastes, I'll
sessing many friends, his natural gs /
erositY made him q most hospitableab i
tertainer. Thus situated, living in /
palatial residence, and surrounded /
all the pleasant things that culture a
suggest and wealth procure-in omi
tai instant of time he ends it all, all
passes from the pleasures and hopes
life into the gloomy and solemn shai /
of the dead.
The incidents of his career may
, briefly told. He was born in 1921
Pike County, PENNSYLVANIA, and We
; into mercantile business for himself
soon as he came of age. From 1921
, 1850 he was a successful mercham
Burlington, Iowa, but in the latter
, retired from mercantile business
+ ORGANIZED the banking-hOnse of CqI
bangh & Brooks. Twelve years later
: removed to Chicago and established
banking-house of Coolbaugh & a
= which in February, 1865, became
| Union National Bank, with himsl
: President. Upon the organization
+ the Clearinghouse he was made
a President, and was also President
S the National Bankers Association |
the West and Southwest. Mr.. Cd
l. baugh had also occupied important
n litical positions. He was aPpOilI
d Loan Agent by the first General ASd
y bly, of Iowa, negotiated
, first loans ever made by \
IS State, and directed the issue Of!
j first bonds. He was Douglas De|
r crat during the eventful career Of !
N Illinois statesman, and voted for
5ok from first 4to last ,inEhS Baltimore
az venuon. rOr eight years he VS.!
d member of the Iowa Senate. Ini
r he was delegate in the DemOcr
d Convention at Cincinnati, and voted
,e Buchanan and Breckenridge, but 4
ing the war, like the other DOus
a Democrats, he gave Mr.. Lincoln andI
d Government his hearty support
d though not taking a thoroughly ac1
e part in politics, his name had beenn|
e toned in connection with the Unl
l. States Senate. If Tilden had been e|
o ed, there is reason to believe that
n would have been offered the Treas
s portfolio. He was a leading memOal
the Illinois Constitutional Convent
and largely, if not chiefly, to his eli
in that body is due the important
vision limiting the issuing of bonds
e incurring municipal indebtedness IN
-, ~ cess of 3 per cent. on the taxable VI
20 o; property.
s. With his career since he has been
lft Chicago the public is already so lamI| ia
u that we need not refer to it. he
~ been twice married-tirst in 1874
III daughter of Judge Brown, OF he1'q1
>, and in 1864 to daughter OF u Il
=, " Reeve, of Newburg, N. Y, by eacl|
10 H whom he has had three children
y III his religious beliefs his opinions VI
l .a not sufficiently settled to lead nlu|
w. u, identify himself with any partlc.ulal
~ nomination, although he was qul'S \
- lar in church-attendance.
~ ~ In cases of this kind, especially wa
~ :, the victim of suicide is a promlnV.l'
~ ~ son, the first question that SpflaSl
80 >, the lips is, Why did he DO 1t! II
70 70 curiosity so natural that it may ST1
% be said to be born of sympathy
=. 20 first conjecture in Mr.. CoolbauS,a!ss S,!s.
io o would be that some financial dllp
80 80 had occasioned it. Such, hoWe,S|
10 10 not the case. The Union NatlonaLD
S'' a is perfectly solvent, with heass
" " in cash and a large amount OF eM.' M
~ ~ paper in it's vaults, and his PTlVa"l
" ~ fairs are not embarrassed. lheLs
~ ~ nothing in his worldly business n'
W. W. to tempt him to commit suicide
rd r,oor
IT. Do,,oo,oto DJooL CIOth III