The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1877-11-24
The COOlbaugh suicide.
.m our spee!al Correspondent.

CHICAGO, Nov. II, 1S77.-It is not often
that case of suicide-a plain, unquestioned
case, with not a shadow Of a possibility of its
being murder-causes the excitement Gre
ated by the self-murder of Mr.. William
Coolbaugh, the banker. He had been so
prominent in finance and politics, he had
been at the head of so great an institution,
and the announcement of his death came so
unexpectedly that it created an intense ex-
element. The place where he did the deed
too was apparently selected with an eye TO
dramatic effect. He shot himself on the
base ofthe Douglas monument-an unfnish-
ed structure which stands in little park in
the southern part of the city. What strange
attraction drew him there, and why he
should have blown out his brains there rath-
er than in one of a hundred other equally
lonely spots, it is hard to conjecture. 1t is
most likely that il had struck his fancy in
his ramblings, and that the very solemnity
and quiet attaching to the little enclosure
were what chiefly drew him thither That
he was insane when he killed himself is un-
questioned. As to what disturbed the bal
ance of his powerful mind, there are many
coniectures, each of which has doubtless
some truth in it. He was beginning to feel
that his mind and body were giving away.
He had intimations of paralysis, and he was
Mortified at the idea of a lame and impotent
old age. He felt his prestige slipping from
| him. He was no longer the foremost
banker-the one whose opinion on the fl
nancial matters was law. He had had
hopes of political preferment, and he saw
| himself obliged 10 renounce them. Brood
ing over his fears of physical and mental
decrepitude, he was plunged into fits of mel
ancholy, during which he lost all hope. He
was also tormented by family troubles
| There was abundant discord between the
children by the first wife and their step
mother. The latter two disliked the West
and Western people, and for that reason and
! because she was suffering from neuralgia
/ never went into society, but kept herself
shut up in her house. He was an eminent
! ly sociable man, and this CALLED him. Be
sides this, he had a brother who was sent
enced 10 the Penitentiary for mail robbery
and is still in the Arkansas State Prison
That brothers wife came here and opened
and still runs, one of the most notorious
houses of prostitution in the city. This wa!
not pleasant for him, and it, in conjunction
with the other troubles, made him occasion
ally drink more than was good for him. The
day before he killed himself he wrote a let
ter 10 his wife, which was received by he
soon after the announcement came of hi
death She did not make it publici it wa
not asked for at the inquest, and hence hi
statements as to the causes which caused hin
to kill himself will probably never be mad
public. He was insured for Sl25,000, 0
which $50 900 was in the Equitable, Of New
York, and the rest in the Charter Oak anC
Northwestern and New York Mutual
Half of his $4,000 was taken out manl
years ago, and had clause that it should b
good even in case of suicide, provided he die
not kill himself within two years, Tha
then is good, but the rest will doubtless b
contested, He was a man of wealth hi
fortune, much Of which was in bank stocks
amounting b nearly 81 900 900.