The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-06-23
A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.

A TEkklBLE TkAGEDys
An Insane Mother Gives strychnine to
/ Her Four Children and then Takes the
Poison Herself-Five Dead Bodies and
Some Quaint, Pathetic Notes Tell the
Sad and Terrible Story.
The Chicago papers of the nth give the fol.
! dy in that city:
The family lived on the second floor of q
house on Finnell street, near Wentworth ave
uue, occupying two small rooms. The front
one was the kitchen and dining-rOOm and that
In the rear the sleeping apartment. In the
latter were two beds and a cradle. On the bed
in one corner was the body of grl-the eldest
child; in the other, which was on the opposite
side of the room, were the remains of the
mother and boy aged seven; while in the era.
die, in the center of the room, were two girls
-one three and q half years and the other
h ee months old. The Children were ready to
be placed in collins, having been washed, and
ad clean underclOthing pu: on them. Thei,
andS were crossed on their breasts. The
baby had an artificial flower in one hand,
while a wreath lay beside the oldest girl.
Pieces of red ribbon were affixed TO the gar
ments of all.
Row long the three youngest children had
been dead no one knows. When their father,
Casper Seybold, returned home the mother and
eldest daughter were alive. He is journey.
man baker, and works for James 3. Campbell.
His hours of duty are from three p. III. to four
a. NJ, and he usually left home ut two in the
afternoon and got back about five in the
morning. When he knocked on the door at
the customary hour yesterday it was opened
by his wife, who had on q new chemise
trimmed with lace and blue ribbon. She threw
her arms around his neck and said: Look
what have done. am sorry for it. but it is
too late now. Forgive me. The children arc
all dead, and am going to die. too. Seybold,
completely Mortified, staggered into the bed
room, where he saw the corpses of the three
little ones-TOney, Annie and Agnes. His
wife again asked him to forgive her. He said
he would not; that, if there was God in
Heaven, He wouldn't, because sho was so
wicked as to poison the children. Seybold
noticed that the Oldest daughter was still
alive, and. as his wife lay down on the bed and
began to groan, he ran out for a physician.
Seeing grOcery-keeper named Louis Martin.
who was standing in front of his store on the
opposite side of the street. he shouted to him:
''For Gods sake, go to the house, she has
poisoned the whole family" Martin hurried
over, and going to the bedroom found Mrs.
SeybOld conscious, but in great agony. She
said she thought the poison would put her to
sleep, but it gave her the cramps, and she was
suffering so that she asked him to get an ak
and kill her. She and the oldest girl and boy
were in one bed, and Martin took the girl out
and put her into the other bed. She was in
great pain and couldn't speak. Ina few mo-
ments DIR. Moe arrived. A glance at the bodies
told him that strychnine had been admins
tered, and an examination of the mother and
girl satisfied him that they could not live.
Presently Drs. Moore and Lackner came in,
and they, too, said death was inevitable. The
girl expired first, and the mother breathed
until after eight o'clock.
The confession of Mrs. Seybold explained the
cause of death, but the motive which prompted
her to murder the children and commit suicide
is not clearly understood. She had been sick
since the birth of her last child, and. as is not
at all uncommon, her mind may have been af-
fected by her illness. Her husband is a steady
man, seldom drinking heavily, and their do
nestle life was not marked by many quarrels.
They had had disputes, and according to one
neighbOr, he had slapped her face. Wednes-
day Mrs. SeybOli was washing, and dinner
wasn't ready when Sey bold wanted it. This pro
volzed him, and he ''jawcd" her some, and she
threw a discloth at him. Neither spoke to the
other afterwards until yesterday morning. He
left home Mt two o'clock Friday afternoon.
His wife started out an hour or so later and
went to a drug store to procure some st-ych-
nine. Having gotten the drug she went home,
and, judging from some notes written by the
oldest daughter, must have taken this
child into her confidence. How she cd
ministered the poison can only be
conjectured. She may have put ii
into food or water. The three youngest child
rem, of course, soon died. The eldest, how
ever, spent some me in writing to her papa
and playmates, and exhibited surprising resig
nation. Her name was Matilda and her age
twelve. She attended the Mcseley School and
stood very high in her class. The longest note
which is addressed to Mary Murphy, Il little
playmate who lives on the first floor of No. 81
Finnell street, was as follows:
twill tell you the story of cur trouble. MY
mother was always Sex, YOU know, and |
thought of dying often, and thought, If she |
was dead, how we would be treated, and so |
thought il best for all of US 10 die at once, and
bought something to kill us. The babe
then my mother. We do not suffer much, and |
now we are all out of trouble. No pain nor |
sorrow must we bear. Remember me to the |
take back that book I've brought home frO.ll |
school. 1t is no: mine. 1t is the history Of the |
United States. Take il Room to George Ca |
prom. 1t is on the lower shelf OF the closet.
Two other notes read as follows:
"This is for Mary and Nellie Murphy, my |
dear playmates. wish you a better and far |
happier time than have had. GCod-bv.
"MARY MURPHY: Please tell Lizzie Murphy, |
Minnie orion and Lizzie Reynolds that have |
forgotten their dispute snd forgive them. ] |
guess they Will feel sorry for it. May they |
think OF me as their friend.
WILLIE SEYDoLp."
The following were for her father:
DEAR PAPA: Forgive us. We will have II |
part from you. Mamma said it was the best |
that could he done. We are going into a bet
ter land, where we will all live in peace to-
gether. Farewell. Thy daughter.
"DEAR PAPA: Buy Toney flower and An
nc one also from this money. [SOme in a bOx.l |
1t is what have'saved. The knife in the box
is yours"
"DEAR PAPA: Please let us be buried decent
iy in Wunder's burying-ground, SO that we
shall all be together. That is all we wish OF
you"
Seybold didn't see these notes until they " are
found by Lieutenant Shay ard Tribune re-
porter while searching for poison. Three
were in English and three in German. When
he heard them read the tears came. and he
was beside himself, shouting: "Oh. Mary.
Mary. why did you do it," When asked by
the reporter for an explanation of his wife's
action he said he couldn't give any. They had
been married little over twe've years, and
lived happily as Il general thing, having