The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-06-22
A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY.

Some Quaint, Pathetic Notes Tell the
Sad and Terrible Story.
The Chicago papers of the Ilth give the fol-
lowing particulars of the recent terrible trage-
dy in that city;
The family lived on the second floor of a
house on FinnelI street, near Wentworth ave
nue., 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 girl-the eldest
child; in the other, which was on the opposite
side of the room, were the remains of the
mother and a boy aged seven; while in the cra-
die, in the center of the room, were two girls
-one three and half years and the other
three months old. The children were ready TO
be placed in collins, having been washed, and
had clean underclothing put them. Their
hands 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.
How 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 a journey
man baker, and works for James D. Campbell.
His hours of duty are from three p. m. to four
q. m, and he usually left home at two in the
afternoon and got back about five in the
morning When he knocked on the door at
by his wife, who had on a 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 are
all dead, and am going to die, too. Seybold
completely horriied 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 q God in
Heaven. He wouldn't because she 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 out for a physician.
Seeing a 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. In few mo-
ments DR. Moe arrived. A glance at the bodies
told him that strychnine had been adminis-
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. .SeyboId 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
mestic life was not marked by many quarrels
They had had disputes, and, according to one
neighbor, he had slapped her face. Wednes-
day Mrs. Seybold was washing, and dinner
wasn't ready when Seybold wanted it. This pro
voked him, and he "jawed' her some, and she
threw a discloth at him. Neither spoke to the
other afterwards until yesterday morning He
left home at two O'Clock Friday afternoon.
His wife started out an hour or so later and
vent to a drug store to procure some strych-
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 adj
minstered tho poison can only be
conjectured. She may have put it
into food or water. The three youngest child
rem, of course, soon died. The eldest, how.
ever, spent some time in writing to her papa
and playmates, and exhibited surprising resig-
nation. Her name Matilda and her age
twelve. She attended the Moseley School and
stood very high in her class. The longest note,
which is addressed to Mary Murphy, little
playmate who lives on the first floor of No. 81
Finnell street, was as follows:
81 viii tell you the story Of our trouble. Ny
mother was always sick, you know, and
thought of dying ofteni and thought, if she
thought it best for all of us to die at once, and
bought something 70 kin us. The babe
first, Anna second. Toney third, 1 after, and
then my mother. We do not suffer much, and
now we are all out of trouble. No pain nor
family. Good-by. Please tell Rosie Morris
take back that book I've brought home from
United States Take it Room 5 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
happier time than have had. GOOd-by-"
'MARY MURPHY: Please tell Lizzie Murphy,
forgotten their dispute and forgive them.
guess they will feel sorry for it. May they
'--'-2 y NV 0-- ''TnLIE sEYBoLD."
The following were for her father;
DEAR PAPA: Forgive us. We will have to
part from you; Mamma said it was the best
ter land, where we win all live in peace to-
gether. Farewell. Thy daughtssTH sH .~un..
"DEAR PAPA: Buy Toney a flower and An
ma one also from this money. [Some in a box.l
1t is what have saved The knife in the box
DEAR PAPA: Please let us be buried decent
~ in Wunders buryfng- ground, SO that we
shall all be together. That is all we wish Of
you"
Seybold didn' tsee these notes until they were
found by Lieutenant Shay and a 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 wifes
action he said he couldn't give any. They had
been married little over twelve years, and
lived happily as a general thing, having
:" fuss only once in a while. There was al
ways enough to eat in the house. His wife,
however. whose parents were well on, wanted
TO be rich, and he was not able TO make more
than scanty living. She had been sick, too,
for several months.
SeyboId is a Bavarian, and his wife was q
SWISS She was thirty-five years old and he is
forty-tbree. The regulations Of both were
very good in the neighborhood, and everybody
who knew Mrs. Seybold was astounded when
they learned of what she had done, and at
tributed her conduct TO insanity, for they had
noticed that she acted strangely at times,
though no one imagined then that her mind
was affected.
Coroner Matson held an inquest on the fve
bodies in the afternoon, and the jury took the
charitable view of the tragedy.
"
Chicago is talking of extending q
call to Moody and Sankey. The Elin-
isters are almost unanimous for their re-
turn, although some doubts aye ex-
pressed about the permanency Of their
work, and one divine thinks that the in
vitation . is a humiliating confession OF
the failure of the established agencies
of the church, so far as aggressive work
is concerned All agree that Chicago
was never SO wicked as at present. We
are not envious. and hope that the Chi
cagoans viii be ''saYed. .''-B Boston Globe
Mutton is made to look plumper and
fatter in New York by being blown
thaf Il the a,ar1nhfarar rmakaa an in.