Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-09-17
SUICIDE ON A GRAVE.
A YOUNG WHITE MAN KILLS HIMSELF
AT okKWOOD CEMETERY.
lie Leaves a Note Declaring that He Was
Not Insane and Money to Pay
Burial Expenses.

Tho dead body Of q young white man was
found on a grave at Oakwood yesterday
morning at II o'clock.
His faco was clcan-shaven and comely,
his dress tidv. and his general appearance
prcposscssing. His head lay upon his der
bv hat. which rested upon a mound raised
over the last resting-place Of a colored
lunatic. Clonched in his right hand was
pistol. and over the right ear was a great,
gaping wound.
TIE DISCOVERY.
Tom Green. 4 colored laboror employed
in tho cemetery. made the discovery OF the
body.
mines have eprungup and clustered about
the graves Of pauper and lunatic dead.
Tom no sooner ascertaIncd that the man
was dead than he went 10 Keeper W; A.
Dickinson and notified him. Mr.. Dickln-
son sent word 10 Coroner Taylor, who re-
piled that the body was out OF hls Jurls7,
diction: that the county authorizes should
be notified.
This Mr.. Dickinson did with the prompt
ness characteristic Of him.
In the evening Justice Jonathon and Dr.
Tancill (both colored) held an inquest.
Mr.. Bernard Bricl was foreman OF the jury
THE BODY.
Deceased appeared TO be ahout twenty
ivevcars Of age. His height was about
five feet ten or eleven inches. He wore no
beard AT all. His hair IS dark-brown. Inc
forehead is broad, the cbeek-bOnes heavy,
and the chin long and narrow.
That he was not laboring man IS SHOWN
bv the sOftness and whiteness OF ms hands.
There were no marks on ms person OF
- & j. arD alf
probably contained his initials. he had cut
of
one Of his upper teeth was gone,
Some porsous who saw the body think
deceased was Of German extraction.
The spot where the body was found is
about three hundred yards east oil the
keepers house and at the foot OF the NIL
DRESS.
The dress Of deceased was tidy but not
costly. His hat was a brown derby. fhs
coat and vest were Ot black diagonal ana
his trousers were striped with black ana
gray.
INQUEST.
There were only three witnesses exam
incd at the Coroner's nquest-Alr Mllllaih
Scharf. Oalkwood avenue, Keeper Dlcklh-
son, and Thomas Green.
\
Sunday evening he saw man whom ne be,
Leved to be deceased entering cemetery.
Mr.. Dickinson testified that about o..
o'clock Sunday evening he heard shot.
A person IN his presence remarked tnht
someone was hunting. He eromembered that
he said no that IT was pistol shot; u
was in the direction of the eastern hlnl'7
of the grounds. fn.
body. e1
Tie pistol was produced. II was found
so tipIflv praspcd in the hands oi de-
ceased that il was hard 10 get IT away. n
was a chcap new 32-callhre, nranu'u
"Younr America double action" -Four
chambers were still loaded.
A AsfrssAGE FRoM THE DEAD.
In ono of the deceased's ycst-pockets was
fnund a note written on coarse. brown pa
per. in fair. legible hand, as follows;
Life is an awful burden TO me, des'i-
tutc of friends and full of troubles. ! am
not insane. as some people say. SuihciohI
money will be found on my person 10 give
me Christian burial
In the same pocket with t.ns noie Were
found three ton-dollar bills and sixty
cents in coin
0is pockct-book, a substantial leather
one, was found in another pocket lie ha,'
on plain silver watch. probably worn,
SO. worn with "A common gold-WaShed
chain. lie had also small pOcket-knite.
The VERDICT.
After viewing the ground and the body
and hearing the witnesses the jury agreed
upon a verdict that the unknown deceased
came TO his death by plstol-shot wound
inflicted by his own hand"
The body was placed ina coffin and taken
to the dcad-housc. where it Will be held to-
dav. at least. for identification.
No doubt when burial becomes neces-
sary. if identification has not BY that time
taken place, the authorities will strip the
body Of it's clothes and keep them for PM
lie inspection, the better TO aid those Who
may seek to identify the deceased.