Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-05-22

The little girls attending the third
grade in the Jefferson public school
building in the southern section of the
city OF Washington, were standing in
the aisles of the school-room at 3 o'clock
o}n.the afternoon of the 18th, about to bid
the school goodbye until next day,
when their teacher, Mrs. Sarah T..
Allen, was fatally shot in their presence
by her worthless husband, who then
killed himself. Allen had been sup
ported by the earnings of his wife as a
school teacher until some time ago,
when she left him on account of his dis.
sipated habits and frequent abuse and
violence. He has ANNOYED and threat
ened her several times since she re-
fused to have anything more to do with
him., and she had been warned very
recently to beware Of him.
On Friday Allen hired a cab on
pennsylvania Avenue, and after stop
ping at a saloon, told the driver he
wanted to go to the Jefferson school
building. Arriving there he babe the
driver wait for him, and Immediately
went to the room where his wife taught,
and taking out his revolver, a small
sized British bulldog of 32-calibre, in
the cloak room, advanced toward his
W1ie's desk. The children were the first
to see him, and when they showed
how startled they were at his APP
pearance he called on them not to make
any noise OF he would shoot. Mrs.
Aliens attention had meanwhile been
attracted and she started to move. but
her husband by this time was upon her,
and saying "Now I've got you where [
want you," be fired at close range, the
ball taking effect near the right ear and
passing through the head. He then
turned the pistol on himself and in
ficted a fatal wound, the bullet entering
the right temple and passing through
the brain. The murdered wife and the
suicide fell together on the school-room
floor, his arm about her neck and the
revolver lying on her cheek.
The startled, terror-stricken children
almost created a panic, but some of the
more collected of them ran for other
teachers, who succeeded in restoring
order. Police and physicians were
summoned, who did eve rything posi-
free from pain. She fingered only semi
conscious for some time, and then
passed away. Her husband expired a
few minutes after the arrival of the
police.
Mrs. Aliens maiden name was John
son. Her fathar, r. w. Johnson, is an
old and well-known resident of the
city. About thirteen years ago. against
the advice of her family and friends,
she married Oswald G. Allen, who came
from Charlottesville, Va. He was known
as a worthless, INDECENT fellow with no
trade or livelihood, but the murdered
woman seemed to be infatuated with
him. The marriage was an unhap-
by one, and Mrs. Allen frequent
ly said that the only bless
ing resulting from it was the fact that
no children were born to them. She
was a good teacher and was retained in
the public schools Notwithstanding her
marriage and her husbands drunken and
vicious habits. She supported her hus-
band until his abuse became intoler-
able, when she left him. He has often
been sent to the workhouse for vagran-
cy, and since he came into the posses
sion of a few hundred dollars q short
time ago has been almost constantly in
the hands of the police for drunken
ness.