The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-07-24
AN AWFUL DEED.
A Mother Stays Her Children and Then
Herself.
An AnectiOnate Letter Tells The Sad
and Sickening Story.

An AIectiOnate Letter Tells The Sad
| and Sickening Story.
Mrs. Pattie Lochridge, wife of Tom
| Lochridge, shot her three child en-
and herself about o'clock last Sum
day afternoon at her home, three
miles southeast of Spring Hill, in
this County.
Mrs. Lochridge was 80 years of age,
her eldest child years old, the sec
| ond 8 years old and the third 4
months old.
The awful deed was done with a
double barreled breech-loading shot
gun.
After dinner Mr.. Lochridge went to
church, leaving his home in its usual
state Of quietness. His wife had been
complaining for some time past, but
on that particular afternoon she was
no worse than she had been during
the week past. The children were
playing around as usual, and there
was not the slightest hint of the
frightful tragedy so soon to be en-
acted.
About o'clock he returned to the
pleasant little home he had left, and
found the frvnt door locked. This
seemed strange to him, but conc:ud-
hing his wife had gone off on visit he
enter by the back door. This, too,
was locked, and he was compelled to
force a window sash in order to gain
an entrance. .a -s. ~.
He had never known his wife to 80
securely fasten the house, and as he
climbed through the window o
strange feeling OF impending evil
came over him, Not, however, until
he had gone into the living room, the
pIace where he had spent so many
pleasant hours, did the full meaning
of the sealed doors and windows burst
upon him.
ranged lay his three darling children
dead. And across the room with
her feet turned to theirs was his
wife, their mother, cold In the grasp
of the grim destroyer. A double
barrelled breech-lOading shotgun, his
companion on many jolly hunt, lay
between them.
AS near as can be learned from
the surroundings, Mrs. Lochridge had
drawn up her children's clothes, one
by one, placed the gun against their
hearts, and fired. Then she placed
them side by side on pallet which
she had made for the purpose, and ar
ranged their dresses neatly about
them.
Standing at their feet, and probably
gazing down upon them, the dis
tracted mother placed the muZZle Of
the gun at her own heart and sent
her own soul to follow her children.
After killing the first two, she must
have reloaded the gun, and that she
did it, shows that she was at least
partly calm. How she pulled the
trigger when the gun was against her
own breast is mystery, uuless she
did it with a stick held in her hanh
or vvith her foot.
1t thought the woman poisoned
or ch. NrofOrmed both herself and the
childre before she used the gun. In
the letter, given in full below, she
refers to pain in her side, and be-
sides it would have been difficult to
have killed the little things while
wide awake.
The following letter was found In
| the room with the murdered and the
/ suicide:
| July 10, IS91.-Dear Tom: know
you will be shocked when you get
back and find what / have done.
This is not my first attempt. l took
| forty drops of laudanum at one time
and sixty at another, before 1 was
married and failed to accomplish my
purpose, but think 1 will succeed
| this time. If Eunice had been al
home last Sunday evening this deed
| would have been committed then, but
she had gone TO church. / could not
bear to leave her behind. / do wish
| you could go with us. But for you ]
would gladly, gladly give up all and
| go home to heaven. L sOmetines feel
that / am a terrible sinner, but now
[ feel that the good Lord is waiting
1 l., \ 20 oil
and our little ones in. And what q
relief it would be to know before &c
that you could go with us. Tom, you
have been too good to me. You have
| kept your marriage vows so mu, n
| more perfect than / have, but you
know that my health is bad now.
have been in q very bad state of mind
/ some time. I feel that am tired OI
life and must go. You will find all
your receipts and deeds and papers oi
all kinds relating to your business In
a wooden box in the west room at the
head of the bed. / want you to have
the ring. 1t will cause you to thinf
4 of me My last request is for Mr.
j Thomuson to preach my funeral; hs
knows me better than Mr.. Sullivan
Ny side hurts SO bad will have tc
quit writing. Goodbye.
| You will find all of our buria
clothes in the west room on the bed
Let Berda and Rosa divide my clothes
aud the children between ma anC
Matthew and Mrs. Chimney, Minnie
Berda, Rosa and Parlie, just as they
think best. You will have no use 70
them now. Berda and Rosa may
have all my jewelry except the rint
you gave me. PATTIE.
Mrs. Lochridge was q sister OF J. ]
Odil, the well-knOwn produce mer
chant of Nashville. He said that hi
sister had been in bad health for
long time, and that he supposed he
mind must have become affected, ant
that IN a fit of insanity she committed
the terrible deed. There is no in
sanity in the family, however, ant
her act is supposed to have been thu
direct result of disease.
Mr.. Odil said that she was a timiC
gentle girl in her disposition, AM
would never commit wrong deed
she knew it. Her husband Mr.. Ton
Iochridge is well-tO-do farmer liv
ing about two miles from Spring Hill
He is a man of good character AM
understanding, and his family aiway
had everything that was necessary
for their comfort.
English SPAWN Eminent remove
all hard, soft or callOused Jumps ant
blemishes from horses, blood SPAWN
curbs, splints, ring bone, sweeney
stiles, sprains, sore and swollel
throat, coughs, etc. Save $50 by US
of one bottle. Warranted the mos
wonderful blemish cure ever known
Sold by Rains & Son. aptil17 ly
Talk VS.. Facts.
Fort Worth Gazette: The weak
ness of the Farmers Alliance in poll
ties is evidenced by the outcome @
the political contest in Mississippi
/ They started out to beat Senate
George, and made their boasts ths
they would "hang his hide on TIN
fence" George met them before tn
| frn