New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-05-29
AN OLD COUPLES SUICIDE.
POVERTY DROVE THEM TO THE CRIME.
THE HUSBAND TOO PROUD TO ASK AID FROM
A BENEMT SOCIETY AFTER HE WAS
ACCuSEn OLE NOT BEING Ill.


BENENr SOCIETY AFTER HE WAS
ACCUSED OF NOT BEING ILL.
After weary fight against poverty and sickness
William Breitkopf and his wife Mary. an old Ter
man couple yesterday killed themselves by taking
poison in their home the fourth floor OF the
tenement house No. 81. First-ave. A little more
than twenty years ago the two came from Ger
many to seek a living In this country. They had
no children and lived almost entirely alone.
Breitkopf at that time manufactured mechanics
hammers, commonly used by blacksmiths ior
light work This business yielded only moderate
income. vet the careful. thrifty housekeeping OF
his wife enabled him to live in tolerable comfort
for many years. With view to the needs of old
age he in 1871 joined the Theodore horner
Kranken Unterstuetzungsverein.. mutual bene-
fit society. For considerable time they lived
in the rooms wherein they sought and met their
deaths. With advancing age Breitkopfs health
began to give way and he was Obliged to give up
the manufacture of the hammers and instead tried
to sell them where he could. OF late years he had
frequently been prostrated with&rheumatism for
weeks at time and was compelled to ask relief
from the society TO which he had been a constant
subscriber for nearly twenty years. Within the
last few months he had reached his siXty-siXth
year. while his wife was seventy-one Since the
beginning of the year Breittopf has been almost
totally unable to work and has been mainly de-
pendent for existence upon the money he received
from the society His wife, faithful and devoted
to the last tried to earn few dollars by taking
in laundry work. but the weakness of old age
crippled her efforts.
Some of the officers of the benefit society had,
it seems complained of the frequency of the calls
made on them, and had suggested that Brett
kopf was shamming sickness in order to impose
on them. This asperson on his good faith and
honesty cut Breitkopf to the heart He did not
complain, but in his last sickness rosolutely
refused to touch a cent of the society money The
old people made gallant fight to live. In
spite of their struggles they lost ground
each day. Debt came upon them, and finally
on Wednesday morning they were served with
dispossess notice, signed by Judge Steck.er. Ihls
notice would have taken effect yesterday
Brctkopf was seen alive for the last time late
on Wednesday night. To the neighbors who then
spoke to him outside his rooms he said that he
was broken-hearted with sickness and poverty.
Then he climbed painfully TO his room and closed
the door. Neither man nor wife was seen again
until o'clock yesterday afternoon, when Anthony
Nussbaum. a distant relative of Breitkopf who
lives at No. Loo East FOurth-st, went to their
rooms TO ask why Mrs. Breitl<opf had not finished
some washing she nad Undertaken 1Or MS IaInlly
He knocked at the door several times, but received
no answer Then finding that the door was un-
locked, he opened it and went into the rooms.
There he saw that the shutters were down and
that an oil-lamp was still burning. Suspecting
what had happened, he hurried into the bedroom.
There he saw Bretkopf lying on the floor, while
Mrs. Breitkopf bay upon the bed. They were
dead The distortion of the faces, the convulsve
cIinchng of the hands, and the contOrted bodies,
bent almost double, told of the agony they had
suffered in diving.
on table by the bedside was bottle contain
ing a small quantity of carbolie acid. BY the
side of the bottle boXful Of the benefit So
ciety's papers. Among these papers the police
found letter dated Wednesday. 1t was as
follows:
DR.. McKleen ! am Obliged to take this step. did
not want to be burden TO you, and obge you to pay
me sick benefits. for the last time was sick |
had to hear that | not sick. have not worked
for four days. and sick now. Rather than report
sick again. l. with my wife, bid good by to the world
| have been a member Of the society since 1871.
So far hs is known, Mr.. Nussbaum is the only
relative that Breitkopf and his wife had in this
country, and it is understood that he will pro-
vide burial for them.