Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-01
AFRAID OF HERSELF.
A Five Months Struggle Between
Reason and Insanity.
SUCCUMBS At LAST TO HER MANIA.
The Death of Young Man Breaks a Heart
and Causes rementia.
HANGS HERSELF AT THE CITY HOME

After struggling for five months against
an insane desire to commit suicide Frances
Fonner succumbed to her dementIa and
hanged herself yesterday morning in a
bathroom at the Allegheny Poor Farm.
Every rrecaution had been taken, at the un-
fortunate woman's request, to prevent her
from committing the violent act. and since
her confinement she had obtained more
control of herself.
Upon the 25th of last January Florence
Fonner, the youngest son of the family,
died from the effects of typhoid fever. The
young man was but % years of age and was
the old mothers idol Mrs. Fonner, who
was upward of 20 years of age, was heart
broken at her sons DEATH and followed him
to the grave on the 11th Of March.
Frances, aged Al, the eldest of the chill
dren, lived with her parents at No. 189
West End avenue, and occasionally went
among the sick of the neighborhood as
nurse. She and her mother were more like
companions than parent and daughter, and
her health, which had never been strong,
was shattered by attending first her brother
and iatterly her mother
Afraid OF Committing Suicide.
Some two weeks after the death of old
Mrs. Fonner the remaining members of the
family were startled by having Frances de-
mand to be tied up or she would take her
own life. The woman was pacifed, and
no more was thought of the matter
until some few days later when the same
strange request was made. this time with
greater vehemence. From this OIL the
woman began to exhibit peculiar symptoms
and DR.. S. W. Boggs, of No. l02 Taggart street,
was called in to attend her. Tie physician
EXPIRE ssed grave doubts and treated his
patient for melancholia. She did not con-
f1de in anyone for several days but then
went to her sister Mrs. b. r. DIETRICH of No.
202 West End avenue and declared she was
con inually possessed with desire to end
her life.
"She said she heard voices at all hours Of
ns Say ana nssd sn n4 sr 10 .hs
tod q DISPATCH man of her sisters strange
cnse last night. 81 told her she should get
M ria Of the idea, but received the reply that that
that 1t was condition of diseased brain.
but Notwithstanding this, she was almost
powerless to resist the inclination to kill
found her walking up and down the room in
state of intense agitation.
Placed Under Close Surveillance.
"She threw her arms around my neck and
weeping bitterly asked me what she should
do. Everybody is asleep but me- she said,
and can do anything want to with my
self and no one can prevent me- Iquieted
her and finally put her to sleep. The next
day she insisted upon being put in some
institution where she would be under
constant surveillance and she could be
prevented from doing herself the injury she
| feared. We had an aversion to insane
asylums, and secured her admittance into
the Allegheny City Farm at Claremont.
Here she was getting along very nicely, and
we had made all arrangements to
take her into the country this week, as the
attending physician advised as much quiet
as possible and gave rs some hope for her
ultimate recovery"
Yesterday morning the woman entered
one of the bath rooms at the home and de-
liberately wrapped the lower end of roller
towl about her neck and then threw herself
down and was gradually strangled to
death. She made no outcry and
her body was not discovered
until half an hour later. The Coroner was no
tffed and will hold an inquest to-day. The
grandmother of the unfortunate woman.