Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-08-23

SADSUICIDE.-Tne entire community
was startled about half-past nine O'Clock
this morning when the announcement
was made that Mr.. F. A. Reed, one o.
the most prominent citizens of Alex
sndria, had committed suicide by
shooting himself in the head. The
startling fact WAS in a few minutes
time telephoned from one end of the
CITY to the other, and a crowd of people
gathered in front of his residence, on
Prince street, between st. Asaph and
Washington. Mr.. Reed arose as usual
this morning, ate his breakfast and
walked to his Office on the Strand.
opened his mail, transacted some bust
ness and returned home in a depressed
mood, his manner being of such a ma
ture as to cause his wife some appre-
hension. She sent her niece into DR..
Klipstein's Office, next door, for the
purpose OF procuring his immediate
attendance. Upon the niece's return
Mrs. Reed was horrihed to hear q pis-
toll shot in her husbands bed room.
Upon proceeding thither she found him
living on q couch with q bullet hole in
his head and unconscious. DR.. Kip
stein was hastily summoned, but upon
making an examination the physician
saw Mr. Reed had made q wound with
his pistol which would surely accom-
piish the purpose for which it YVES in
tended. He had placed the muzzle
behind his right a and the
ball had entered there and al
most passed out at the left tenn
ple, the bone of which was broken.
He was then apparently dying and be-
yond human aid. The crowd grew
larger about the house, and many of
AR. Reeds most intimate friends en-
tered and looked sadly upon him as
his life gradually ebbed away. DR..
Smith and other physicians were also
called in, but they merely corroborated
DR.. Klipstein's diagnosis and decided
to make no attempt to extract the ball,
such q procedure being useless. In
half an hours time his hands began to
grow cold, but he fingered until half
past two o'clock this afternoon,
when he ceased to breathe. The
real cause of Mr.. Reeds rash
act will probably never be known,
although various theories are adj
vanced, some %attributing it to business
anxieties and worries and others to the
fact that two of his most intimate ac-
ouaintances had died quite unexpected
" recently and that their sudden call
had had q depressing effect upon him,
&c was only last Saturday that he at
tended the funeral of the late D. w.
Holden, with whom he had been init
mately associated in the management
of the Mount Vernon Railway, and the
sudden and almost unexpected death
of that gentleman, it is believed, had
cast MIR. Reed into gloomy reveries.
The deceased was probably n of the
most prominent of our business men,
being President of the Board of TRAD 9
and actiye and practical in every move
ment calculated to advance Alexan-
dria's mercantile interests. He was
born heal Boston nearly sixty years
ago and came to this city about 1856
being at that time q clerk in Capt. M.
Eldridge's commission house. Later
he married Miss Eldridge, q sis
ter of his employer, and subse-
quently he became his partner,
the firm name of the house being M.
Eldridge & Co. This firm for a long
time was one of the most prominent on
the Strand, it having the agencies ofthe
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Norfolk steamers besides being the larg-
est ice dealers in this part of Virginia.
About twenty-five years ago the firm
was dissolved, by reason of business
troubles, and since that time MI. Reed
had conducted the house. The de-
ceased was possessed of much mental
energy as we'll as business instincts,
and he was q man Of considerable in
telligence, having been an omniverous
reader in his time, and being somewhat
fluent he was q genial companion in
any company. During his younger
days his thoughts were concentrated
mostly on religious subjects and he was
one of the most prominent and usefl ]
members Of the old First Presbyterian
Church, he being one of the officers and
a Sunday school teacher. he was also
one of the brightest and most promi-
nent Masons in the State, having made
the symbols, ceremonies and history OF
the craft a study. He was Master OF
Andrew Jackson Lodge of this city as
far back as 1868, and was Past Grand
Eminent Commander of knights Tenn
plar of the State at the time of his
death, as we'll as Senior Warden of the
Grand Lodge. In 1869 he was Q
member of the Common Council
of this city. Upon the building Of
the Mount Vernon Electric Railway in
1892 Mr.. Reed became superintendent,
which position he held for about a year.
During this time and previously cleo.
tricity engrossed much of his thought
and he was much impressed with the
possibilities of the new power. Oflate
however, his more intimate friends
could not help noticing that some o
his movements were calculated to at
tract attention. He often suffered from
depression and did not seem to mani
fest the business activity characterist:'
of him in former years. Yet none o
them for one moment dreamed ne eve
entertained the remotest idea OF taxing
his w life. His action this morning
however, seemed to have been deliber
ate and premeditated and doubtless tn
result of the gloomy reveries in which
ne had for some time INDUCED. 1t ]
thought by many that his business care!
and labors had caused mental troubles
and that when he shot himself ne wa
in an irresponsible condition. It is sal!
he walked the floor all last night Will