The herald., 1896-12-12
DEAD BY THE HAND
OF HER DAUGHTER
Hattie Cooper Turns on
the Gas
MOTHER AND CHILD DE together
As the Young Woman Had De-
liberateIy Determined
A LONG AND USEFUL LIFE
Is Ended by the Act Of One We'll Be.
A LONG AND USEFUL LIFE
Is Ended BY the Act Of One We'll Be.
loved
No Doubt Is Expressed or Felt Of the Daugh'
ter's Insanity
For Nearly Thirty Years Sarah B..
Cooper Had Been Foremost in Re-
ligious, Philanthropic and Edu-
cational Work In California.
Associated Press Special Wire

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 1.-THE
death by asphyxiation of Mrs Sarah b.
Cooper and her daughter Harriet this
morning has produced a profound SEN
sation in this city. No woman in San
Francisco or on the entire Pacific
coast was so prominent as Mrs. Cooper,
who had devoted her life to religious AMI
philanthropic work and was actively
connected with every reform movement
She was cousin of Colonel Robert III
gersoll, with whom. despite their oppo-
site religious views, she maintained
warm friendship. The mother and
daughter were found lying dead in the
same bed about 9 o'clock by their Chinese
servant Miss Cooper had wrapped the
clothes carefully about her, but Mrs
Cooper had evidently attempted to rise
when she detected the escaping gas and
was too much overcome to leave the
bed. Two gas jets were turned on full
and. all the windows and doors were
carefully closed
The coroner and police detectives
made a careful examination of the room
and concluded that while her mother
slept Miss Cooper had risen, turned on
the gas jets, closed the doors and WIN
dows and then calmly returned to bed.
The officials are convinced that it was
a case of matricide and suicide.
DIR. Worth the family physician,
states that Miss Cooper had been suf-
fering for months from melancholia,
with homicidal and suicidal tendencies.
Her father committed suicide ten years
ago, and two cousins. nephews of her
father, also committed suicide. Harriet
Cooper had made several previous at
tempts to end her life, once at
tempting to jump from a ferry boa.
and several times announcing to her
mother that "she longed to turn on the
gas at night so that she and her mother
could pass away together" Mrs. Cooper
concealed her daughters condition from
all except few intimate friends, and
had arranged to take her daughter east
soon to place her in the care ofrelatives,
hoping the change might restore her
health.
Harriet left note to the coroner re-
questing that the bodies might not be
removed to the morgue. At first the cor
oner refused to accede to the request,
but through the intercession of many
friends, the corpses were allowed to re-
pose side by side in the death chamber.
Mrs. Cooper's will, dated two months
ago. refers to the probability of her
early demise and also alludes to the pos
sble death of her daughter All her
bequests are made with the idea that
her daughter would not survive her, as
If she anticipated double death.
Mrs. Cooper has for many years been
at the head of the free kindergarten
system In this city. while her daughter
has been her secretary and deputy sup
erintendent of the kindergarten schools.
The Coopers were prominent in the pros
ecution of Rev. c. o. Brown in the ia
nous trial In the First Congregational
church, when Dr. Brown was accused of
immortality with Miss Matte Overma-l.
Many Of the Brown faction bitterly de-
nounced Mrs. Cooper, and more espec-
tally Miss Cooper for their action in
joining the ranks of Browns opponents.
Mrs. Cooper had been Browns assistant
pastor and taught an adult Bible class
with an average attendance of 400
After the trial the Bible class was COR
Quoted for time in an outside hail. ami
many Of the Cooper's former friends be
came estranged. This developed mel
ancholia in Miss Cooper and caused Mrs.
public undertakings.
Mrs. Cooper was born in New York
sixty-four years ago, and before the war
was prominent advocate of abolition.
She was in Memphis during a smallpox
epidemic, and did effective work as a
volunteer nurse. Two Of her children
died during the epidemic. She and her
husband worked as instructors to the
freedmen after the war. and came to San
Francisco in 1870 founding the kinder.
garten system in this state. She was
prominent as director of the Associ.
ated Charities was at one time president
of the Pacific Coast Woman's Press as
sociati tion, tie Woman's Suffrage asso-
ciation and the Woman's Christian
Temperance union. For twenty years
she has been a contributor to the press,
part of the time being engaged as an
editorial writer on a local paper She
was especially prominent in the Congre-
gational churches of the state as dele
gate to conferences and. eften occupied
the pulpits of churches Of that denom-
ination. She organized new congreea-
ton and built a new church in an out
side district few months ago.
BROWN DISAPPEARS
DUBUQUE. IA, Dec. u.-Rev c. o.
n( Go I'll NH