The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-05
DELIBERATE SUICIDE.

Her Life-Had Been Very Anxious tx
Hear From New Haven.
Essex, August 3.-The remains of Mis-!
Edwina Mason Pratt, the Hartford
school teacher, an account Of whose su.
icide was published in Wednesday,
| Times, were inferred on Wednesday
| evening. between six and seven O'clock
In the absence of the Rev. w. f
| Arms, pastor of the Congregations
| church. who is away on his vacation
the Rev. Percy Barnes. of ST. John
| Episcopal church, officiated. The SER
vices were very simple, the decomposed
condition of the body necessitating all
the haste possible in making the inter-
| ment The body was enclosed in a
sealed casket as soon as Medical Elk
aminer Granniss had completed his
| work, and was taken to Riverview GEM
! etery where the work of hurriedly dig
| ging a grave had barely been compile
! ted when the body arrived. A brief
buriel service was read and prayer was
Offered by the Rev. Mr.. Barnes.
| Miss Pratt's friends are horror-struck
| and can give no explanation of her rash
act The mystery will probably never
be solved. Miss Pratt apparently had
everything to live for. She was only
thrty-seven years old and had scores of
warm and dear friends. A special to
the Hartford Times says:
THAT it was case OF deliberate, pre-
meditated suicide, there seems scarcely
any doubt. The dead woman had re-
moved her clothing and was attired In
a nightdress. She Jay HAT on her face,
stretched full length in the bed, with
her face buried in the pillows. She had
pulled the sheet up SO that it covered
her head and face completely Under
the sheet, close by her head, was
three-ounce bottle about two thirds full
of chloroform, corked. The supposition
is that she made all her arrangements,
saturated her pillow with the liquid,
corked the bottle, drew the sheet over
her head and died.
DR.. J. H. Granniss, who viewed the
body in the afternoon, was asked II an
ounce of chloroform would kill per-
SON. He replied: We'll, under ordina-
ry circumstances l should say not, but
used in that way, yes
The Parker family with whom Miss
Pratt had been stopping for three
weeks or more We're greatly shocked
when the news of her death was
brought to them. Mrs. Parker could
give no explanation for the suicide.
She said Miss Pratt had seemed very
happy and light-hearted, and had
many plans for the future. Mrs. Par
ker had of late assisted her in making
dresses and wearing apparel of several
\ J,ho md
parently Of sound mind.
ANXIOUS TO HEAR FROM NEW
HAVEN
Miss Pratt's friends say there is one
little circumstance which may or may
not be significant. For several days
past Miss Pratt had seemed to be very
anxious to hear from New Haven"
She had spoken of it to the Parker
family. Sunday, July %, she mentioned
it to Mrs Racket, and again on that
Thursday, a week ago, she referred to it
several times, it being almost the last
thing she said before leaving her cous-
in She did not tell anyone the nature
of the message she expected, only that
if she could hear from there she might
go over" 1t is all mystery and
doubtless always will be,
Diligent search was made in her room
for any letter or paper which she might
have left to throw some light on her
terrible deed but none was found.
SHE LEFT A WILL.
1t transpires that Miss Pratt left
will dated in January, 1899, and drawn
by Judge James Phelps. Her brother,
Abram Pratt, now of Hartford, IS
named as executor. What the provi-
sions of the will are is not known at
present.
Miss Pratt when young lady attend
I'd a select school in Granny, AFTER
wards attending and receiving certit-
icate from the state Normal school IN
New Britain. She taught school In the
west, also in this, her native, town, go
ne from here to Hartford. She was
of the Center Congregational
,hurch, Hartford, joining the church by
etter from the church in this place
she was born October %, 1862 |