Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-03-30
fl TRHGI6 DEHTH.
Widow of the late DR..
Strong dies from
ChlOrOfOrm an
aeSfheSia.

Another tragedy has been added to
the long list of mournful events that
have shocked the sensibilities of the
citizens of Lancaster during the last
fourteen months. Mrs. Lucy P.
| Strong, widow of the late DIR. Z. +.
Strong died Sunday morning last at
her home in this city from the effects
of breathing the fumes of chloroform,
the drug being administered by her
own hand.
Herald readers will recall the tragic
death of DR.. Strong which occurred
December thirteenth. The death of
Mrs Strong under circumstances
similar in some respects to those sur
rounding Mr.. Strong's demise, is
greater shock if possible, to the people
OF Lancaster that of the husbands sad
ending.
Since the death of her husband,
Mrs Strong has lived at her residence
in this city with her small children.
During part of the time her husbands
parents, Capt. Strong and wife have
been with her and part of the time
she has been alone. Two weeks after
| the doctors death the oldest son. lad
about eight years OF age, had his leg
broken by being been run over by a
team while coasting on the street.
Since that time this boy has lived with
his grandparents while the other two
children, one baby girl and the other
boy of five years. remained with
their mother
1t has been the habit of Capt. Strong
to do the chores and rough work about
the premises and to assist Mrs Strong
in the care of the children both morn
ing and evening. He would come in
the mornings about seven O'Clock
| feed the horse and COW,
give a signal at the door or window
understood by the family and would
usually be admitted by the little boy,
Harry. He would build the fires and
help care for the children while Mrs
Strong prepared the breakfast.
Mr.. Strong came last Sunday morn
ing as usual He did the necessary
work ut the barn. came to the house
and was admitted by Harry, who
slept alone upstairs but who had awak-
ened and come down stairs before this.
The baby was in her carrrige in the
sitting room adjoining the room in
which she and her mother slept as
though she had just been placed there
for Mr.. Strong to care for. Both OF
the children were fretting. the boy
complaining of being cold. Mr.. Strong
glanced through the partly open door
and noticed Mrs. Strong lying on her
cot or bed and presumed she was try
ing to get little extra sleep or rest
by taking a second morning nap as
she frequently did. He therefore set
the fires agoing and took care of the
children for sometime, perhaps thirty
minutes. Harry then began to call
for his breakfast and MIR. Strong went
to the bedroom door to call the moth
err He discovered her lying perfect
" still with her head hid and COM
ple.ely covered with the pillow and
bedding His heart sank within him
with fear and on removing the cover
ines from her head his worst fears
were realized. She was dead. She
was lying on her left side, her face
turned down and partially buried in a
shallow dish or bowl III which was a
napkin saturated with chloroform.
On a shelf near by was an empty four
ounce bottle which had been gotten
full of chloroform on the occasion Of
little Emerson Strong breaking his leg
only small portion of the drug hay
ing been used at that time.
Neighbors were Immediately arous-
ed and physicians called No signs of
life could be detected though il was
evident that the body had given up
its spark of life only a short time, per-
haps only few minutes before being
discovered. coroner's jury was
summoned, presided over bv justice
Wheeler as follows: j. ii Reed, j. Ii.
Baldwin. Geo. II. Baxter, Louis Weber.
+. ID. Goodrich. j. T. Webb. After
an investigation of the circumstances
of the case they rendered a formal
verdict in accordance with the facts
above narrated.
Mrs. Strong was in poor health,
she had been in Chicago undergoing a
surgical operation when her husband
died and she was advised that she
would have to have the operation re-
peated. She was a highly sensitive
and affecionate disposition and mourn
ed too deeply over the death Of her
husband, nursing and brooding over
her grief which seemed to deep to be
relieved in tears. For though her
/ friends knew her heart was breaking
few ever detected the trace Of a tear.
From remarks made to intimate
friends and from one Or two passages
in letter written to her mother in
Chicago but not yet mailed, it seems
that the burden of life seemed to Mrs.
Strong greater than she could bear
| and that an unnatural despair over