The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-11

With this final message, written on a l slip of paper which lay beside him on a couch in the parlor of his brothers resi- dence on North Perry Street, Thomas C. Conner, a railroad man. 25 years old, at 2:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon fired a | bullet through his brain and ended his 1 life instantly.
 No one knows any reasonable cause or | impulse that led him to seek death. His | mentality seemed to be at It's normal | strength and activity: he was not in | financial trouble; his physical condition. though not good, was not worse than other men have endured with patience | and cheerfulness; there was nought to prick his conscience. Weary of breath" perhaps; weary of life and indifferent to | all 1t had to give. tired of struggle that | to many would not have been difficult or 1 irksome, he died.
 May Have Been Romance. A friend of Conner suggested that unre- | quilted love caused the tragic denouement l of his short career, but there is little evil dence to corroborate the intimation. A | note is said to have been left to a young | woman in which she was chided for in- constancy.
 Conner committed suicide in the parlor | of a boarding house at the corner of
 Perry and Randolph Streets, of which his l brother N. B. Conner, is proprietor. It Is not known when he entered the room;
 but about 2:30 o'clock two ladies sitting on the back porch heard the report of pistol. They at once rushed into the | house and related the fact to N. B. Com.
 CT, who had just laid down in his room.
 The later ran to the parlor, and, opening the door. entered
 There lying upon lounge was the body
 of Thomas Conner. A great wound was
 in his right temple and from this wound
 blood was flowing. His left hand rested
 upon the floor and across his face was
 his right hand clutching a 32-calibre
 Smith and Wesson revolver. He was al- ready dead.
 His brother took the revolver from the
 dead mans hand and hoping that some
 spark of life yet might remain tried to
 resuscitate him but 1t was in vain.
 verdict-Death by Own Hand.
 Coroner W. H. Tice was immediately summoned to view the body and when he arrived at the house just before 3 O clock he held an Informal inquest. The verdict rendered was that the deceased had come to his death by gun shot wound infiict- ed by his own hand.
 The letter that Conner wrote to his brother gives no information about any circumstances of such character as to impel him to suicide.
 T hate the way am forced to death," was all he said.
 From statements made by N. B. Conner. brother of the deceased it is impossible to assign any definite reason for his de- termination to die. He had once before threatened that he would kill himself and had been chided by his brother. Then, as now. there was no apparent cause.
 The deceased had lived the greater part of seven years with his brother in Mont gomery. During that time he was in poor health but he was never painfully or se- riously sick. He smoked frequently but not so much his brother said, as to affect his mind.
 Was Railroad Flagman.
 Until three weeks ago Conner was flag man on a railroad between Birmingham and Columbus, Miss, and since his re- tirement from that occupation had lived in this city with N. B. Conner who had for many years been his protector and support. His relations with this brother were such that he could not have been embarrassed by want of money.
 N. B. Conner said his brother had fre- quently been Respondent over his i'll health or because of trivial matters' but yester- day he had not been notably depressed. Certainly he had not appeared to be men, tally unsound
 Young Conner sometimes drank intoxi- cants but never excessively and he did not use opiates Or any drugs of a narcotic or a stimulative kind.
 His body Is to De shipped tomorrow morning to Elliottsville. Shelby County where 1t will be buried.
 He was a native of Shelby County hay ing been born near Shelby Springs. He was unmarried. He Is survived by five brothers. James Conner of Montevallo; J. w. Conner of Centerville. M. F. Conner of Nashville, Tenn, F. H. Conner of Bir- mingham and N. B. Conner of Montgom- cry, and a sister, Mrs. w. l.. Lanehan of