The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-12-07
Suicide OF
noted JUR|ST
JUDGE B. r WEBER, OF NEW
ULM TAKES HIS OWN LIFE
BY HANGING.
Although Comfortably Well of. Power
twas His Great Fear. He Served
24 Years on the Bench With Hon.
or and Credit.


aged by the serious illness of his wife
and haunted by needless fears of i'm
pending poverty, Judge Benjamin F.
Webber of the Ninth judicial district
committed suicide early this morning
by hanging.
Mrs. Weber, who has been para
lytic for four months, was not told of
her husbands death until tonight.
and then she was given to under
stand that he had died of heart fail
ure, as it was feared that knowledge
OF his violent act might prove fatal
shock to her.
Judge Weber was seventy-three
years old, and has served as Judge of
the district since Jan. 1, 1888, until
his resignation after the last election,
when Judge-elect I. M. Olson was
appointed to complete the year.
Judge Webber's fears that he would
become county charge on account
OF poverty were well known to his in
Innate friends, and he had often told
them that he intended to commit
suicide. His estate is estimated at
between $75, 900 and 800, 900, but as
soon as his resignation had taken
effect and he no longer had his in
come from his services on the bench
to count upon, the judges mind be-
came prey to fears of poverty.
About ten months ago Mrs. Weber
who was some ten or twelve years her
husbands Junior, suffered stroke of
paralysis. Since that time she has
been unable to speak or move al
though able to understand perfectly
all that was said to her. Her con-
dition necessitated the added expense
seemed to affect Judge Webber's mind
even more than his fears on occount
of the ordinary house hold expenses
which he reduced to meet what he
firmly believed was serious falling
off in his financial condition.
The Judge was well known in this
and neighboring districts and he be-
came known throughout the state
through his having sat at the first trial
OF DIR. Koch case. 1t was claimed by
some that his permitting the defend
ant In that case to go free under
bond was an indication of weakening
mental condition as he had always
been noteriously strict in criminal
cases.
For some time Judge Webber has
been in the habit of rising about 5
O'Clock and taking a walk or bicv-
Gle ride before breakfast. His hours
for retiring have been corresponding
ly early and Monday night the men,
bers of his household were much sur
prised at his being absent from home
during the en- ire evening, he not re-
turning until close upon midnight.
This morning he arose an hour ear
iler than was his custom and called
the maid telling her he was going out
for while.
When the Judge did not return to
breakfast at the usual time, O'Clock,
Michael Mullen, banker who had
been close friend and counselor of
Judge Weber was notified of his alb
sence. Mr.. Mullin was alarmed at
his absence, and notified the chief of
police who at once instituted search
and one of the first places visited was
the barn on the Weber premises and
there about o'clock the police found
Judge Webber's body hanging from
a rafter in the loft. He evidently
had been dead at least three hours.
The body was hanging by a strap
taken from harness, with the toes
some three inches from the floor. It
was fully dressed, and the hands, the
right one encased in mitten, were
in the overcoat pockets, and pressed
closely against his sides.
A box upon which the man evident
ly had climbed to adjust the strap to
the beam, and from which it is
thought that he jumped after having
adjusted it, lay close by.
Judge B. F. Weber was born in
Shapeleigh, Me-, Oct. 6, 1888, and
spent his boyhood days in that state.
Early in life he decided to become a
teacher and soon went to Massachu-
sets where he studied working as
carpenter to raise the money to carry
on his studies.
In 1868 he came to Minnesota and
settled in Blue Earth county where
he taught for several terms and then
took up the study of law with H. F.
Wilson at Madelia.
After he had been admitted to the
Minnesota bar he located in New
Ulm, where he had practically a
monopoly of the legal business, but
10 cleo xxo,.1>,d Of bio form or. frado ~
carpentering for two years, at the
end of which time he was elected
county attorney, an office which he
held until 1882, when he was elected
district Judge over III. D. Baldwin.
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