The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-20
SON SHOOTS
 FATHER DEAD George E. SterrY Slain
 by 0ffsping. MURDERED BY HIS NAMESAKE Opposed Marriage of His Millionaire
 Parent. He writes Incoherent Letter to Pub- lie. Fires Pistol at His Parent and Then Kills Him-
 self.
MURDERED BY HIS NAMESAKE

New York. May 19--A family enlargement which had driven one or the members to insanity. culminated today in the murder of George Y: ster- ry. a millionaire drug exporter. by his son. George F. Sterry, Jr.. and the suicide of the latter.
 The elder Sterry was shot down at tho Pine Street office Of weaver ana Setrry, Limited, where he had been closeted for a few moments with the murderer. The son immediately after ward shot himself and both men were dead when others of the nrm hurried into the room The determination of the father to remarry. led to the trag- edv.
 A letter left by the son made plain that his acts were deliberate and the product of a deranged mind. The senior Sterry was I2 years olo' and in addition to his drug interests, was president of the Bloomfield Mills Company and a director in the Spring Coal Company. He was socially prom inent and active in religious affairs
 George E. Sterry, Jr., was 40 years or age and with his wife. lived at the Manhattan Square Hotel. His wife had known of the unpleasantness in the sterrv family, but had received nc in- timation that her husbands mind had become unbalanced as a consequence.
 The murdered man was president of the firm of Weaver and Sterry, the murdered was it's secretary, while Will liam Dewitt Sterry. second son, IS the treasurer John J. and James J. Sterry, also sons of the elder man, are directors.
 Opposed Fathers Wedding.
 Mir Sterry's wife died four years ago and in last January he announced me intention of marrying Miss Rachel Blaikie, a public school teacher of East Orange. N. J. The sons disap- proved of the proposed alliance, but wer unable to influence their father against it. Today George Sterry, IT., went to his place of bnsiness ss 1sssl ,a and passing through the cfhce of his brother, addressed him casually and then entered his fathers private room q I3Arhaps five minutes later the reports of d revolver, twice discharged, at tracted the others to the room
 The body of the elder sterry sat hp, right in the chair before his desk and blood trickling down the face led from the bullet wound in the right temple Stretched out in a chair near his fa- ther's desk was the ltfelesg form of the son. He had been killed by . bullet over the right ear. His right hand clasped a revolver.
 The story of the tragedy is told in two papers, one found in the coat pock- ct of the murdered man, and the other in the pocket of his son. The first was an advance, marriage notice which had evidently been prepared for insertion in the newspapers. It read as toi'
 MARRIED -sterry- Blaikie. at En- xlgwood. NJ, June 3. 1908. At the residence of MT. and Mrs. Cameron Blaikie, by the Rev, D. Eddy. of East orange. Rachael Blaikie and George Edward Starry"
 The other paper took the form of an open letter and ran thus:
 Manhattan Square Hotel
 May l9. 1908. "The Coroner First. I presume.
 "I took a solemn oath (to myself) that my father would never disgrace the memory of my sainted mother. Theer is not bit of selflshness in me. Had my father engaged himself to a lady of mature age. I would most certainly bid him good luck and trusted he would live forever. l certainly ai- ways desired long and happy life for my old mana term which frequently and affectionately used to him.
 Tt Is now II o'clock. May 1s. Now, no one is in my confidence and my brothers may draw conclusion or form an opinion of the matter. There is a point which strikes me as par ticularly interesting.
 while riding down on the Ninth Avenue elevated I cast casual glances on those around me, as they doubtless did me. The thought which l desire to convey is this: How many thous. ands would have started from me had they known the prominent captions my double crime would warrant tomorrow.
 "There is a comical and laughable end to this I would willingly give $500 to Rachael B. BIaikie to hear the beautiful and touching prayer for the salvation of my soul she will offer up.
 Of course am under a strain and many of my sentences may not be grammatical and many sentences may be crude It seems to me that God has told me to do what I propose do- ing. I have prayed to God no less than twenty times a day to show mo some way out of this trouble; truth fully believe He has shown me the proper way to save my family from disgrace.
 Another point I desire to mention;
 1.-TWO seconds after my father starts I will follow. as the poor old man needs a guide and a guardian. Should we run across some of the bunch from East Orange we will glide up a side street"
 Miss Blaikie. who makes her home with the family of Charles H. Clark A New York broker. has a wide circle of friends in Newark New York and the Oranges She is a daughter of the late Professor William Blaikie, who was, for many years. member of the New York legal fraternity and was long counsel for Mrs. Hetty Green.