The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-09-17
Mrs. James IsbesteF, of Salem
Kills Herself in a Horrible
Manner on Thursday
PILLAR OF FLAME I'M A FIELD
Woman soaks Her Clothing With Kero-
sene and Then Ignites it With
Match-Died to Save
Some One Else
From Saturday S Daily

News of the most horrible suicide
ever committed in Kenosha county was
brought to Kenosha from the town of
Salem this morning in the details of
the death of Mrs Ella Isbester. aged
40 years, the wife of James Isbester,
one of the best known farmers in that
neighborhood, who deliberately burned
herself to death on Thursday afternoon.
Mrs. lsbester, who was formerly Ella
VanDeuser of Salem. had been suffering
from nervous trouble for some time and
on Thursday afternoon her husband
went to Antioch, H., to bring a
doctor to treat her, leaving the wife
at home with ner stepdaughter, aged
ID years. Shortly after the husband
left the house Mrs. Isbester began to
make preparations for her terrible
death. She is alleged to have soaked
her clothing with kerosene and then
going out into pasture a hundred
yards from her home she deliberately
lighted a match and set fire to her oil
soaked clothing. The woman made no
cutlery when the flames began to attack
her flesh, but setting her teeth for a
supreme struggle with death she stood
in the center Of the field like pillar of
fire while the flames devoured her body.
The little girl who was with her on the
farm discovered the burning woman and
went to her rescue, but as she came
near Mrs. lsbester warned her to keen
away from her. Miss Runard, who re-
sides Of the adjoining farm saw the
woman burning and started to aid her.
but Mrs. Isbester also warned her
away. While the woman was burning
the husband and doctor came from
Antioch and they rushed into the field
and attempted to wrap the woman in a
blanket, but she fought them away and
remained standing until she was burn
ed almost to crisp. The woman fell
from exhaustion, but she was still con-
scious when her badly burned body
was placed in a milk wagon and taken
to the house. The burns were terrible.
Every part of the woman IS body had
been attacked by the flames and her
fingers were burned off, Her hair was
entirely burned from her head and all
over the body were great burns. 1t
was evident that the life Of the woman
could not be saved and the doctors did
what they could to ease the pain. The
woman, however, smiled when told that
she could not recover and in the last
hours OF life she admitted that she had
deliberately planned her death. When
asked why she had taken her own life,
she answered: ~ aid it to save some
one dear to me.' For three hours the
woman remained alive and conscious.
A Justice of the Peace was called after
her death and jury returned a YER
dict finding that the woman had COM
mitted suicide while demented.
Mrs. Isbester had been i'll for more
than year with nervous ailment and
on account of the fact that she had
acted queerly for some time a close
watch had been kept over her by rela-
tives fearing that she might attempt
to commit suicide. The funeral was
held from the family residence on FRI
day afternoon and the remains laid at
rest at the Salem cemetery. The hus-
band and the stepdaughter are the sole
surviving members of the family.