The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-12-03
HENRY STEIN
ENDS HIS LIFE
FIRED REVOLVER INTO HIS
BRAIN AT LAKE OF THE
WOODS.
All of His Life He Had Said He
Would Die Like
Soldier


Stein is no more. After threatening
every day for twenty years to commit
suicide, he ended his life at his home
at Lake of the Woods, at about 4:3O
o'clock Thursday afternoon by firing
revolver-s[lot into his brain at the
right temple. 1t had been a hobby
for years, for Stein to tell whomever
he happended to be conversing with
that he was going to kill himself soon.
He despised the thought of disease
and always said that he would die a
soldiers death. One of STEMS re-
marks was a sort of slogan a few
years ago, with the boys OF the town
Translated from German, which he al
ways spoke, it was to the effect that
If that miserable rheumatism gets
worse, l will take my revolver and
Boom,-there hes old Stein" When
lie fired the fatal shot, he was already
within the shadows of deaths door
|
end was expected from natural causes
within three days He laid all plans
for ending his life carefully, even to
the secreting of a revolver by his bed
side, and having his wife prop aim
up in bed with pillows. so that he
might gain strength enough to pull a
trigger.
Stein had been i'll for about two
years. Last summer he was operated
uopn for cancer of the stomach, and
has been steadily sinking from that
time. After the death of his son Jo-
seph, he sent for his wife, who re-
sided in Plymouth. TO come to the
Lake of the Woods and care for him
Mrs. Stein went, and he has been bed
last since that time. A week ago
last Sunday, Stein called Milo Shaw,
the hired hand, and bade him get
STEMS old revolver, clean it up, load
it and bring it to him. Shaw was
used to the shooting talk, and to hu-
NOR the old man he loaded the re-
volver which was a 32-calibre, and
placed it in small safe at the bed
side. Thursday afternoon Mrs. Jo-
seph Stein and Mrs Clas Shaded
drove TO Lake of the Woods 10 see
Mr.. and Mrs Stein. The former talk
ed as usual, told the ladies that in
two more days it would be all over
with Stein, he would be six feet un-
der the ground. They supposed that
the disease would claim the old man
within that time When these ladies
left Stein called his wife, asking her
for something She went in his bed
-oom and noticed a blue handkerchief
lying over something on the safe
She asked him if he wanted the hand
kerchief and he laid his hand over
i forbidding her to touch it. He
then asked her to pile pillows beneath
him so that he would be placed in a
sitting posture In a couple OF min
utes after she returned TO the kitchen,
she heard muffled report, and hur-
-rying back into his room asked"What
was that?' She got no reply and
rushed to the bedside, only to find
Ter husband dead with bullet hole
n his right temple. The revolver was
grasped IN his right hand, and the
blue handkerchief which had conceal
ed it, lay on the bed covers. Deatl
had been instantaneous.
The hired hand says that he
thought It impossible for Stein to find
strength enough to cock and fire the
-evolver, which was an old specimen
OF 32 caliber. An almost bloodless
wound was inflicted. only a small hole
being made in the temple.
Henry Stein was born in Bavaria.
Germany on March 3, 1916 being 62
years of age at the time of his death
On Feb. 1s, 1873, he was married TO
Miss Margaret Schmidt. who as a
widow survives him. In 1888 they
moved to America. first residing at
South Bend The family has lived in
this city for % years Upon moving
to Plymouth, Stein bought the bot
thing works of John Weiriter. and
about 10 years ago established his
business at Lake of the Woods, and
continued managing both until few
years ago, when the Plymouth planr
was turned over to his son Joseph.
Two daughters survive, Mrs. Eliza
beth Leitenstorfer of Chicago, and
Mrs Paul Ketcher of ST. Joseph,
Mich. The only son Joseph, died in
this city on Oct. 11th, of this year