The sun., 1908-08-23
?. E. HILLS QUEER SUICIDE
an APPARENT REASON WHY HE
SHOULD KILL HIMSELF.

,.,,or Partner In Henry G.. Kelley a. Co..
irvine Deaiers--No Business Troubles,
A.sociates say-He and wife Happy
Letter to Her Says He Was Failure.
Francis E. Hill. the Junior member Of the
ann OF Henry g. Kelley & Co.. dealers in
n,rdaoe and twine, committed suicide at
.oon Yesterday in the oompany's Offices at
a, franklin street. He was found on the
soor near his desk with bullet wound in
81. head On his desk was a letter addressed
10 bis wife. Theda B. P. Hill. His personal
shscL, book lay open with one check for
.s,a rs payable to his wife, and another
,or go to the order Of Ogden d Cadmus,
dsa,ers in building materials at Bloomfield.
Nj.
The letter was on the notepaper Of the firm
and evidently had been written only few
minutes before the shooting. 1t said:
My PRECIOUS DARLINo: l have thought
.hs matter over carefully and see but one
solutlon / came away from home this morn
Inc for that reason. Try and think kindly
NJ me and forgive me as ! hope to be for
siyen. / loved you with all my heart and
dh try faithfully to do my duty. but failure
seems to be my inevitable lot. May God bless
and keep you always. FRANK.
The senior partner Of the firm. T. 3.
Pierce, sent for the police. and Patrolman
McAvoy of the traffic squad responded.
He teephoned for an ambulance from
Hudson street hospital. and shortly after
Hill had been taken there he died. Capt.
McNaly of the Elizabeth street station
had notified Coroner Hamburger and he
reached the hospital before Hill died.
you are little too early Coroner, =
said the captain the man still hves.'
You may wait a short time. Coroner. .
said one Of the doctors. sfor you will be
needed here in a few moments. There ia
no possible chance for the man to live
long
Mrs. Hill, who came from her home in
Bloomfield. N. j.. where she lived with her
husband, said she could not understand
what the letter meant. Their married
life had been very happy, she said, and
there never had been discord. When her
husband left home yesterday morning he
was as cheerful as usual. and said good-by
to her in a most afectionate manner
Mr.. Pierce told the Coroner that the Affairs
OF the firm were in sound condition and
Mr.. Hill had not shown any signs Of worri-
ment. He was unable TO account for the
action of his partner, whom he described
as genial person and q man OF good bust
ness ability. ntH
One Of the employees Of the firm said that
shortly after Hill arrived at the office he
sent boy for bottle Of champagne The
messenger returned saying he could not
buy it. Hill then went to a saloon and told
the bartender to put pint on ioe. He
returned to his Office. transacted business
with several customers and presumably
wrote out the checks and the letter to his
wife.
After that he sent the boy for the wine.
As soon as the boy left Hills private office
the report Of the pistol was heard.
Mrs. Hill said she had been married
eight years. They had no children. She
displayed good deal Of self-control when
questioned by the Coroner.
BLOOMFIELD, N. j., Aug. 22.-Francis
z. Hill for twenty years was o salesman
for Henry G. Kelley & Co. For the last
nine years he had been q member OF the
firm. He had handsome home here
He purchased the property last year. He
and his wife and mother-in-law occupied
the house. and according to the neighbors
the wife and husband acted like lovers.
Uriah Nichols Of 18o Washington street,
Bloomfield, who was an intimate friend
Of Hill, aaid that Mrs. Phillips, Hills
mother-in-law.. thought as much Of Hill
as II he were her own son. T. 9. Hill. a
brother said that there WAS absolutely
no reason for his brothers suicide. The
suicide had made two trips to Georgia
lately and his brother thought he had been
Affected by the heat.