The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-04-09
HANGED SELF
TO A. BEAM
Suicide Rather Than go to In
sane Asylum
TRAGICEND OF A.A. BROWN
Papers Had Been Made Out to Commit
Montpelier Man to Asylum, But
He Eluded His
Watchers.

While the officers were hunting for him
to take him to the insane asylum at
Waterbury yesterday afternoon, Alden A.
Brown Of Montpelier was making the
preparations for self.destruction which
ended in foiling the attempt to incarcer
ate him. In order TO commit suicide
Brown went to the farm Of Wilmer A.
Leland in Berlin, and his body was dis
covered in Laland's eow-shed only when
Mr. Leland tried to drive the cows into
the shed and the animals refused 10
enter. Brown had eluded his watchers
early in the afternoon following his ex-
ANIMATION by physicians who recommend.
ed his commitment to the asylum.
No one saw the man enter the barn
and no one had seen him about the prem
ises; but people in Montpelier saw Brown
walking up Northhold street toward
Berlin early in the afternoon. After
going into the cow-shed Brown seized a
trace chain having a hook on one end
and ring on the other He next thrust
the hook end through the ring and pulled
the moose around bis neck. Having done
this, the climbed up 50 that he could
throw the loose end OF the chain over
beam, and then hooked the chain se-
curely about the beam That done, he
stepped down and deliberately threw his
body against the moose The chain wss
so long that his body was near the floor,
being in a sitting posture. It was in
this position when discovered.
The discovery was made shortly after
four o'clock in the afternoon, and Mr..
Leland at once telephoned to the author
tiles At Montpelier. Mayor Dawley,
Health Officer Lindsay and DR.. Grimes
went to the Leland place and took the
body down; but life had been gone some
time. The body was removed last even
ing to Volholm's undertaking rooms in
Montpelier.
For some time Brown had shown drnz
OF insanity, due probably to drink, his
chief delusion being that his relatives
were giving hiIh electrical treatment.
Yesterday morning his condition wsa
such that it was decided to have him
examined BIZ physicians. and so Drs, q.
4. Chandler and G. r. Hnnk conducted
the examinafion, afterwards recommend.
ING that he be committed to the asylum,
in the hope that his removal from the
chance to drink would effect & cure.
Officer McAvoy and Dwight z. Mason
took charge Of him until time for the
train to leave for Waterbury, but be got
away from their surveillance
During the forenoon Brown went into
States Attorney Gatess effice and de-
elared that be wanted to deed hrs prop
erty to his wife. Knowing that Brown
was to be committed to the asylum.
States Attorney Gates humored the man
and drew up bogus deed which Brown
signed. During the conference between
Brown and the lawyer, the former point
ed to the ceiling and asked Gates to
look at the hole which the lightning had
made.
Strangely enough, although Brown
wanted to deed his property 70 his wife,
be was preparing to move away from
home on the ground that he could not
get along with her He had ordered an
expressman to 90 to their house on C2iR
street to move his goods down town, and
the expressman wae going to begin the
Job at one o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Another deIusion was shown by his work
in constructing his own coffin, big
red affair which he kept, after its com
pletion, in lbs blacksmith shop In this
rear Of the Lawrence building The
VI tIin NvAtki DaA OSS1HAt0 Ato
attention for several weeks.
Brown was good workman when IN
his right mind and was quite prominent
in fraternal circles, being Mason and
a member of the Mystic Shrine, as we'll
as member Of the Junior Order OF
American Mechanics in Montpelier. He
had been drinking considerably of late,
and that is supposed to have affected his
mind.
He was born in Worcester, this state,
in 1862, and learned the blacksmith's
trade when young. Hs then went tu
Brookfeld, where he worked two years
for James Parmenter, going then to Oal-
ais, IN which town he married Bertha
w. McCloud He spent one year in Barre
and went to Montpelier eighteen years
ago, having conducted a blacksmith shop
there since that time he leaves his
parents, his wife, brother, Aaron I.
Brown Of Worcester, and two children,
Lucy +. and Lee III. The funeral will be
held Saturday afternoon at two o'clock
and will be under Masonic auspices.