The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-09-20
4 QUEER STORY
A Woman Very Sick Chloreforned to
Death by Her Best friends.
BEGGED TO BE KILLED

Two Members of Religious Sect
Gave Deadly Drug to an Ill Sister
of the Sect, From the Effects Of
Which She Died the Same Day.
They Think They Did Right.
Sister Sadie L. Marchant, men,
Der of Shaker colony located near
kissimee, Fla, died, or passed out
of the body" as the members of that
altruistic society calls it, on August
% last.
Sister Elizabeth Sears and Broth
er Egbert B. Gillette, Shakers, too
characterized like all their fellows by
the attempt of perfect purity in
thought, word and act, by gentleness,
honesty and obedience to law, are
accused of Sister Sadie's murder.
For seeing her death was inevita-
BILE from consumption, pitying her
rrightful sufferings, Sister Elizabeth
and Brother Gillette administered
chlorofornl to Sister Sadie; made her
physical tortures to end in eutha
nasia, in peaceful, painless death.
And it was at Sister Sadie's prayer
that her loving, sympathetic friends
administered the anesthetic under
under which she passed from uncon-
sc!ousness into the hereafter.
Before God I think | did right
calmly said Brother Gillette to a
correspondent. My conscience is
perfectly at ease. If the act was un-
wise only my great feeling for her
prompted me to commit it. Oh. how
she .suffered.'
After formal hearing Sister Eliz-
abeth and Brother Gillette were held
en- the charge of murder. Yet Judge
C F. Parker took an unprecedented
step and admitted them to bail; Sis
ter Elizabeth in $4,000, Brother Gill
lettee in $4,000. Other members of
the colony furnished the bond. They
may be tried but never convicted is
the general opinion Of the people of
Kissimee and surrounding country.
There is no doubt that Sister Eliz-
abeth and Brother Gillette consulted,
prayed together before they yielded
to Sister Sadie's prayers to end her
misery. Probably they consulted with
others of the colony. but Brother Gil
lette implicated no one-if implicat-
ed is the word under all the circur.-
stances-in the statement he made.
Sister Sadie l.. Marchant came to
our colony six years and three
months ago." said Brother Gillette
while he waited in Jail for bail to be
given for him. "She was doomed to
death from consumption. One of her
lungs had been destroyed. She has
been suffering terribly for several
weeks and we all knew the time was
short before she would be called to
her final reward The climax came on
August 90. She was seized with chills
hemorrhage and other symptoms
which every one knows mean that
the end on any one with consumption
IS near.
'Sister Sadie has always told us to
let her die in peace and without pain
and asked Sister Elizabeth that day
to let her get out of the body. Sister
Sadie refused to eat anything more
after that On Sunday night the 20th,
she was in agony and toward morn
irg begged us to kill her. She said
she was at peace with God and with
all on earth, and was ready to go.
II went to St. Cloud at daylight
Monday morning to get some opiates
to ease her, and gave her all l
brought. They seemed to relieve her.
went to ST. Cloud for more, and
when l gave them to her she could
not keep them on her stomach. She
suffered so until Tuesday noon that /
went to St. Cloud to get two ounces
of chloroform which ! gave TO her on
cloth, and she went to sleep.
81 went to st. Cloud again about 8
o'clock and got six or eight ounces
more of chloroform in bottle and
when l returned home I found she
had come out from under the influ-
ence of the first l had given her and
gave her another dose. She passed
out about ten minutes before 6
O'Clock
Every time I gave her anything
asked her, Sadie, do you want tnis?'
And she would say Yes She was
suffering so she did not want to live,
Before giving her the last sleeping
portion I made it a special point to
tell her that if she wanted to wait
longer and suffer, We would do ever
ything we possibly could to help her.
She wanted US to do as we did, and
implored US to give her the chloro-
form.
1t was not the first time she had
grown discouraged and asked her to
let her get out of the body. l had
often encouraged and asked her to
remain with us as long as she could.
fear | was selfish, for our number
is growing so few that our ministry
is losing heart and want to sell our
place here and move north.
II call my maker to witness that l
thought l was doing right Brother
Gillette repeated solemnly, My con-
science is at peace.
The manner of Sister Sadie's death
did not impress the Shakers as so re-
markable that they talked Of it in the
world outside their colony. So days
passed before !. was known here even
that a physician had not attended
her. Eut Sheriff Brevatt here, the
seat Of Osceola County, heard rumors