The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1911-11-24
BruttlebOrO Local
OBITUARY..
VICTIM OF DEPENDENCY.
Miss Mary A, ellison Ended Her Life
Tuesday Afternoon.

Miss Mary Adeline ellison, ~, IN sud
den fit of dependency ended her llfe iate
Tuesday afternoon by throwing herself
into the Connecticut river near her home
in West Chesterfield. She left her home
which is about 100 feet from the river
bank, shortly after ) o'clock and the BODY
was recovered at I in the evening being
found by Richard Farr and Robert lren.
dali. Perley Richardson OF the board OF
selcctmcn OF Chesterfield ordered II taken
from the water. When II became apparent
that Miss ellison had thrown herself INTO
the river word was sent to Henry H.
Brown of Brattleboro. Miss Gibson bIoth'
er.in-law, and he in company WITH !; ,, H.
Stickney went to West Chesterheid' ne
body was recovered before they arrived
Miss Gibson who had been an Invalid Tor
over 10 wears. had spent much Of her life
mon the ellison farm in Chesterfield, az
though she spent part OF last summer with
her sister. Mrs. Henry K. Brown, on oak
street in Brattleboro. For several days she
had been confined to her room by, Illness
hut was feeling much better Tuesday and
ON the afternoon of that day was able to he
dressed About ) o'clock she remarked to
her COMPANION. Mrs. h. w. Ashley, that
she would 90 down stairs and give some dl'
rections about supper. Going to the kitchen
Miss ellison spoke with Mrs. Lew Cook
who has charge of the household aitalls
and suggested that an early supper be pre-
pared AT that time she gave no lndlca-
tion of dependency and on the contrary
seemed in IA cheerful mood Earlier IN the
afternoon Miss ellison had called up her
sisters residence in BrattIeboro by. tele-
phone to tell her that she was planning TO
spend THANKSGIVING with her during me
afternoon she talked with an uncle ana IL
friend over the telephone and was appar-
entity under no mental STRAIN nor cohtelh-
plating the act that ended her life,
4 short time after Miss ellison lett her
companion Mrs Ashley came INTO Ihe
kitchen and casually asked where Miss
ellison was. Mrs. Cook replied that she
had gone back upstairs and Mrs Ashley
said that she was not in her room.
II took but moment to discover that
Miss Gibson had left the house and
that her tracks in the snow led to the
edge of the river. She had jumped down
an embankment of about seven feet ana
walked into the water, which was about
two and half feet deep, throwing herself
forward upon her face where the body was
found. Her actions during her long period
az inyaldism never Indicated desire to
end her life and her family believe that she
responded to sudden impulse and acted
instantly. 1t took her probably less than
three minutes to go from the house to the
river
When word was sent to Mr. Brown IN
Brattleboro Mrs. Brown was IN Rutland
She returned to Brattleboro Wednesday
morning and Miss Gilson's brother, Fred Z.
Gibson. of St Johnsbury, who was at Bur
lington, came to Brattleboro at the same
time.
| Miss ellison was born in West Chester
J field. n. H., Dec. 81, 1867, and was the
daughter of Calvin p. and Ann (Streeterr)
ellison Her education was received IN
the schools of her native town and she lived
there with her grandmother, Mrs. Mary
Streeter. and with her parents until they
moved to Brattleboro in 1897 when she
came here with them. Her mother died IN
1901 and her father in 1904. Since the lat
| ter's death she had made her home with a
cousin. Miss Ellen Smith, on the ellison
farm in West Chesterfield. Miss Smith died
last winter and Mrs. Ashley, fol-. number
of years member of the Gibson family, has
been companion to Miss Gibson since