Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1882-12-30 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

SUICIDE OF A DARLINGTON IRONFOUNDER. • A profound sensation was created in Darliz_tgton o Friday week by the intelligence that Ms Kellett, of the firm of Kellett and Macfeggan, lironfounders' Darlington and Wittou-le-Vv ear. had committed suicide by hanging himself. The deceased, it appears, had left Ins residence in Rendrew-street on Thursday morning with the intention of going to attend a shareholders' meeting in Darlington in which he was interested. Not axriving home again at night, as expected, his wife"was somewhat alarmed, and as no tidings regarding bimeched his family on Friday morning, enquiri were made. A reply was received to the effect that Mr Kellett had not been present at the meeting on the previous day, as his friends in Darlington bad expected he had been, and an immediate search was instituted for the missing man. Shortly after noon his body was found suspended by a rope from a. step-ladder leading to a patternroom upon the firm's premises in Commercialstreet. It was quite cold, and life had evidently been extinct for many hours. The rope was fastened to one of the highest of the steps of the ladder or wooden stairs, and was coiled four times round the deceased's neck. His trousers lames were soiled, as though he had knelt on the stairs to fasten the rope round his neck, after which he appears to have leaped from the ladder a distance of several feet, -his body nearly touching the ground. Ho had divested himself of his coat and collar, which were found on the premises, and in one of his pockets was found a. somewhat soiled telegraph form containing the following words in pencil in the deceased's hand writing—" Oh my head and heart. God knows and all know who know my feelings that I never intended to wrong any man." 'The body was immediately conveyed an a stretcher to the deceased's residence to await an inquest. —The deceased was about 35 years of ilgE, and was well known and respected in the town. The premises on which his body was found have been closed for some considerable time. Mr Coroner Dean held an inquest at Darlington on Saturday on the body of Mr Henry Kellett, an ironfounder, found banging by the neck in his own foundry on Friday last—Mr Joshua Ward, of Rotherham, deceased's brother-in-law, identified the bedy.—Mr Jas. Arrowsmith deposed that deceased was rather troubled in his mind about his accounts, and that he had been assisting him in putting his books right. He ' had heard him say thathe would destroy himself, but did not think him in earnest. He ' last sew him alive at 8.15 on Thursday morning. On Friday he and Mr Langhorne, an engincman, at the reauest of Mrs Kellett, who had not seen her husband since the day before, searched the foundry. About twenty minutes to one o'clock they found Mr Kellett hanging in an upper room quite dead.—Mr Langhnme corroborated this; and Sergt. Smettern deposed to finding in the pocket of deceased a telegraph form, on which was written, "Oh, my poor head arid heart. God knows, and everybody knows, I am not to blame for this."—Mr Jas. Wise, Union-road, deposed to having deceased in his shop on Thursday at three o'clock, and observing that he was in a highly excited state of mind.—They jury returned a verdict of "Suicide while in a state of temporary insanity."  1 I.