St. Clair County
Remnants Of The Past

St. Clair County Republican
26 May 1892

Self-Murder

One More Unfortunate Gone to His Death.

The Old Story, With but Few Variations – A Young Man in Polk Township Becomes Despondent and Ends His Existence.

Last Tuesday afternoon John R. White, an old and highly respected citizen of Polk township, brought to this city the news that Al Franklin, a young man of 25 or 26 years, had committed suicide by shooting on the branch near Jim Johnson’s place. Mr. White knew none of the particulars of the affair, having hurried to Osceola in search of the coroner.
Immediately after receiving the news a reporter of this paper proceeded to the scene of the tragedy, about nine miles east of this place, in the roughest and wildest part of the county.
At the side of a dim, untraveled road, in the underbrush lay the body of the young man, covered with blood, and with an awful wound in his right breast, immediately below the collar bone. The body lay just as it had fallen, awaiting the appearance of the officers before removal.
It appears that Franklin had not been in that part of the county since the middle of January and that when he was there he spent most of his time at James Johnson’s place, where he was regarded almost as one of the family. On Tuesday morning at about 8 o’clock he came down to Johnson’s unexpectedly and going into the house, took Johnson’s gun, an old rifle, bored out to shoot shot, and said he was going out to kill a squirrel. Johnson and his wife were out in a field near the house planting corn at the time, and there was nobody at home but a Mrs. White, a neighbor, and some small children.
As Franklin had frequently threatened to kill himself, the children refused to give him any ammunition. He then said he would go down to the store – Catharine post office – and get some powder and shot. After Franklin left the Johnson house nothing further was thought about the matter.
At noon, however, while Johnson and his family were at dinner, one of the children, a little girl, said some one was walking up and down the branch, about 100 yards from the house. Supposing it was some one hunting stock no attention was paid to the man. Finally, Tom White, who lives near by and who was helping Johnson put in his corn, went to the door, and said he believed it was Al. Mrs. Johnson told White to go out and tell Franklin to come in to dinner. White got to the fence, about half way between the house and where Franklin had been seen, when Franklin called to him and said, “Tom, I’m going to commit suicide”. White told him to “hold on” and turned to call Johnson from the house. Just as White turned, the report of the gun was heard, and hurrying to the spot they found the unfortunate man weltering in blood and gasping for breath. He lived about ten minutes after the shot, but was unable to speak. Franklin had fastened the gun to a small sapling with a fish line, the muzzle resting in a fork about eighteen inches from the ground. He set the trigger, cocked the gun, and fastened another string to the front trigger by a fish hook. These preparations completed, he knelt down in front of the muzzle and pulled the string. The gun was presumably loaded with shot, and as the man was not more than a foot from it, the whole charge entered his chest as one ball. The wound was a terrible one, a portion of the right lung protruding through the jagged hole.
The cause assigned for the act was family trouble. Something over a year ago Franklin was married to Laura Stewart. Their married life was not a round of joy, and after about five months they separated, Franklin going to some relatives near Rockville, and his wife staying with her brother, Ned Stewart. A child was born but Franklin was prevented from seeing it by his wife. A short time ago the child died, and he was not told of its death until Monday night. It is supposed by his friends that the death of the child brought to him a determination to end his own troubled life.
A letter was left by Franklin addressed to several different parties, Ned Stewart, his brother-in-law; Jim Johnson and to his wife. He told his wife that as she would not permit him to see his child on this earth, he would meet it in Heaven. She was told to be a good girl and he bade her an affectionate farewell.
Not being able to find a coroner, Jasper Bridges, justice of the peace, was sent for and arrived at about 7:30. It was impossible to hold an inquest on Tuesday night, for the reason that no jury could be summoned. The body was removed to Johnson’s house near by to await the inquest on Wednesday morning.
Al C. Franklin was about 26 years of age, of medium height and build, blue eyes, and wore a short mustache. He had on a blue shirt and overalls, having laid his coat at the foot of a tree, with his necktie and the letter. His friends say that he was a good hand to work, only “slow about getting out”, and that at times he drank more than was good for him. He was one of the best natured of men before his marriage, but since that event had been subject to fits of despondency, and had attempted to kill himself with a razor some time ago.
Franklin’s mother is living at Mack’s Creek, Camden county, and he has relatives – two sisters – living near Rockville.