Maxwell - Thomas - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Speaking of the shooting of Tom Maxwell, of this city, mentioned in The Journal last week, the Frankfort Crescent says:

“Thorntown was thrown into considerable excitement Wednesday evening by Thomas Maxwell, aged 24 years, shooting himself with suicidal intent. He had been up town most of the day and left for his brother’s home, where he was staying, about 4:30 o’clock. Upon arriving there he went into his brother’s room and taking a 22 caliber revolver fired a bullet in his left breast, the ball entering about two inches above the heart. Maxwell placed the revolver upon a chair and quietly walked out into the yard and lying down upon the grass waited for death to claim him. His brother’s wife heard the shot and seeing that Maxwell had shot himself hurriedly sent for a physician. When Dr. Armstrong arrived Maxwell told him that it was no use to monkey with him; that he had shot himself and had also taken a dose of arsenic to make sure work of it. The arsenic story proved to be a bluff and the physician went to work to locate the bullet. Maxwell was carried into the house and made as easy as possible. He refused to talk much about the shooting, but said it was the result of an unsuccessful love affair. One report has it that he was in love with a Miss Sizemore, a sister of his brother’s wife, and another that a Crawfordsville girl was the object of his affections. He refused to say which one it was, unless he was certain that he was going to die, when he would tell it all. He had several hemorrhages during the night, and at noon today a telephone message from Thorntown was to the effect that while he was still alive, the physician had but little hope of his recovery. It is stated that Maxwell was drinking before shooting himself.” -s