Craig - Charley
CHARLEY CRAIG
Source: Crawfordsville Star, July 22, 1880 p 1
This week The Star is called upon to publish an account of a death by suicide, which possesses far more than usual interest on account of the lack of purpose in the victim. Few people can understand why a young man with fair health, a rugged constitution, plenty of money and a pleasant home, should, while surrounded by all these attributes of ease and luxury, attempt and succeed in his own self-destruction. Charley Craig, son of Robert A. Craig, a wealthy farmer of Franklin Township, was possessed of all these pleasant surroundings and yet he fired a bullet through his own brain on Tuesday morning, and already fills a suicide's grave. Robert Craig lives in an elegant frame residence about 2 miles east of Darlington and owns one of the finest and best improved farms in the county. His farm is well equipped, his house is elegantly furnished, and the entire place is pervaded with an air of ease and refinement. He has a wife and three children, two daughters and one son, the latter being the suicide. Coroner Henry was summoned to the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday morning and assisted by Justice Russell held an inquest. The first witness examined was Candace Craig, sister to Charley, the suicide. She testified substantially as:
"I was acquained with Charley H. Craig. He was my brother and son of Robert Craig. He was 21 years of age on January 24. This morning July 20, 1880, at about 10 minutes before 8 o'clock Charley came into the house and I asked him to take a box into the celler for me. He did so. He then went up stairs and about 10 minutes afterwards I heard a pistol shot. At first I thought nothing of it as Charley was in the habit of firing his revolver from a window in his room. About three minutes after this report, I hear a grave noise or proceedings from up stairs and I at once went up and found Charley partially down on the floor. He had fallen with his feet under him and against hte bed which partially support him from the floor. His lips moved unintelligably as though he would talk, but he was unable to speak. I notced a wound in the center of his forehead from which the blood was oozing. He died within 10 minutes of that time. WHen I first saw him and when the shot was fired there was no other person in the house excpet myself. Charley was of a cheerful nature and had never given any indication of mental derangement. Some two years since he was afflicted with spinal disease and has suffered a great deal with it since. For a few days past he seemed better and this morning had made arrangements to rent wheat ground from father and intended to do the work himself. When I first saw him after the shot was fired the revolver was lying close beside him on the floor. On the mantle piece in his room a small scrap of paper was found on which was written. "I am going to die this morning," no one else could have been ups tairs. I never knew of Charley having trouble of any kind such as would in any way affect his mind.
Jno. H. Currie, MD
The family physician testified that he was the Craig family physician and had treated Charley Craig for spinal disease but never noticed any mental derangement. Examined the body this morning and saw apperture in forehead as made by a ball from a 32-calibre pistol shot. Probed the wound and found the ball took a downward direction. The wound was such as would necessitate fatal consequences; noticed no other signs of violence. The testimony of Dr. Hillis was substantially the same.
Robert Craig
Father of the suicide, testified that the deceased had been a sufferer from spinal disease for two years and that last April he became somewhat despondent. He seemed troubled because his physical conditikon would not warrant him in following the pursuit tha the liked - farming. He never, however, thought the boy's mind affected. In stature he was 6' high and well proportioned, light complexion and at time of death was dressed in working clothes. Insanity had been in the family and it may have afflicted the boy. An aunt on his mother's side and an uncle on his father's side had in times past been in the insane asylum.
After hearing all the above evidence the Coroner could arrive at no other conclusion; hence his verdict is that Charley Craig came to his death by suicide through the instrumentality of a pistol in his own hands. --kbz