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A STRANGE FATALITY. VAnother Terrible Chapter in the llis- , torjr of an UnfortunateFamily. *tThe Soul of Mrs. Elliott Niccolls Flees * to the Spirit Land. l—The shocking suicides of the Ilogg family y have twice otrtletl thin community The c horrible death of Mr. Wm. Hogg and hie at s tempted murder of two children wan one of L the moet terrible deeds of blood ever recorded. This occurred on October 90th, 1879.1.EH8 TUAN A MONTH AOOhis daughter, Mins Mamie Ilogg. died by \ drowning In a well near Carthage, Missouri, ] and now comes the gloomy intelligence \ that her only living sister, Mrs. Elliott 8. \Niccolls, formerly Miss Klla Hogg, of this x city, has embraced the same chilling waters, , to Inti in them the same dreamless sleep „ which they vouchsafed to her sister but a few g weeks ago. rA special telegram to the Faxtagkapii j from Carthage, Mo., received Wednesday relates the ghastly occurrence In all Its fear ful details, as follows Wednesday morning Carthage was startled J by the horrible news of the suicide of Mrs. J c K. Niccolls. Hhe, with her husband, was » Mopping at a Mr St. John'*, a friend of theirs, ' living about, two miles south of the city, ) where Mrs. Niccoll’s sister, Miss Hogg, took her life a short time since. Early Wed no* iday morning before daylight, at about live [o’clock, she arose from her bed and stole softly \ out of tne house. Hhe had passed a restless, r sleepless night, and her husband, with whom she occupied apartments, was well nigh worn (out with constant harassing care and want jOf llMpi ToWifd morning she IpBIT . ently fell into an easy slumber, and Mr. Niccolls fell asleep. He states that ‘ he did not sleep long, and waking he missed his w ife, who had l*en sleeping by his side. RisingquicKi.Y in srnoKN fear Ilie saw her white form disappearing through the door nearest the well in which Maine-Hogg sougtit her death. Mr. Niccolls di lt;vlncd, by instinct, her awful Intention, and rushed out of the house in his night clothes, , frantically calling, “Klla, couie back! Dear wife, listen to your husband, and come back!” She, with desperate frenzy ami 1 an iusaue cunning, fairly flew to the deep, dark well. Mr. Niccolls pursued her t with the desperation of frantic despair, and, had the well been ( situated one rod further away, the result would have been different. Hut he reached the well just as hts wife made the horrible J leap Into death’s arms as she plunged Info the silent depths below. The well, which t« a deep one, had nine feet of water in it.Tlie family of Mr St. John ami the neigh • loirs were at once aroused and the body re covered In a short tune. Life was wholly t extinct.THE 810IIT OP TIIB DBAI* WOMAN was one to indelibly impress itself upon the I memory of the beholder, and forever after 1 haunt one In lonely hours. The dripping white robe Ur nuit lay In limit folds about the i form of the dead. Her fine face was white, ; t»ut beautiful and fair as In life. The exnrcs sion was almost natural and pleasant, as , though death had brought peace. Examina ( lion revealed bad bruises of the body and the back of the head. It is a question whether, If she could have tieen Instantly taken from the water, she would liave iur vived from the effects of these personal In Juries.wh. N KaMii.ua. tikes the dreadful affair much to heart. Him e Mamie’s death lie has been hourly 1 haunted by tne fear of what has just hap (M'tted. He saw that his wife’s mental and nervous system was breaking down. A few days aim lt;he called a consultation of phy*h « ians to advise concerning the propriety oh , removing her to an insane asylum. They de odcd that such a step wus not advisable, hut recommended a change of air and tlimate. Arrangements were being made for Mrs. Niccolls to go to Colorado in the *|'ring with the family of lt;ol. Hudlong, of the I tilled Htates army.The aytunatby of the entire community In and near Carthage is extended to Mr. Niccolls in his hour of doubly and bereavement and sorrowA coroner’* Jury was empanneled, and found a verdict iuaccordance with the above facta.The funeral will occur this afternoon, at half past two o'clock. It will undoubtedlybeTIIE IU0iR-r \ N |» MAPPK*T Ft N Kit A I ever held lu that part of the Htate.Mis Nb rolls was a lady whose winning grace and charming social power* hud made her a general favorite. And she often lent the charm of her in utlt; hies* voice to them tert.iinmcnt of her friends hi her pleasant home ami at social gatherings, ami often I aided charitable enterprises by singing when requested to do so, and always did it cheerfullylly the death of her father, Mrs. Niccolls received a nervous slun k, from which she PCVer recovered, and close observer# have noticed that she whs no longer the person, socially, she had been, and she gradually tn-caim* a prey to melancholy and reiuoisc.»bt rut’H naiKF vbak*It is now about four years since Mr and Mrs. Niccolls left Bloomington for Carthage r Mr*. Niccoll* waa reared In this city, and, a*' Mis* Ella Hogg, was a great favorite insociety. Hhc was a splendid vm-alist, andsang for years in the choirs of the FirstPresbyterian, the Free tongrrgutloual and other churches. The rapid downfall and all hut Utter extinction of 1 the Hogg family la one of the saddest chap1 ten* of family sorrow ever recorded. Hcurcely more than ten years ago Mr. Wm. Hogg was accounted otic of the most substantial and successful of business men. The hard tims of succeeding years rapidly reduced his estate. A little later Mrs. Hogg died. Mr. Harry Hogg, who had entered the clerical profession as a I'nitarian minister, had a promising future before him. Hut hi* health fulled, and he died in his father's home.Mr. Ilogg bore up manfully under tiuancU reverses until hi* hoots was threatened to be taken away from him by a trust deed. Then he took his own life, and almost succeeded tu killing Mamie an ! Willie The bombb- dc tails arc fiesh in the puldlc mind. Master Willie U nowTHE OKI.I SI RVtVOK of a once bright and happy family. Mrs. Hogg, ami her husband unu * biidrcn through ■ her influence, became spiritualist* before she died, ami it is thought by some that I heir radical belief lu this theory lu-cutiio so Intense s» to amount to luonotnonla, and was one of the cu tting causes of the mil ide of Mr. Ilogg ai d hi* two daughters.
Newspaper Details
Bloomington Weekly Pantagraph
Bloomington, Illinois, US
Fri, Feb 11, 1881
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
April K.
NA, 19 Feb 2025
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