Alameda County CA Archives Obituaries.....Aronson, Bernard February 28, 1895
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Steve Harrison raleighwood@juno.com January 3, 2010, 2:53 am

San Francisco Call, March 1, 1895
“AN OAKLAND BARBER DIES IN HIS CHAIR. 
He Left Home Happy, But Was Found Dead Twenty Minutes Later. 
TOOK THE MORPHINE ROUTE. 
Bernard Aronson, a barber, who has a shop at 451 Eighth street, Oakland, was 
found dead in a chair in his shop at 7:20 o'clock yesterday morning. It is 
supposed that he committed suicide. 
Aronson lived with his wife and family, consisting of a little boy of 8 years 
and a girl of 5, at 265 Eighth street, and yesterday morning at 7 o'clock he 
left his home as usual to go to the shop, and was apparently in good health and 
spirits. 
Twenty minutes later when Frank Assis, his assistant, opened the shop he found 
Aronson reclining in the barber chair farthest from the door, his coat and 
shoes off. The head of the man was thrown back some distance on the headrest. 
The assistant went to his employer and saw that his face was badly discolored 
from the rush of blood. He straightened out the body and placed the head in a 
natural position, and then started out to find medical aid. He came back in a 
few minutes with Dr. Kitchings, who saw at once that the man was dead, and 
Coroner Baldwin was notified. 
When the Coroner's deputy arrived he made an investigation. In a little box on 
a stand he found some remnants of a white powder, also the same looking stuff 
in solution in a glass with water in it, while on the dead man's lips and 
flaked about his heavy black mustache were also evidences of the white powder. 
It developed afterward that this powder was morphine. 
Aronson's wife was notified and became frantic when she was told that her 
husband had killed himself and she tried to throw herself from an upper window 
of her house. When she became in a measure calmed down she said she knew no 
reason why her husband had killed himself. He had left the house in the morning 
in an unusually happy frame of mind. 
It was reported on the streets that the barber was the administrator of an 
estate and was not able to make a final accounting, and that yesterday was the 
last day he had to file the papers. He was administrator of the estate of his 
wife's mother, Mrs. Max Raphael, who died on March 9, 1894, leaving an estate 
valued at $6500, consisting principally of two houses on Eighth street, one of 
which Aronson occupied. 
The heirs of Mrs. Raphael were Mrs. Jennie Aronson, Sarah Raphael, Mrs. Mollie 
Marks, Rosa and Ella Raphael. Aronson filed his final account of the estate on 
October 15 last, but had not obtained his discharge from the courts because he 
had not filed the vouchers to show that he had turned the property over to the 
heirs. 
The final account shows money on hand amounting to $439.88. 
Aronson was 43 years of age and a native of Germany. He was a member of 
Piedmont Lodge, K. of  P., and of I.O. B. B. Lodge. 
The Coroner's jury last night brought in a verdict of death by morphine 
poisoning, and found that the drug was administered with suicidal intent.” END


Additional Comments:
San Francisco Call, March 1, 1895 (Friday), Page 11, Column 3.


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