Talbot County GaArchives Obituaries.....Mrs. Newton Callier June 7 1904 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Carla Miles cmhistory@mchsi.com August 5, 2003, 9:17 pm The Talbotton New Era, June 9, 1904 The Talbotton New Era Thursday, June 9, 1904 Page 2 A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY! Mrs. Newton Callier Sends Bullet Crashing Through Her Heart The entire town was startled at noon Tuesday by a telephone message stating that Mrs. Newton Callier had shot herself through the heart. At first it was thought to be a mistake but later messages confirmed the report. When the message was received Mr. Newton Callier was on the streets and was almost prostrated when he learned the terrible news that his wife had died by her own hand. Mrs. Callier had been unwell for some time and had gone out to the home of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Green, to spend several days in the hope that the change might benefit her. During the time she was there she was very despondent and expressed the belief that she would never be well again. Tuesday morning she was in a very melancholy humor and had been laying down a part of the morning. She came in to dinner as usual but could not eat very much. She excused herself saying that she would go and lay down for a while and possible she would feel more like eating. Upon leaving the dining room she went into the front room, which was occupied by Mrs. Green and obtained a pistol, which was in the tray of Mrs. Green’s trunk. She then crossed the hall and went into the parlor, secured a photograph of her husband and returned to the former room. She sat down on the side of the bed, placed the pistol to her heart and fired the shot, which sent her into eternity. Mrs. Green and Mr. Will Freeman, the overseer of the Mrs. Green, were still in the dining room and immediately ran into the front room when they heard the report of the pistol. Mrs. Callier had fallen back on the bed leaning on her elbows and was gasping for breath. She lived only a few seconds as death as almost instantaneous. As she fell back, the pistol dropped over the bed. She leaves a little baby only seven months old and a statement she made to Mrs. Green a few days ago in regard to the baby is the only thing that leads them to even think that the terrible act was premeditated. She had stated to Mrs. Green that she was not going to live and that she wanted her to take the baby in the event of her death. When Mrs. Callier left the table, the little child was there in Mrs. Green’s lap. From the time that Mrs. Callier left the dining room until the shot was heard, not more than two or three minutes had elapsed. It seems that she went into the room, secured the pistol, crossed the hall and obtained her husband’s picture, returned instantly to the former room and fired the shot. Mr. Will Freeman in speaking of the tragedy said: “Mrs. Callier has been very despondent for several days and appeared to be on the very eve of a nervous prostration. Several times just before her death she had stated that there was no chance for her to get well again and would cry when she talked on the subject. When she came in to dinner Tuesday she did not eat hardly anything and complained of feeling unwell. I saw she was despondent and had the blues and tried to cheer her up and encourage her, telling her that she would soon be well again. She left the table stating that she would go and lay down for a while and possibly she would feel better. In a few moments time report of the pistol was heard. I did not think it was a pistol or gun at first but thought it was a paper bag some one was bursting. But in a moment Mrs. Green had entered the room where the report was and as I started in I met her, and she told me Mrs. Callier had shot herself. I rushed into the room and saw Mrs. Callier laying back motionless on the bed. She was dead when I reached her. The ball I suppose had penetrated her heart and it came out of her back on the right side, passing entirely through her body.” Mr. Callier was in town when he heard the news and was almost paralyzed with grief. He ran down to his home, secured his horse and rode rapidly to Mrs. Green’s before any of his friend could prepare to accompany him. When he reached the place and saw the prostrate form of the wife to whom he was so devoted, the scene was heart rending. The little motherless babe was in the cradle crying and would allow no one but its father to approach it. As the father was rocking the cradle and trying to sing the child the to sleep, while his heart was breaking, his mother entered the room before he knew of her presence, and throwing her arms around his neck, tried to whisper words of comfort to the grief stricken man. It was a pitiable sight and would have melted a heart of stone. Mrs. Callier was only twenty-one years of age and had been married eighteen months. She was a daughter of Mr. James W. Jones, one of the best know farmers of Talbot County. Since her marriage she has been living here in Talbotton. Her health has been very bad since her baby was born and it is the general opinion that despondency brought about by her condition was the cause of her ending her life. She was devoted to her husband and child. The last thing she did before her death was to get the photograph of her husband and play for a few brief moments with the little babe. The remains were brought to Talbotton Wednesday afternoon and interred in Oak Hill Cemetery. The funeral very largely attended by the friends of the deceased and her husband. The sympathy of the entire community goes out to the heart-broken husband in his hour of agony and almost hopeless despair. The heart of the city of Talbotton throbs with sympathy for the father and motherless babe. This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb