Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Conklin, Henry 1896 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net August 22, 2011, 5:10 pm The Portland Observer, August 26, 1896 Henry Conklin shot himself through the head with a revolver about four o’clock last Monday morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Smith, east of town. Mr. Conklin had been boarding for some time at Ann Watson’s boarding house on the west side, but went to the home of his daughter, who lives on the farm formerly owned by Conklin, but now owned by J. A. McClelland, Sunday night. According to what we have been able to learn he got up about four o’clock and went and sat down on the porch. About a half hour afterward Charles Bradley, a neighbor, says he heard two shots in rapid succession. Those in the house claim they heard nothing. About five minutes afterward another shot was heard. Dr. Alton was called about half past five and went immediately to the house, arriving there at half-past six. When he got there the body was still lying where it had fallen and no effort had been made to remove it, and it was only after solicitation on his part that the body was removed to a room off the kitchen and laid upon a couch. Beside him on the floor of the stoop was the revolver with which the shooting had been done. An examination of the wounded man showed that three shots had been fired, the two first having had no effect although it could be seen where the balls had struck the skull and glanced off, and Dr. Alton’s theory is that after having fired these two shots and waiting for death and it not coming, he had fired the third shot determined not to make a failure of that, for it entered the skull just above the ear on the right side and came out just below the ear on the left side. He died from the result of his wounds about nine o’clock Monday forenoon. For a long time Mr. Conklin had been despondent over the dark future before him, as he expressed it to The Observer a few days ago, and said that when the little money he had was gone he would be gone, too. Evidently he kept his word, for, we understand, no money was found in his possession. This was the third or more attempt he had made to take his own life, the other two having been made by the poison route. There was a time when Mr. Conklin was one of the most prominent farmers in this section, he then owning 320 acres of land east of town; but one thing and another conspired to work against him and when he lost his farm by mortgage foreclosure and he saw his property, which he had worked hard early and late to accumulate gradually slipping away from him, he thought there was no relief, but in death and he was determined to die. For some time he has carried a revolver for this purpose and he had been to Wm. Myers, the gunsmith, to have it repaired once or twice; but he always put it in such shape that it would not explode a cartridge when the hammer struck it. Deceased had no relatives besides his daughter here, except a sister, Mrs. Kimball, residing at Ionia. Last Sunday Mr. Conklin got into a dispute with a fellow boarder over Catholicism and he undertook to use a gun to enforce his side of the argument and drew it for that purpose. It was taken away from him and when he had quieted down it was restored to him. He was a strong anti-Catholic, although his wife was and his daughters are all Catholics. Dr. Alton brought the weapon back to town with him and he now has it in his possession. There is blood upon it still, but not as much as when first picked up, it having been rubbed off by handling. It was a six-shot self- cocking revolver and shot a 32-short cartridge. Deceased was a native of New York state, where he was born 72 years ago. He had been a resident of Portland since 1843. The funeral services will be conducted from the house this (Wednesday) forenoon at 10 o’clock. Justice Morehouse, acting in the capacity of coroner, impaneled a jury Monday forenoon and viewed the remains. The jury consisted of O. F. Barton, T. J. Bandfield, L. Stimpson, John Matson, Geo. Barnes and D. A. Smith. At the house they took the testimony of John Smith and wife and James Morearity and wife (the two ladies being daughters of the deceased) and Mrs. Smith’s hired man, and then adjourned to Mr. Morehouse’s office in this village until four o’clock. Here the testimony of Dr. Alton, Ann Watson and Chas. Bradley was taken. Nobody had seen the shooting done, but the testimony all tended to self destruction, and the verdict of the jury was that deceased met death by shooting by his own hand. A note was found near where the body lay asking that he be “laid out” in this house—meaning the one near where he was found, because the note contained other matter addressed to his daughter. In Mrs. Watson’s testimony she said she found a card in Mr. Conklin’s room Monday morning, asking her to dispose of his clothing by giving it to Mrs. N. B. Barnes, Jr. Wm. Kline, who lives on Chas. Bradley’s farm, says he heard the shot; he then said that Conklin had told him he intended taking his life. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/c/conklin16722nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 5.5 Kb