Abner Joseph Obituary - Rockingham Co., VA Well-To-Do Farmer Found Dead From Gunshot Wound Abner Joseph, His Friends Believe, Ended Life at His Home. No Reason For Rash Act He Owned Several Farms -- He Had Been Acting Strangely Recently. Mt. Clinton Shocked. The Mount Clinton community was shocked late yesterday by the death of Abner Joseph, one of its leading citizens and one of Rockingham county's most prosperous farmers, from a shotgun discharge fired in his home, one mile west of here, about four o'clock. Members of the Joseph family, including Mrs. Joseph, are said to be of the opinion that Mr. Joseph, aged about 68 years, took his own life by blowing the top of his head away with the shotgun, the butt of which was placed between his knees. They could assign o reason for the rash act, other than to say that the well-to-do farmer had been acting rather strange of late. Mrs. Joseph was in the orchard and her grandson, Gifford Joseph, was at the barn when they heard the gun's discharge. When they returned to the house, they found Mr. Joseph's body in a sitting posture on a cot. Apparently, the man had placed the muzzle of the gun just over his ear and had so inclined his body to rest the gun butt between his knees. Later, Mrs. Joseph recalled that, just as she left the house, she saw her husband open the closet where the shotgun was kept, but paid no attention to his act. According to reports, the death of Mr. Joseph did not come as a complete surprise to his wife as she told friends he had been acting very strangely of late. Mr. Joseph was one of Rockingham's wealthiest farmers. He owned three fine farms in the Mount Clinton section and was said to have possessed a sizeable bank account. Therefore, it can be seen, that Mr. Joseph had no financial worries. He was a life-long resident of the Mount Clinton community and was regarded as a leading citizen. Besides his widow, who was a Miss Arey, four children survive. They are: Grover Joseph, of Mt. Clinton; Mrs. Lucy Bucklew, of Lebanon, Pa.; Mrs. James Reece, of Lilly, and Mrs. Lewis Thomas, of Singers Glen. No funeral arrangements were made last night. ----------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Suzette K. Graham sgraham@erols.com USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material AND permission is obtained from the CONTRIBUTOR of the file. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation.