Some Macabre Stories of the Silver Trade

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Re: Some Macabre Stories of the Silver Trade

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M. RAPPORT

Chicago


M. Rapport, an optician, of Chicago, committed suicide in Little Rock, Ark., last week by taking morphine. The deceased had been losing heavily at cards. Leaving the gambling hall, he soon returned, and went to the closet, where he was found dead two hours later.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 4th January 1893

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J. EDWARD ECKERT

Marengo, Iowa


Tragic Death of J. Edward Eckert, Marengo, Ia.

Marengo, Ia., Aug. 6.—The tragic death of J. Edward Eckert, a local jeweler, which occurred near Amana, July 30, has been a great shock to his friends who are not quite able to determine whether he was a victim of foul play or committed suicide. Mr. Eckert’s body was found on the morning of July 30, on the banks of the Iowa River, by a searching party. There were two bullet holes in his temple, and other indications that he had taken his own life, but outside of the fact that he had been in ill health for sometime, no cause for his suicide can be advanced.

Mr. Eckert left his home in an automobile on Tuesday. He announced that he was going on a business trip, and nothing was thought of it, until he did not return, and no word was heard from him. A searching party was made up Wednesday and scoured the district. As he had gone in the direction of South Amana, and the searcners learned that he penetrated the woods, they kept up the hunt until his body was found. If he committed suicide it was evidently his intention to have his body lost in the river.

Mr. Eckert, who was widely known and popular in Marengo, was about 43 years old and had been in the jewelry business here since 1890. Of recent years he had done a very good business and was highly regarded in the trade. He is survived by a widow and five children as well as a father, brother and sister.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 12th August 1908

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RAYMOND UNGER

New Jersey


Raymond Unger Kills Himself

Raymond Unger, president of Unger Bros., silversmiths and cut glass manufacturers at No. 416 Halsey Street, Newark, N. J., committed suicide Wednesday evening of last week at his home, No. 110 Cooper Avenue, Montclair, N. J. His suicide made the third president of the Unger Bros. to meet a violent death in five years.

Mr. Unger was 28 years of age. His wife and three-year-old daughter Sibyl were on a visit to Mrs. Unger's father, R. A. Dugan, in Evanston, Ill.

Mr. Unger attended to his duties as usual at the factory on Wednesday. Officials and clerks at the factory said he appeared to be in good spirits.
In the afternoon he went to his home and, retiring to his bedroom, instructed a maid to awaken him at 5 o'clock. There was no response when the maid knocked. Opening the door, she saw Unger lying on the bed. Unable to arouse him, she called neighbors, and it was found that he was dead.

County Physician Simmons said that Unger had died from drinking cyanide of potassium. In a flask was some of the poison, which he had obtained at the factory.

In July, 1908, Herman Unger, an uncle of Raymond, who was president of the firm, shot himself to death on the bank of the Raritan River.

Eugene Unger, father of Raymond, succeeded him to the presidency. He was killed while riding horseback 16 months ago. The son, Raymond, then became president.

Besides his mother, widow and daughter. the suicide is survived by two sisters, Mrs, G. La Rue Masters and Miss Helen Unger, and a brother, Kenneth. None of Unger's relatives or business associates could give any motive for his suicide.


Source: The Pottery, Glass & Brass Salesman - 24th July 1913


See: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... er#p124015

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PHILOMON W. BININGER

Lancaster, Ohio


Philomon W. Bininger Gargled his Throat with Muriatic Acid

Lancaster, O., July 8.—Philomon W. Bininger, a prominent jeweler and wealthy citizen, gargled his throat with muriatic acid Thursday night by mistake, and died yesterday morning. The inflammation could not be allayed, and suffocation ensued.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 12th July 1893

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ED. MEEKER

Chanute, Kansas


Ed. Meeker Shot and Instantly Killed

Chanute, Kan., Oct. 5.—Ed Meeker, of the jewelry firm of Fleming & Meeker, of this place, and one of the most popular jewelers in this part of the State, was shot and instantly killed yesterday morning. He was preparing to start on a hunting trip, and when he picked up his gun it went off with the sad results mentioned.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 12th October 1898

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FRANCIS FARRELL

Meriden, Connecticut


Papers have been served upon C. Rogers & Bros., Meriden, in the interest of James Farrell, administrator of the estate of Francis Farrell, to recover damages on account of death of the latter, who was killed while at work in the engine room of the Rogers’ factory, July 29, 1896. The suit is for $5,000 and is returnable in the Superior Court in Waterbury the first Tuesday in March, 1897.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - 10th February 1897

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JOHN J. O'NEILL

Meriden, Connecticut


John J. O’Neill, 52 years of age, committed suicide at his home in Meriden, last week, by taking cyanide of potassium. O’Neill, who was an employe of the International Silver Co., is believed to have been temporarily insane.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 1st December 1909

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OSCAR DARLING

Danforth, Maine


Seriously Injured by the Trap Set to Shoot Burglars

Bangor, Me., Feb. 23.—Oscar Darling has a jewelry store in Danforth, which some time ago was entered by burglars. Since then Mr. Darling has been continually on the alert, expecting another visit. He invented an arrangement whereby he could set his rifle, and by means of a spring attached to a string would be discharged when one attempted to pass behind the counter. Last Monday Darling saw two men loitering near his place of business, and at once placed them on his list of suspicious characters.

When he left his store at night he rigged the trap rifle, which was loaded with a 44-calibre cartridge. Next morning he went to the store about 6 o’clock. He opened the door and went in and without thinking about the trap he had set for the thieves, he ran against the string, and the rifle with a sharp crack did its work just as Mr. Darling had planned. The ball went through his left leg, about six inches above the knee and into the right leg, where it lodged. The flesh of both legs and the bone in the left leg were terribly shattered. Physicians were quickly summoned and the wounds were dressed. The bullet was found. Mr. Darling was seriously injured.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 3rd March 1897

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WILLIAMS

Hyndman, Pennsylvania


Williams, the jeweler, of Hyndman, Pa., who shot an Italian miner through the head at Thomas, W. Va., a few weeks ago and managed to escape, was arrested in Florida last week. The West Virginia authorities offered $2,000 for his arrest. It is alleged he shot the miner because he brushed his dirty clothes against him. The Italian has become a raving lunatic from the effect of the wound.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 30th June 1897

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ROBERT GLAESNER

Detroit


Robert Glaesner, a jeweler in the employ of M. S. Smith & Co., Detroit, Mich., committed suicide by hanging on the 2d of January. His wife died eight years before, and he was very low spirited in consequence. Recently a younger son became a hopeless cripple through a disease of the hip, and the father could bear his troubles no longer. His case was a sad one, and he left all his possessions to his crippled son.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular and Horological Review - February 1888

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WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL

New York


William H. Campbell, a clerk in the employ of J. Bendix, 800 Third Ave., was found dead, last Wednesday, on the threshold of a vault in the White Plains Rural Cemetery. The body, which was within 100 feet of the graves of Mr. Campbell’s father and mother, was found by John M. Farley, a civil engineer. About 20 feet from the body was a bottle which had contained poison.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 1st December 1909

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TOM BAXTER

London


The students of the Horological Institute have lost one of their number under peculiarly distressing circumstances. As the eldest son of Mr. Baxter, of Goswell Road, was riding his bicycle down Cheapside on Good Friday, the machine caught a defect in the roadway, and he was pitched off in front of one of the wheels of a loaded bus, which passed over his body, causing rupture of the liver and other fatal injuries, against which he struggled till Monday, May 3rd. “ Tom " Baxter, who was within a month or two of completing his seventeenth year, was a high and generous—spirited lad, and a particular favourite with all his fellow-students. He had taken sufficient part in his father's business to give evidence of marked ability, which, with his straightforward and engaging manner, seemed to indicate for him a brilliant future.

Source: The Horological Journal - June 1886

The above report likely refers to the firm of Grimshaw & Baxter.

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HENRY BRODENHEYER

Madison, Wisconsin


It became known here, Friday, that Henry Brodenheyer, a former jeweler of Madison, Wis., who was found dead near his home in the Summer of 1906, and believed to have been murdered by robbers, was killed by his wife Margaret Brodenheyer, now a patient at the Dunning Insane Asylum. This was the substance of a confession made by Clara Brodenheyer, their daughter, to Assistant Chief of Police Schuettler. The girl, who is 18 years old, told how her mother had slain her father, how she had aided in disposing of the body, how the crime had driven her mother insane, and how the terrible story had haunted her until she had to tell it.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 17th November 1909


Daughter of the Late Henry Bodenheyer, Madison, Wis., Confesses That Her Mother, Now Insane, Killed Her Father.

Madison, Wis., Nov. 17.—After a lapse of three years the mystery of the murder of Henry Bodenheyer, formerly a jeweler of Madison, has been solved by the confession of the 18-year-old daughter. Clara Bodenheyer, that her mother, now an inmate of the Dunning insane asylum, at Chicago, perpetrated the crime.

At the time of the murder it was the belief of the police that robbers had been responsible for the deed. According to the story of Miss Bodenheyer, her father was enticed into a deserted slaughter house and shot by his jealous wife, who believed her husband to be guilty of infidelity. Mrs. Bodenheyer shot her husband twice, watched him die, threw the revolver away and fled from the place. The daughter, who was only a short distance away, had heard the shots and ran toward the building to learn what had happened.

Suspicious of her mother’s declaration that her father had committed suicide, the girl finally forced her mother to confess the deed. Mother and daughter then sought to drag the body away and make it appear that the jeweler had been murdered. Three days after Mrs. Bodenheyer reported her husband’s absence to the police, and his body was found in a short time.

A few months later Mrs. Bodenheyer sold her husband's store at Madison and she and her daughter went to Chicago to live. Brooding over the murder destroyed the woman’s reason and she was committed to the Dunning asylum. The daughter kept the secret until her mother went insane and there was no longer any danger of her being prosecuted unless she should recover her reason, which is not likely, according to Chicago physicians.

District- Attorney Vroman Mason, of Madison, has announced that he will not prosecute the daughter, who, he says, was only an accessory after the fact.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 24th November 1909

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L. PONZONI

Minneapolis


While hammering a pair of cuff buttons into shape, L. Ponzoni, a jewelry maker in the employ of Kirchner & Renich, 17 S. 7th St., accidentally struck the forefinger of his left hand with a heavy hammer, necessitating partial amputation of the member.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular- 15th December 1909

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ADAM DOER

Clinton, Massachusetts


Adam Doer, a well-known jeweler, was the victim of a murderous assault on the 9th. While on Branch street during the evening he was attacked and seriously stabbed. His assailant stole upon him from behind, threw him to the ground and slashed him on the back of the neck with a knife. The wound was five inches in length. The affair happened so quickly that his friends were unable to assist him until the deed had been committed and the assailant had fled. Mr. Doer was at once taken to his home on Wittig Court and a physician called. The police were summoned and the whole force was put to work on the case. The result of the wound is in doubt according to the physicians.

Source: The Jewelers Review - 17th May 1899

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JOHN M. KUNTZ

Newark, New Jersey


John M. Kuntz, a jewelry workman, 31 years old, was found dead one day last week at his home, 54 Blum St., having shot himself in the temple.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 21st March 1906

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LEOPOLD CHRISTMAN

Beachburg, Ontario


The Pacific Hotel at Sturgeon Falls, Ont., was burned down on Dec. 3, with the loss of two lives. Leopold Christman, a jeweler of Beachburg, Ont., broke his ankle in jumping from a third-story window and sustained serious burns.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 13th December 1922

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LYON LEVY

London


DREADFUL SUICIDE

At seven o'clock in the evening an inquest was held in Upper Thames-street, before Thos. Shelton, esq. coroner for the city of London, on the body of Mr. Lyon Levy, who was found dead about noon that day in Monument-yard. It appeared in evidence, that the deceased had paid for admission into the Monument, observing to the keeper, that some ladies were shortly to join him; upon which the man said, " Sir, had not you better wait until the ladies come?" The deceased, however, proceeded onwards directly; he reached the gallery, precipitated himself over the railing, and falling on his head, expired without a groan. His fall appeared at first to be in such a straight perpendicular direction,that it was thought he would have fallen inside of the railing; his feet, however, striking against one of the griffins by the way, threw him some distance from the monument, and he fell into the yard surrounding it. He was one of the most extensive dealers in diamonds, pearls, rubies, topazes, emeralds, and other precious stones, in England. He was of the Jewish persuasion; and, besides some very extensive connexions abroad, he had nearly twenty Jews about the streets of London, who acted as hawkers or runners to his house, and each of whom had power to give credit to the jewellers to a great extent. Within the course of the last month he called on a person of responsibility in the trade, residing in Craven-buildings, and offered him diamonds and other precious stones to the amount of between two and 3000l. on credit; but the other prudently refused the offer, on account of the very great risk he ran of disposing of such a quantity of valuable gems in time sufficient for the repayment. The deceased was а man of such correctness in all his dealings; that up to the very day of his death he could have got credit, amongst the other merchants in his line of business, to almost any amount. He had been, however, unfortunate in several very extensive speculations to Gibraltar and other places abroad; he could not brook the idea of sustaining his credit for some time longer by the assistance of friends, whom, perhaps, he might not have it in his power to pay; and after having passed many years in the most honourable affluence, his altered circumstances made a deep impression on his mind; he was observed to be frequently of a gloomy habits was totally absorbed in thought, and absent in every thing that was the topic of conversation around him. He has left a wife and eight children to bewail his loss, and it is supposed his wife is pregnant -with a ninth child.— Under all these circumstances, the jury brought in their verdict—Insanity.


Source: The New Annual Register - January 1810

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F.B. TEED

Detroit


F. B. Teed, a young jeweler at 1105 Russell street, was run down by a runaway team while riding his bicycle on Russell street. Teed's wheel was totally wrecked and he would have been trampled under foot had he not grabbed the bit of one of the horses. Teed hung on until he had brought the team to a halt. He was bruised about the head and arms, but not seriously.

Source: The Jewelers' Review - 28th June 1899

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CHARLES PORTENSTEIN

Newark, New Jersey


Charles Portenstein, 30 years old, a jeweler, employed at the factory of Durand & Co., and residing at 380 Eighteenth Ave., committed suicide in Weequahic Park by swallowing poison. A note left to his wife showed that he feared he was losing his mind as the result of an attack of influenza. He was seen by Edward M. Christie, 29 Treacy Ave., lying on the grass near the golf course before dark, writhing in pain. He was lifted into Christie's automobile and taken to a physician's office. As the physician was not home he was then taken to the City Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A tax bill in his pocket gave a clue as to his identity and he was later identified at the hospital by his wife. She said he had left for his work in the morning and she had not heard of him until the police called her to the hospital to notify her of her husband's death.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 30th June 1920

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