SHOAF, Alfred Frances - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

The good people of the town of Cates and Fulton township were horrified last Friday morning when the news spread of the town and vicinity that ALFRED FRANCES SHOAF, one of the most highly respected citizens of that little town, had taken his own life by shooting himself with a shot gun, the contents of which made an ugly wound in his side and literally tore his heart from his body. Shoaf and his wife arose about six o'clock. He went to the barn, which is near the rear of an adjoining lot to his house, and did his feeding, while she prepared breakfast. After breakfast Shoaf unloaded a load of hay into his barn being assisted by two boys, Eddie Summers and Ernest Pavey. He then hauled a barrel of water to his hogs, after which he went to the house and changed shirts to go to Lew Teegarden's and assist in the harvest field. While he was changing his shirt his wife asked him if she and his daughter, Junnie, could go to another daughter, who is married and spend the day. He replied that they could and as he left the house he picked up his gun, a single barrel shot gun, and said, "I guess I will take the gun with me." Nothing was thought of him doing so as his wife supposed he intended to try to kill some young rabbits on the way home. They thought that he had gone to Teegarden's and as soon as they could get ready they left the house and started toward the barn to hitch up. They had hardly reached the corner of the house before they heard a discharge of a gun and Mrs. Shoaf looking toward the barn saw smoke coming out of the door, both she and her daughter ran to the barn though the girl did not get inside the door, but her mother ran to the feed way and looking over saw her husband lying on the straw with blood spurting from a ghastly would. She called to her daughter to run for help, that her father had shot himself. The girl hurried to John Young's store while the excited mother ran to Pavey's store and gave the alarm. Allen Pavey, Deck Holland and Chas. Huffman ran to the barn, Pavey being the first to reach the injured man. He saw his clothing on fire and his first act was to extinguish the flames. A close examination proved that nothing could be done for the poor man as life was extinct when they reached his side, so they left the body lay until they could get into communication with the coroner, who ordered the body taken into the house. It is not known exactly what the man did between the time he left the house with the gun and time when the shot was heard, but it was evident from the surroundings that when he left the house, he quietly slipped around to the barn and going to the shed, lay down on a pile of straw, he placed the gun by his side on the straw with the muzzle pointing direct toward his heart and against his body, then with a stick about four feet long he reached the trigger and pulled it off. So far as is known the only motive for the act was in the fact that recently it is said certain parties had circulated a scandalous report in regard to Shoaf. This report weighed on Shoaf's mind, but he kept it a secret to himself for sometime, but a few weeks ago when his son, Elmer, visited them, he told him all about it and said that he had worried much over it and felt like taking his own life. He had not at that time told any of the other members of his family, but later told his wife, and last Sunday went to George Algood's, who, the man that had been circulating the defaming report said, was a witness to the crime. Algood went to Cates and he and Shoaf said that there was nothing in it and so assured Shoaf, but it did not keep him from worrying and on Tuesday Algood went to Cates and he and Shoaf went to Covington where they had a talk with Prosecutor White, who also assured them that there was absolutely nothing in the story, but Shoaf continued to worry. His wife said that would not eat and finally laboring under the delusion that he was disgraced forever, he ended his troubles by tearing his heart from his body. Alfred F. Shoaf was 55 years of age the 6th of last January. He leaves a wife and six children, four of whom are married. He has lived in Cates for over a year, moving there from a farm southwest of that place and has spent his entire life in the county. He was an industrious and honest man and had many friends to whom his sad end is a terrible shock. The funeral was held Sunday, interment in the Harveysburg cemetery.

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