Churchill - Ralph
RALPH CHURCHILL
Source: Waveland Independent newspaper, Waveland, Montgomery County, Indiana Thursday, November 29, 1906
Ralph Churchill, a collector for the Armour Co., accidentally shot himself in Findlay, Ohio on Thursday afternoon. Letters found in his pockets led to telegrams being sent here to Miss Ethel Fullenwider. The Friday papers had a very embroidered story. The following from a letter written by Mrs. Frank Churchill of Swanton, Ohio the mother of the dead man gives the real facts. Every one that knew him loved him and knew that he was innocent of any intention of doing himself any harm. Mr. Churchill said all in Findlay who knew him and had anything to say about it, spoke only to the best terms of him, and all joined in one thing - that he did not take his life intentionally. The way he killed himself was this way. He took all the loads out of his revolver then put back one and said, "See if I can turn it so that I can snap it 3 times before it will shoot." He snapped it twice at the meat cutter who told him to stop or he would shoot himself or someone else. Ralph told him there wasn't no danger and laughed and put it to his temple and fired and fell with a groan and was dead before anyone could get to him. The papers had some bad things about him but they were not true. The Findlay coroner's verdict was accidental shooting. Miss Ethel received a letter written at 3 o'clock of the fatal day saying that he would spent Thanksgiving here. They met when the Fullenwiders were living in Michigan and were to have been married in the Spring. -- kbz