Eller - Margaret Smith
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Monday, 22 May 1893
Mrs. Maggie Eller, the relict of Joseph Eller, died Sunday morning at 2 o’clock, from an overdose of morphine evidently taken to relieve physical suffering to which she was subject. Mrs. Eller resided with her two half grown children at 105 Chestnut Street, and was employed at the coffin factory where she was engaged in making linings for caskets.
Mrs. Eller has been subject to attacks of acute neuralgia and on going home Saturday evening after her day’s work, began to suffer slightly. She sent her son to the office of Dr. Jones requesting that he send her medicine or come down sometime during the course of the evening. Dr. Jones made a couple of urgent calls and arrived at the residence of Mrs. Eller sometime after 9 o’clock. He was surprised to find her in a numbed condition and evincing the symptoms of morphine poisoning. She was conscious and stated that her body felt quite curious and numb. She denied having taken anything, evidently not wishing the doctor to know that she had prescribed for herself. The symptoms were so marked that she was treated for morphine poisoning and Dr. Cowan and several of the neighbors were called in. Mrs. Eller soon had a convulsion and never regained consciousness, dying at 2 o’clock in the morning.
Under her pillow was found a plain white prescription box labeled ‘morphine” but marked with no druggist’s name. It contained a paper of the drug and several empty capsules. The amount taken by Mrs. Eller is, of course, unknown, but it must have been a large dose. Coroner Bronaugh held an inquest yesterday and rendered a verdict of accidental poisoning. The suicide theory is not tenable. Mrs. Eller was quite happy with her children and only Saturday her wages raised at the coffin factory. She, in her ignorance of morphine, took an overdose to relieve her suffering and sacrificed her life. The case is a very lamentable and unfortunate one. Mrs. Eller was a member of the Christian Church and a very excellent woman.
Short services were held this morning and this afternoon the remains were shipped to her old home in Bloomington for burial. -s
Source: Weekly Argus News May 27, 1893 p 6
A very sad case of accidental poisoning, attended with fatal results, occurred Saturday night. The life belonged to Mrs. Maggie Eller and the sacrifice was occasioned by her own ignorance of morphine and its terrible effects, couple, perchance, with a piece of carelessness on the part of some druggist in selling her the powerful drug without cautioning her in regard to the quantity constituting a dose. Mrs. Eller has been a sufferer for sometime with acute neuralgia and has been taking treatment for the same under Dr. O.H. Jones. Saturday afternoon she returned from the Coffin factory, where she was employed in the lining department, and complained that she was not feeling well. From the symptoms she believed that it was an attack of neuralgia coming on and dispatched her young son, Harry for Dr. Jones. The physician responded in due time and found the lady in a condition bordering on the critical. She complained of feeling numb over her entire body and had all the symptoms of one suffering from an overdose of morphine. Notwithstanding her denial that she had taken any of the drug, Dr. Jones began treating her for morphing poisoning but she finally passed into convulsion and until death relieved the pain about 2 o'clock Sunday morning the lady never regained consciousness. Beneath her pillow was found a quantity of bulk morphine and several capsules. The box bore no druggists trade mark and where it came from is not known. However it is presumed that Mrs. Eller had taken it to relieve her pain and when questioned had denied the fact for the reason that she did not want the doctor to know she had been so careless as to prescribe for herself. A dose of morphine ranges from 1/8 to 1/2 grain and the supposition is that Mrs. Eller took a three grain capsule. The coroner was called and made a post mortem examination yesterday afternoon. The verdict returned was "death due to accidental poisoning." Mrs. Eller was born in Whitehall in Owen County in 1833 and has been a resident of Crawfordsville for about 10 years, Her husband died soon after they moved here leaving his family in rather straightened circumstances but Mrs. Eller, by her own exertions, has succeeded in supporting and educating her two children, Harry and Carrie. She was a woman of many good qualities, a good neighbor and had the respect of the entire community. Funeral services at 12 o'clock today by Rev. Howe and the remains were taken on the afternoon train to Bloomington, where the interment will occur. - typed by kbz