Newton, William - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Source: Crawfordsville Star Feb 2, 1882 p 6

Word was brought up town on last Saturday evening that Wm. Newton was dying at the house of Mrs. Howard Nicholson in the Sperry Valley and a representative of The Star was soon on the grounds. Mr. Nicholson and her husband live in a small house on the old Col. Blair garden property on Lafayette Pike, immediately opposite the old town cemetery. When the writer arrived Mr. Newton was stretched out on the bed ghastly in death. The persons present were Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, Hod Newton son of the deceased, PH Hughes and Policeman Cox. Mr. Newton was quite dead and Dr. Irwin who arrived shortly afterwards so decided. The body was taken to his son’s residence on Spring street where the funeral was held on Monday afternoon immediately after the physicians concluded their post mortem examination conducted by Dr. Gott, assisted by Drs. Leech and JN Taylor. There being rumors of foul play a coroner’s inquest was commenced the same day and most searching investigation was entered into concerning all the facts in the case.  Mrs. Nicholson testified that she was alone in her house about six o’clock on Saturday evening, her husband being gone to a neighbors when someone tapped weakly at the door. She hastened to open it and was surprised to see Mr. Newton who appeared much excited, was very pale and hatless. She said she asked him what he wanted and he replied that he “felt sick and wanted to sit down.”  She pulled a low rocking chair up to the stove and he sat down and said he “felt so very strange.” In a moment his hands fell down to his side helplessly and his head dropped backwards and he commenced to strangle. She vainly attempted to bring him to by dashing water in his face and then also tried to life him to the bed. Failing in this she ran out and screamed for help and Wm. C. Skaggs and his son, George, neighbors came in.  By this time Mr. Newton was black in the face and death rattle was in his throat. He quit breathing almost as soon as removed to the bed and they discovered no beating of the heart or pulse and they believed him dead. Mr. Skagg’s evidence agreed with Mrs. Nicholson’s in regard to his appearance in the house and all he could add to the evidence was that a half hour before this he had seen some man sneaking in the direction of the Nicholson house and noticed that the unknown man made considerable effort to conceal his identity by keeping on the other side of the street next to the cemetery fence. This man might have been Mr. Newton but he could not swear such was the case. He had not seen Mr. Newtown down that way often lately.

Mr. Newton was a man of considerable property but contracted an unfortunate marriage with Mattie Bastion (the present Mrs. Nicholson) a few years ago but jealousy and the woman’s wretched infidelity partially deranged him and even after the court granted his application for divorce his infatuation for the woman did not cease and whenever she was in need of money she knew where to get it. If not be gentle persuasion she generally found other means quite as effective to secure her ends. He madly loved the woman after his way and she was too smart to ever cut entirely loose from his acquaintance. He had frequently told her that if she wouldn’t try to live respectable and live with him he would at least die in her presence and on several occasions had threatened suicide. Recently, however, he had been in unusually good humor and no one believed he had any idea of self-destruction and it is still believed he died a natural death from congestion of the blood and over excitement which brought on paralysis. On Saturday he settled with the landlord of the St. James Hotel for two weeks’ board and exhibited a roll of about $200.  He was in good humor and walked out by the college campus to his laundrywoman’s to ge this linen. After his death a letter was found on his person signed “Mattie” (Mrs. Nicholson) in which she stated she wanted to see him; that she and her husband did not get along well together; that her husband was unreasonable, jealous, suspicious of her every action and nearly starved her to death and that she should leave him after seeing him (Mr. Newton). The letter bore no date but the writing looked fresh enough to have been penned that day and to the receipt of this loving letter is attributed Mr. Newton’s visit to Mrs. Nicholson’s house. In his made infatuation he was a boy again, loving and full of hope – bent on an errand of love, really going to his certain death. The night was cold and blustery and a keen north wind swept up the narrow defile of the Pike cutting one to the marrow and intense enough to fatally chill the blood of so feeble aman as the deceased. It is supposed in the excitement of that hasty walk, Mr. Newton’s hat blew off, that is if he started with one, which is quite doubtful. Only 41.20 IN MONEY WAS FOUND ON HIS PERSON AND FOR A TIME IT WAS SUPPOSED THE BODY HAD BEEN ROBBED BY SOME ONE. But on Tuesday the balance about $180 was found concealed in a box in his room in the second story of his block on Main Street.  It appears the deceased had expected to be assessed by Mattie and had hastily hid his money before he started to her side.  A hat he commonly wore was also found in his room so it is possible he left without any head covering at all. The result of the post mortem examination is not known, as the surgeons refuse to give an opinion as to what caused his death till a chemist shall examine the stomach and bladder which were removed from the body before burial for this purpose. It is known, however, that the different organs were in normal condition and none of them unduly diseased for a man his age, 66  years. Mr. Newton leaves three children, Horace, Thomas and Jane, all grown.

Last Tuesday a post mortem examination of the remains of WH Newton was made by Drs. Gott and Taylor, assisted by Dr. Leech, the following other physicians being present: Drs. Owsley, Layne, Duncan and Ensminger. The cranial, thoracic, abdominal and pelvis cavities were each examined in turn and certain viscers retained for chemical analysis. The examining physicians simply state that the lungs were very much congested and that there were indications of an inflammatory disturbance of the intestinal canal; but reserve any further expression of opinion until the chemical analysis of the contents of the stomach and bladder is made.

Source: Crawfordsville Star Feb 2, 1882 p 3
The Coroner concluded his inquest in the Newton case yesterday evening by pronouncing the verdict that Mr. Newton met his death  by congestion of the lungs.  An inquest is a grand thing.