grave import

Obituary

John R. Stewart committed suicide by shooting himself at six o'clock yesterday in the barn in the rear of the residence of his brother-in-law, Henry Fear, No.1028 North Sixth street. At that hour the sharp report of a pistol was heard by Mr. Fear, who was in the yard cutting grass, and proceeding to an examination of the premises discovered the dead body of Mr. Stewart in the stable. He was in a sitting posture with his back against a partition, with the weapon which had just completed its deadly work clutched in his right hand. A bullet hole produced by the entrance of a thirty-two calibre cartridge was discovered near the right temple and from the location of the wound,death must have been instantaneous. For several days past Stewart has exhibited manifestation of melancholy, which friends attribute to illness. On Monday he threatened to destroy himself, and has made similar threats upon several other occasions, though little attention was paid to them. Stewart, for a number of years past has been regarded as an eccentric individual, invariably had a pipe in his mouth, carried a cane and was frequently seen upon the streets. He seldom recognized anyone, not even his most intimate acquaintances, seemingly cultivating solitude. It is probable that his mind was deranged, his mental parturbation being attributed to dissipation. He was the son of Robert Stewart, who died in 1868, and inherited a fortune, which he squandered in a few years. The weapon with which he committed suicide was borrowed Monday on the representation that he intended killing rodents that infested the premises. Stewart leaves three sisters, Mrs. Henry Fear, Mrs. Charles Chamberlain and Mrs. A. Wyman, all of whom are highly respected and connected. An inquest was deemed not necessary and was not held. The funeral occurs this afternoon.;