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462

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A NOVEL MEANS OF SUICIDE.

HIRING A SHOOTING-GALLERY PISTOL.

THE END OF A GALLANT UNION VETERAN——KILLING HIMSELF BEFORE THE TARGET.

A well-dressed, good-looking man, with gray hair and mustache, went into the shooting gallery, No. 137 1-2 Bleecker-st., about 1 p.m. yesterday and said he wanted to practise shooting with a pistol. A single-barrel weapon of 22-calibre was handed to him and he fired six shots at a target with it. His aim was not good, but he said he would try another round. After the weapon was loaded again he placed its muzzle against the side of his head and sent a bullet into his brain. He fell to the floor dead. The wound in his head was concealed by his thick hair, and it was thought at first that he had shot himself in the mouth. At the moment the shot was fired the proprietor of the gallery had turned to look at the target.

The man's body was carried to the Mercer Street Police Station and searched. His pockets contained a memorandum book, two scraps of paper, a few trinkets and a purse with only a few cents in it. The book and papers enabled the police to identify him as Daniel Oakey, a clerk in the employ of the Union Trust Company, whose home was at No. 144 West One-hundred-and-fifth-st. On one scrap of paper was written: "If anything happens to me, tell T. W. Dewing, No. 3 North Washington Square. He has good sense and can use his judgement. Tell Dewing." The other writing was as follows: "Such bravery, devotion and sacrifice, and I am unable to relieve it. Why is this? I cannot witness it. It kills me. She is —— Elaine and Will, what is to come of this——"

Mr. Dewing, the artist at No. 3 North Washington Square, went to the police station and identified the body. He said the dead man was a brother of Mrs. Dewing. Later W. F. Oakey, of No. 125 East Twenty-fourth-st., the aged father of the dead man, went to the station with his wife and daughter. Alexander Oakey, Daniel's brother, was there also. It was said that Daniel had been to see his parents in Twenty-fourth-st. in the morning and had gone downtown with Alexander after breakfast. Members of the family refused to give information to reporters. President King, of the Union Trust Company, visited the family in the afternoon and expressed his sorrow. Daniel Oakey had been employed as a clerk in the company's Broadway office, Mr. King said, but no money passed through his hands and the suicide could not have been caused by any irregularity in his duties there. Mr. King thought that Oakey had been a faithful clerk.

It was learned that Oakey was forty-five years old and had a wife and two children living in West One-hundred-and-fifth-st. He was born in Massachusetts, and joined a regiment of volunteers from that State at the outbreak of the war. He continued in the service until the war was over and was promoted to the rank of captain after he had been wounded several times. On account of his gallantry in the field he got the brevet rank of major at the close of the war. He was a member of a Grand Army post in this city in recent years. Formerly he was in business for himself and well off, but he lost all his property a few years ago. He was devoted to his wife and children, and his failure in business gave him much additional suffering on their account. For months he had been troubled because he could not support them well on his small salary. It was said that he had got into debt in order to procure things for his family, and his financial trouble probably had made him insane. His relatives obtained permission to take charge of his body last evening.
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Collins was an old friend of Marys and had known great vicissitudes of fortune.

Sunday 26". A bright warm day. I wrote to Lucy. Poor Sara had had a letter describing a leap year party they had heard at the post. John McEntee dined with us and Bonyer, who came last night just as we were going to bed. John seemed cheerful but we can see that his anxiety concerning Nannie has told upon him. Sara and I talked of dear Gertrude in the evening with tears. In view of the changes which seem to lie near to us in the future I turn to her and remember what a comfort and a blessing she was in every trouble and anxiety. All my thoughts of her are ennobling and full of satisfaction. She never disappointed my highest ideal of womanhood and the memory of her life which remains, even to her mere acquaintances is a constant solace to me.

Monday 27" Still warm and bright. The snow and ice are melting rapidly. I walked down town and stopped at the stone cutters who is at work on my father's and mothers tomb stone. It is progressing satisfactorily. We decided on the arrangement of the inscription. Sara is getting things in condition to close the house and come to N.Y. for a month. It makes me feel sadly to have the place closed for the first time since it was built, but Sara needs and richly deserves a little recreation and there is no other way. She is going to N.Y. tomorrow.

Tuesday 28" I came down by the 7.45 train last night. Bonyer got off at 6 this morning. Christine and Elting Anderson were on the train on their way to Florida. It had grown colder and my fire was nearly out in my room, but I saved it by careful nursing. This morning it is as cold as Greenland with a high wind from the N.W.

Tuesday 28. Very cold. Sent my pictures up to Wilmurts to be framed and in the afternoon went up there and saw them framed. Only one or two errors occurred and those not serious. Just as I arrived there a fire broke out in the Union Square Theatre and there was great excitement. It burned all afternoon and must be completely burned out although I believe at no time did the flames break out. A large crowd of people came to see it. My pictures were all framed by four o clock and were taken to the gallery when I came to my room where the small catalogues soon came. Dined with the G. B. Club at the University club. The dinner was $6. which is too much. There were present Judge Sedgwick, Robbins, [[?]] Bishop, Dr. Otis, myself, Eastman Johnson, Mr. Anderson, Southmayd, Judge Howland, Marbury, Beaman, Dr [[?]], Nash, & Collins, & Lord. Sara came down this afternoon  

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-18 19:16:49 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-19 14:48:53 . The page marked 461 from which the complete first word on this page was pulled was scanned out of order and is a few pages past this one. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-05-19 15:48:30