Person:Charles Jones (4)

He recieved his education in the district schools and was a farmer byoccupation. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church at Elba and acharter member of the Elba Grange. Mr. Jones with his brother,operated their parent's farm for many years and purchased it in 1901.

1. ↑ Newspaper Article.
2. ↑ Donald Fox. Wicks family History.
3. ↑ Scott Benz. Elba, NY Town Historian, Family group sheets, photos, wills, andnewspaper clippings..
4. ↑ Charles W. Jones, a successful Elba farmer, shot himself twice in thehead at this home,two miles east of the village of Elba, about 6o'clock this morning. He was brought to the Batavia Hospitalunconscious and died there at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon, withouthaving regained consciousness.
   Mr. Jones arose early this morning, apparently in good spirits. Heate breakfast with his family and then retired to a rear room on thesecond floor of his house. Member of the family soon afterward hearda noise upstairs, which sounded like the report of a pistol, and,after calling to Mr. Jones and getting no response suspected thatsomething was wrong . The members of the family in the house did notinvestigate, but they called Mr. Jones's brother, Andrew E. Jones wholived there and who had gone to the barn. The latter and a farm handvisited the upstairs room and found Mr. Jones lying insensible on thefloor. there were two wounds in his head one back of the right earand the other, over the right eye.
   Dr. Lewis of Elba was hurriedly summoned and he immediately telephoneda summons for the Batavia hospital ambulance. Milo Judd, the driverwho responded, made the eight mile trip to the Jones farm in 35minutes and nearly as good time in returning to Batavia. During themorning the wounds in Mr. Jones's head were examined and an operationwas performed, calculated to give him relief. At first it was thoughtMr. Jones had fired only one bullet into his head and that it hadentered near the ear and come out near the eye but the examinationdisclosed that he had fired twice, one ball entering above the eye andthe other behind the ear. Both bullets lie in the brain, no efforthaving been made to extract them, owing to the man's weak condition.
   Mr. Jone's revolver was an old one which he bought years ago and keptabout the house
   to shoot rats with. He hid the weapon a long time ago so that itwould not be lying around and had not used it until today for manymonths. The cartridges were of 22 caliber shot. Mr. and Mrs. Joneswere in Batavia yesterday and late in the afternoon Mr. Jones met hisold friend E.J. Salway, on the street. Mr. Jones was walking with hishead down as if in deep thought.
   "Hello Charley!" exclaimed Mr. Salway, "what's the matter? What areyou going around
   with your head down for?"
   Mr. Jones brightened up and entered into conversation with Mr. Salwayin the course of
   which he referred to the fact that he had 1200 bushels of potatoes onhand and that he had
   had a chance to sell them for 95 cents a bushel, but could not get 75cents for them now.
   "Don't worry." Mr. Salway advised. "There is no reason for you toworry" Mr. Jones appeared to be in his usual good spirits at his homelast night . Naturally he had always been jovial and companionable.During the evening he spent an hour or so playing on his violin, withwhich he was proficient, while his son James, a clerk in the FirstNational Bank of Batavia, played on a clarinet.
   Since the tragic death of his son Eli M. in Albany last June, Mr.Jones had been despondent
   and melancholy at times and brooding over the young man's death ratherthan his inability
   to sell his potatoes now for what he had previously been offered forthem, it is supposed
   to have been the cause of his act, producing temporary insanity. Hisson Eli's death was
   particularly shocking. The young man was to have been graduated fromthe Albany law
   school on June 3rd last and on the night before went to bed leaving asmall gas stove burning in his room. The tube supplying the stovebecame disconnected during the night
   and the young man was asphyxiated. Mr. and Mrs. Jones had left hometo attend the
   graduation of their son and did not learn of his death until theyreached Albany. About six years ago Mr. Jones narrowly escaped deathas the result of taking quantity of tincture of aconite. He wasdoctoring a sick horse at the time and was using the aconite as aremedy. How he happened to swallow the tincture, whether by accidentor design, was not known, but as he had no more reason then to takehis own life than he had now , it was believed that it was mistake.
   Mr. Jones's immediate family consists of his wife and son James. Mrs.Jones is prostrated. Mr. Jones yesterday visited the bank andinsisted that his son should go home with him to spend the night. Mr.Jones was 48 years of age and a native of Elba, his father being EliM. Jones, whose death occurred on June 1, 1881. He was a prosperousfarmer and a prominent member of the Elba Grange.