The Tragedy of William Sanborn
A young clerk takes his own life at the Brunswick Hotel, revealing a long-hidden struggle of despair.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
William H. Sanborn, the 18-year-old son of a prominent grocer, died by suicide yesterday morning in the Brunswick Hotel. His younger brother, sleeping in the same room, was awakened by the shot. Sanborn had previously attempted to end his life by chloroform in February but was saved. Despite outward appearances of a cheerful life and a wealthy family, friends suggested he suffered from unrequited love or profound, hidden despondency. The body was processed at Bonney & Stewart’s before being shipped to Chicago.
“Although young Sanborn's friends and the public at large have not been apprised of the fact, this last successful attempt discloses but a part of the struggles, deep hidden, which invariably ended in a desire to end life.”
This account reflects the 1890s journalistic practice of chronicling personal tragedy with painful, explicit detail, often speculating on private motives that were never fully known.
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