Henry Sprague Died by Suicide in an Unfinished House
A young farmer in Medical Lake ends his life in the unfinished house he was building for his bride-to-be after she marries another.
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.
Medical Lake, Oct 12—Henry F. Sprague, a young farmer, was found dead in a new house he was building. Investigation showed he had committed suicide by taking poison. Recently, Sprague fell in love with Carrie Huebern, a domestic worker. They became engaged and Sprague began construction of a house for her, but before it was finished, she ran away and wed Al Depeney. Today, in the unfinished house, lying on a heavy overcoat with his face buried in the cloth, Sprague's body was found. No word of explanation was left.
“Young Sprague purchased ten acres of land and began construction of a house for his soon-to-be wife, but ere it was finished the bride stole away and wedded Depeney.”
Domestic tragedies were a staple of Victorian-era reporting, often framed with a mix of moral judgment and pity, reflecting the rigid social expectations of rural frontier life.
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