The Tragedy of George E. Harrison
George E. Harrison, who deserted his wife and children, shot himself in Leeds, voiding his life insurance.
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.
News was received in this city yesterday that George E. Harrison, who deserted his wife, Emma E. Harrison, and her two children some time ago, committed suicide at Leeds, England, by shooting himself. He placed the muzzle of a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger. When his body was found the deadly tube was still in his mouth. Mrs. Harrison will suffer by the death of her husband, inasmuch as she had made great efforts to keep up his life insurance, all of which is lost through a 'suicide' clause. Harrison at one time was a tailor in North Seattle. Mrs. Harrison came to Seattle later, and last March Harrison tried to kill himself by cutting his throat. He made a bungling job and was sent to the county hospital until he recovered. His next move was to desert his family and leave them in a needy condition.
“Mrs. Harrison will suffer by the death of her husband, inasmuch as she had made great efforts to keep up his life insurance, all of which is lost through a 'suicide' clause.”
This dark account of domestic abandonment and insurance loopholes reflects the precarious state of families in the late 19th century, when men could simply vanish to escape legal or familial obligations, leaving women to navigate the bureaucratic cruelty of the era.
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