Tragedy of a Tacoma Mother
Impoverished and struggling with health, a young Tacoma woman takes her own life, leaving behind three children.
TACOMA, June 15.—Mrs. Wilhelmina Rauh, 32 years old, wife of John B. Rauh, a dyer, committed suicide this evening by drinking an ounce and a half of carbolic acid while temporarily insane, caused by ill-health and money troubles. She leaves three children, one in the asylum at Steilacoom. An inquest will be held tomorrow. Her mother called upon her last week for the first time in several years. The youngest child is 5 months old. She left a note bidding goodbye to her children.
“Committed suicide this evening by drinking an ounce and a half of carbolic acid while temporarily insane, caused by ill-health and money troubles.”
This account captures the harsh intersection of poverty, mental health, and institutional isolation in late 19th-century Tacoma. It serves as a stark reminder of the lack of social safety nets for families facing extreme economic and personal crisis during that era.
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