The Tragic Delusions of a Seattle Engineer
After his child died, a railroad worker spiraled into a breakdown that ended in a tragic death at the asylum, leaving his family in dire straits.
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.
Sheriff McGraw yesterday morning received a dispatch stating that John C. Holmes, who was committed to the insane asylum at Steilacoom by Judge Osborn on April 5, had died at that institution the day before. Mr. Holmes was well known in Seattle, having lived here about ten years. For a time, he was an engineer on the Columbia and Puget Sound railroad. About a year ago his favorite child died and soon afterward he commenced to show signs of insanity, with homicidal tendencies. On the night of March 29, he went to the depot of the Columbia and Puget Sound road and attempted to take out an engine, laboring under the delusion that he had been employed to take 900 people to the East free of charge on a train that cost Dexter, Horton & Co. $6,000,000, and with an engine that could make the trip to New York in two hours. He was arrested by Officer Burr as he was talking of his great scheme, and his commitment to the asylum followed. Softening of the brain was the immediate cause of his death. His wife and three children live at Dearborn and Eleventh streets, but are now visiting in Kitsap county, so the sad news could not be communicated to them yesterday.
“He was laboring under the delusion that he had been employed to take 900 people to the East free of charge on a train that cost Dexter, Horton & Co. $6,000,000.”
This story highlights the 19th-century lack of a safety net for workers suffering from mental health crises—a tragedy that resonates as Seattle continues to struggle with accessible, compassionate mental healthcare and support for grieving families.
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