A little family history

I'm in the midst of cleaning out my office and getting rid of absolutely everything I can possibly find in preparation for painting. My office is now echo-y and empty with just a few odds and ends here and there but in the midst of this cleaning frenzy I found a clipping my parents gave me about my Great Great Grandfather.

The Green Bay Press Gazette

April 15, 1908, page 7

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KILLS SELF BEFORE HIS DIVORCED WIFE

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John Orde, Veteran Mason, Ends Life by Firing Bullets Into Brain

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Talks with His Third Wife and Then Commits Suicide as She Looks On -- Believed that Worry Prompted Him to Take Own Life

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Walking to the home of his third wife, from whom he had recently been divorced, John Orde, a retired mason, at 4:30 yesterday afternoon fired two bullets from a .32 calibre revolver into his mouth. He had just finished a brief conversation with the woman. The bullets lodged in the man's brain and he died within three hours in a hospital. He suffered a great loss of blood and was unconsciuos from the time he was picked up by neighbors until death ensued.

Ored, it is stated, approached his divorced wife as she was digging post holes in the yard of her residence at Smith and Twelfth streets on the north side. He is said to have remarked, "Are you digging your own grave?" To this question she was said to have replied, "Yes." Without hesitating Orde placed the revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger. He fell to the ground and within a few moments over two hundred had congregated around the scene of the tragedy. Dr. J.J. Bellin was summoned and he ordered an ambulance and had the dying man removed to the General hospital. Orde never regained consciousness and died about 7:30 o'clock.

Relatives can not understand how Mr. Orde came to take his own life unless it was due to brooding over his matrimonial ventures. He had not lived happily with his last wife and they were divorced a short time ago. Mr. Orde lived with his daughter, Mrs. Leonard, on the north side, and she stated last night after the tragedy that she noticed nothing strange about the actions or conduct of her father. She was greatly affected, as were other members of the family, over the suicide.

Mr. Orde was the father of eleven children, five by his first wife, three by the second and three by his third wife. He was 64 years old.


I'd say this means I come from a rather colorful family but there are a couple of things that really stand out to me. One is that he shot himself twice in the mouth? How? Actually, I don't want to think about that.

Another is that two hundred people showed up to check it out? I don't know if there is anything that could draw a crowd that big nowadays when people are all holed up in front of their televisions and computers. I think this fact alone speaks to it being a very different time.

Eleven kids? Eleven? Need I say more?

Oh, and she was digging post holes? That's a hardy woman.

I wonder if there was some mental illness here? It wasn't well recognized back then and I imagine there was very little help available to those tormented with mental and emotional problems.

My Uncle found this article when he was looking into family geneology. I believe this was the most unusual thing he found but it does make me wonder a bit about generations before this. Oh, and what happened to all 11 of those kids?

That was a few generations ago but I sometimes wonder about the genes stewing around inside me. How do the actions of my relatives shape my current world? You may be relieved to know I don't see myself ever taking any actions similar to these...