ANCESTOR SPOTLIGHT: MARY J EDWARDS

ANCESTOR SPOTLIGHT: MARY J EDWARDS

Mary J Edwards was born May 25, 1879 in Oak Hill, Jackson Co., Ohio.
Mary died June 11, 1922 in Portland, Oregon and buried in River View Cemetery, Oregon.

Mary was the oldest of 3 children born to Evan Edwards & Rachel Davis.

Depressed Woman Suicide With Fire

Miss Mary Edwards, 42, Retires in Good Spirits and Arises to Forfeit Life in Agony.

Despondent because of her inability to find employment, Miss Mary Edwards, aged 42, of 344 East Forty-fifth street, burned herself to death in Mount Tabor park early yesterday by saturating her clothing with kerosene and then setting fire to it.

Her agonized screams aroused attendants at the Mountain View sanitarium, who rushed to her aid, but her clothing had been entirely burned from her body before they arrived. The injured woman was removed to the Portland sanitarium where she died at 7:30 A.M.

Miss Edwards, who lived with her brother, T. D. Edwards, retired Saturday night at the usual hour. She appeared to be in her usual spirits at that time and gave no indication that she was planning such a horrible death.

It is believed that she got up and dressed at about 1 o’clock, as it was shortly after that hour that the flames from her burning clothing lighted up the wooded section of Mount Tabor park and aroused the hospital attendants.

The kerosene had been procured from the basement at her brother’s home and the empty can was found by police in Mount Tabor park near the spot where she touched the match to her clothing.

Until the first of the year Miss Edwards had been employed as a lapidary by a local jewelry firm. She had been unable to procure work for several months and this had subjected her to periods of extreme mental depression.

Her brother said she had been in unusually good spirits Saturday night and had gone with his family on an automobile trip through the east side. En route home they drove by the place which she selected later in the night to end her life.

Miss Edwards was born at Oak Hill, O., and had lived in Portland about six years. Prior to coming here she had lived at Kelso, Wash.

During her residence in Portland Miss Edwards had been prominent in Sunday school work at the First Presbyterian church and during the past year had been one of the leaders of a big Bible class. She also had devoted much time to church charity work.

Funeral services will be held at the Finley establishment tomorrow afternoon at 1 o’clock.

[The Oregonian, 12 Jun 1922, p16]