1909: Belle, sp/o J.C. Phillips, Madison Co. GA.

MRS. PHILLIPS SUICIDED BY JUMPING INTO A WELL

Prior to Taking the Fatal Plunge She Had Slashed Both Wrists With Razor. Tragedy Occurred in Madison County. Her Act Caused By Mental Troubles That Had Been Noticed.

Yesterday morning, at her home on a farm in Madison county, not far from the Clarke county line, Mrs. J.C. Phillips, in a moment of mental aberration, took her life.

She suicided by first slashing both wrists with a razor and then jumping into a well on her place.

For some time the condition of Mrs. Phillips had been such as to cause her husband and family uneasiness. She had been ill and suffered from melancholy , but such a thing as suicide never suggested itself to them at any time.

Yesterday morning early Mrs. Phillips was missed from the house by her husband, and a search was at once instituted. The entire premises were searched and for some distance away from the house. Finally the negro woman on the place discovered blood on the well and an investigation showed that the body of Mrs. Phillips was at the bottom.

When it was drawn out, it was at once apparent that she was dead.

An examination of the body showed that she had slashed both wrists with a razor before leaping into the well.

The tragedy created great excitement for a time in that section of Madison county. Mrs. Phillips is survived by her husband, J.C. Phillips, who is a son of W.F. Phillips, a well known farmer in this section. She also leaves three children.

That Mrs. Phillips contemplated suicide is shown by a letter left to her husband, which reads as follows:
“Dear Papa: I hope that we will meet again. Goodbye. There will be no more sorrow. Belle.”

Source: The Weekly Banner, Athens, Georgia, Friday Morning, August 13, 1909; Pg. 7