Did Overwork Cause His Suicide?

My grandfather, Fritz Valentine “Fred” Newhouse, D.D.S., ended his life on February 13, 1923, one day short of his 43rd birthday. The newspaper article reporting his death by shotgun wound to the heart, had the following comment: “Overwork undoubtedly assisted in causing his breakdown.” [1] Overwork alone does not cause one to take one’s life; but it can be a contributing factor. Overwork is known to led to depression, sadness, and anxiety: all mental health issues. However, it may be that my grandfather suffered from undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Fritz Newhouse was born on February 14, 1880, in Pine Island, Minnesota. After graduating from high school—and thanks to a loan from his uncle William Paul Duerre (1869-1961) [also a dentist]—Fritz was able to attend and graduate from the Chicago  School of Dental Surgery, Chicago, Illinois.

 At the time of his death, Fritz was of medium build and height. He had gray eyes and dark hair. Aside from wearing glasses, his only other distinguishing trait was that he had become bald. According to his daughter, Elizabeth Esther Newhouse Harman (1916-2006), her father was deeply bothered about being bald. And, as the Mazzepa Tribune reported, “he suffered from the delusion that someone was after him.” Perhaps his baldness, of which he was very self-conscious, made him feel that people were looking at him and thus, “after him.”

My grandfather was a very successful dentist. He operated dental clinics in Mazeppa, Pine Island,  and Rochester, Minnesota. At the time of his death, he owned in today’s dollars, $1,560,264 in real estate—all mortgage free according to the the 1920 U.S. Federal Census: the home he and his family lived in, two rental homes, and a rental farm. And, by this time, the automobile had become popular enough to displace the horse and buggy; so, he would have probably been driving a late-model car such as the Ford Model-T Touring car.(pictured to the right)

Over the years we have become familiar with celebrities hiding their pain on the inside while smiling on the outside: Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Naomi Judd, to name a few. Apparently, Fritz Newhouse was doing the same as this quote shows: “When in normal condition he was the person who kept the crowd smiling and was quick with jests and humorous stories.” [2] The Mazeppa Tribune went on to say that “For years he has suffered from periods of ill-health and despondency, and has had several attacks of nervous prostration.” While we understand the general meaning of such words as “ill-health” and “despondency,” what exactly is “nervous prostration”?

At the time of his death, nervous prostration was thought to be “a state of debility, in which nervous derangements predominate.” [3] What does this mean for my grandfather's life? According to the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, this would have been his life:

“A man actively engaged in business or in public life presently finds himself unequal to his daily tasks; he suffers odd sensations in his head; his digestion is disordered; he is weak; wakefulness, mental depression, and a thousand and one new sensations of strange character and fearful portent are superadded. The unfortunate subject of these ills now recoils from his work, gives himself up to the consideration of his symptoms, and relaxes his hold on the interests and occupations of his life. . .” [4]

Unlike today, mental health treatments at the time of Fritz’s life were not good enough to give patients any type of useful help. [5] In fact, the only real treatment available at this time was a lobotomy.  Those with mental illness and desperate for relief, turned to lobotomies. A lobotomy is a surgery to destroy the brain's prefrontal lobe. Though it’s supposed to have a "calming" effect, lobotomies often cause personality changes, a loss of decision-making ability, poor judgment, and sometimes even death. I don’t know if Fritz thought about having a lobotomy or not, but with the side effects, I can certainly understand if he chose not to have one.

As he had a family, a successful dental practice, and wealth, it's unfortunate my paternal grandfather chose to end his life. However, based on the newspaper article (see below), he suffered from depression, paranoia, anxiety, and was probably schizophrenic. And, it most probably became too much for him to handle.

__________

Sources: 

[1] Dr. F. V. Newhouse Ends Life Tuesday/Sad Event Comes as a Terrible Shock To Many Friends of Popular Rochester Dentist (1923, February). The Tribune, Mazeppa, Minnesota.
[2] The Tribune newspaper, Mazeppa, Minnesota, Feb 1923.
[3] 1884. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, CX(3). https://doi.org.DOI: 10.1056/NEJM188401171100302
[4] 1884. op. cit
[5] Schimelpfening, N. (2022, April 19). The History of Depression: Accounts, Treatments and Beliefs Through the Ages.  Verywell Mind. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/who-discovered-depression-1066770
[6] Ibid.

Finding Peder

A recent news story reminded me of a similar story in my husband’s family. The story was about finding skeletal remains of a man who had been missing for ten years. A skull, next to a pair of hunting boots, was found; and using DNA, it was determined that it was “7.9 billion times more likely to have originated from a biological sibling” than not. [1] After ten years, this man had been found. There was, and is, speculation about his mental health at the time of his disappearance.

In 1918, DNA was not available to identify skeletal remains. However, a pair of boots and a jack knife were used to identify the remains of Peder Marten “John” Pederson, my husband’s great-uncle.

Peder was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1886 to John V. and Randi Iverson Pederson. He had 

1886

a brother, Iver, who died in 1887, less than a year after being born, and a

Peder & Sophie about 1892

sister, Sophie, born in 1888.

Peder’s parents were both born in Norway. His father, John, worked as a mailman in Minneapolis; and sometime after 1900, John purchased land in Greenbush Township, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, which became the “family farm.”

Peder and Sophie were close growing up, and Peder served as the best man at her wedding to Henry Foster on October 20, 1908, in Mille Lacs County. Sometime after that date, Peder disappeared, not to be found until May 1918.

On May 16, 1918, the Mille Lacs County Times published the story of finding Peder with this headline:  Remains of John Pederson, Who Disappeared 9 Years Ago, Found in Swamp in Greenbush Township - Skeleton of Young Man Identified by Boots and Jack Knife Found on the Ground by the Remains. 

It seems that a farmer, who was rebuilding a fence along his property line, found the remains in a marshy swamp that was part of his property. The marsh happened to be dry due to a dry season; thus, the ability to find the skeleton. However, the skull was missing. The nature of his death was never determined. 

The newspaper describes the initial search as follows: Searching parties were organized and the whole country side was carefully searched in an effort to find some trace of him but without avail.  It was finally decided that he must have left the country, probably under a spell of mental weakness, as he had been troubled with severe headaches, and it was thought his mind might have been affected.  At times rumors of his having been seen in various localities reached his parents, but they were unable to locate him.[2]

Peder’s father died without knowing what happened to his son. 

Peder was buried in the West Branch Cemetery, in Greenbush Township, just outside the cemetery boundary line, and without a headstone. Unless you know where to look (there’s a depression in the ground), there is no evidence that Peder ever existed.

L to R: Henry Forster, Peder Pederson, Sophie Pederson, Randi Pederson
October 20, 1908

[1] Powers, Pamela. "Missing Dunn County man's remains ID'd." LeaderTelegram.com. N.p., 26 July 2017. Web. 26 July 2017.

[2] “Remains of John Pederson, Who Disappeared 9 years Ago, Found in Swamp in Greenbush Township.” Mille Lacs County (MN) Times, May 16, 1918