"If we can't live in peace, we might as well die": Homicide-suicide in chicago, 1875-1910

Journal of Urban History

Volumn 26, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 3-21

  Adler, Jeffrey S ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0040970292     PISSN: 00961442     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/009614429902600101     Document Type: Article

References (138)

1. Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm).
2. Chicago Times-Herald, September 4, 1899; Chicago Record, September 4, 1899; Chicago Tribune, September 4, 1899.
3. Chicago Times-Herald, September 4, 1899; Chicago Record, September 4, 1899; Chicago Tribune, September 4, 1899.
4. Chicago Times-Herald, September 4, 1899; Chicago Record, September 4, 1899; Chicago Tribune, September 4, 1899.
5. Chicago Times-Herald, September 5, 1899.
6. Chicago Times-Herald, September 4, 1899.
7. The data set was drawn from a homicide ledger maintained by the Chicago police. This ledger provides a remarkably complete record of homicides in the city. Because the police sought to arrest suspected killers, the suicide or attempted suicide of assailants was carefully noted. Newspaper accounts of the homicides, which were located for close to 90 percent of the cases, corroborated the details. See Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm).
8. In the analysis that follows, I combined homicide-suicides and homicide-attempted suicides into a single category. In all cases, the suicide or suicide attempt occurred immediately after the homicide. Thus, I did not include in the data set cases in which the killer attempted or committed suicide while in police custody or in prison. Nor did I include cases in which the killer attempted or committed suicide while trying to avoid arrest. For a discussion of the pitfalls of excluding attempted suicides from the analysis of suicide, see Howard I. Kushner, American Suicide (New Brunswick, 1989), 102-4. In one sense, my data set, with 257 cases, is remarkably large. Steven Stack, in a recent article, argues that, prior to his study, the largest data set analyzing homicide-suicide had 219 cases, and most of the leading studies were based on analyses on only a dozen or two cases. Stack's data set, which is drawn from Block and Block's file on Chicago homicides from 1965 to 1990, consists of 265 cases. See Steven Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide: An Analysis of Chicago Data," Criminology 35 (August 1997): 450.
9. In the analysis that follows, I combined homicide-suicides and homicide-attempted suicides into a single category. In all cases, the suicide or suicide attempt occurred immediately after the homicide. Thus, I did not include in the data set cases in which the killer attempted or committed suicide while in police custody or in prison. Nor did I include cases in which the killer attempted or committed suicide while trying to avoid arrest. For a discussion of the pitfalls of excluding attempted suicides from the analysis of suicide, see Howard I. Kushner, American Suicide (New Brunswick, 1989), 102-4. In one sense, my data set, with 257 cases, is remarkably large. Steven Stack, in a recent article, argues that, prior to his study, the largest data set analyzing homicide-suicide had 219 cases, and most of the leading studies were based on analyses on only a dozen or two cases. Stack's data set, which is drawn from Block and Block's file on Chicago homicides from 1965 to 1990, consists of 265 cases. See Steven Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide: An Analysis of Chicago Data," Criminology 35 (August 1997): 450.
10. Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1882.
11. Emile Durkheim, Suicide, John A. Spaulding and George Simpson, trans. (1897; rpt. edn., New York, 1951), 245.
12. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
13. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
14. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
15. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
16. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
17. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
18. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
19. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
20. Ibid., 346; Austin L. Porterfield, "Indices of Suicide and Homicide by States and Cities," American Sociological Review 14 (August 1949): 488; Andrew Henry and James Short, Suicide and Homicide (New York, 1954), 15; Martin Gold, "Suicide, Homicide, and the Socialization of Aggression," American Journal of Sociology 63 (May 1958): 652, 655; Raoul Naroll, "A Tentative Index of Cultural Stress," International Journal of Social Psychiatry 5 (1959): 107-16; Marvin E. Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide (New York, 1958); Roger Lane, Violent Death in the City (Cambridge, MA, 1979), chap. 2; Roger Lane, "On the Social Meaning of Homicide Trends in America," in Ted Robert Gurr, ed., Violence in America (Newbury Park, 1989), 59; Roger Lane, Murder in America (Columbus, 1997), 185-6.
21. For the "polar opposites" assessment, see Alex D. Pokorny, "Human Violence: A Comparison of Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Suicide, and Attempted Suicide," in Jack P. Gibbs, ed., Suicide (New York, 1968), 244; and for the "mutual substitutes" observation, see Max Grunhut, quoted in Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide, 270.
22. For the "polar opposites" assessment, see Alex D. Pokorny, "Human Violence: A Comparison of Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Suicide, and Attempted Suicide," in Jack P. Gibbs, ed., Suicide (New York, 1968), 244; and for the "mutual substitutes" observation, see Max Grunhut, quoted in Wolfgang, Patterns in Criminal Homicide, 270.
23. For the 1910s figure, see Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm) and Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1911-1920 (microfilm). For the 1920s figure, see Arthur V. Lashly, "Homicide (in Cook County)," in John H. Wigmore, ed., The Illinois Crime Survey (1929; rpt. edn., Montclair, NJ, 1968), 612. Also, for a brief discussion of homicide-suicide in Chicago in 1923, see Ruth Shonle Cavan, Suicide (Chicago, 1928), 254-62.
24. For the 1910s figure, see Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm) and Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1911-1920 (microfilm). For the 1920s figure, see Arthur V. Lashly, "Homicide (in Cook County)," in John H. Wigmore, ed., The Illinois Crime Survey (1929; rpt. edn., Montclair, NJ, 1968), 612. Also, for a brief discussion of homicide-suicide in Chicago in 1923, see Ruth Shonle Cavan, Suicide (Chicago, 1928), 254-62.
25. For the 1910s figure, see Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm) and Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1911-1920 (microfilm). For the 1920s figure, see Arthur V. Lashly, "Homicide (in Cook County)," in John H. Wigmore, ed., The Illinois Crime Survey (1929; rpt. edn., Montclair, NJ, 1968), 612. Also, for a brief discussion of homicide-suicide in Chicago in 1923, see Ruth Shonle Cavan, Suicide (Chicago, 1928), 254-62.
26. For the 1910s figure, see Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1870-1910 (microfilm) and Homicides and Important Events, Chicago Police Department, 1911-1920 (microfilm). For the 1920s figure, see Arthur V. Lashly, "Homicide (in Cook County)," in John H. Wigmore, ed., The Illinois Crime Survey (1929; rpt. edn., Montclair, NJ, 1968), 612. Also, for a brief discussion of homicide-suicide in Chicago in 1923, see Ruth Shonle Cavan, Suicide (Chicago, 1928), 254-62.
27. For the modern figure, see Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 436. The homicide-suicide rate in the city increased, although somewhat erratically, until 1909 and fell thereafter (see Table 2). The rate decreased by 40 percent between 1905-1909 and 1926-1927.
28. The police homicide ledgers included cases in which the police investigated a death by violence, although coroners' juries subsequently failed to indict the killer, prosecutors opted not to pursue the case, and charges were dismissed. Thus, deaths from accidents involving guns appeared in the records.
29. To calculate this figure, I divided the percentage of spouse killers who committed suicide (42.1 percent) by the percentage of all killers who committed suicide (9.6 percent).
30. Chicago Tribune, October 7, 1899; [Coroner's] Inquest on Patrick O'Shay, October 7, 1899, Case No. 17008, Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, Chicago.
31. Chicago Record, July 3, 1899.
32. Chicago Tribune, August 15, 1899.
33. These figures do not include infanticide cases, which were typically overlooked by the police and the county coroner during this era.
34. Men killed children in Chicago between 1875 and 1910 at approximately twice the rate of women, excluding infanticide cases.
35. The underrepresentation of some groups is also apparent, despite the unevenness of the data set. African Americans, the one group whose members were always identified in the sources, committed homicide-suicide at a lower proportion than their percentage of the city's population, and Italian and Polish immigrants, many of whom could be identified by their surnames (in constructing the data set, I did not employ this method of establishing ethnic backgrounds, although it provides sufficient evidence to offer educated guesses), appear to have been underrepresented in Chicago homicide-suicides. For the relationship between ethnicity and suicide, see Kushner, American Suicide, 88; Cavan, Suicide, 34, 80.
36. The underrepresentation of some groups is also apparent, despite the unevenness of the data set. African Americans, the one group whose members were always identified in the sources, committed homicide-suicide at a lower proportion than their percentage of the city's population, and Italian and Polish immigrants, many of whom could be identified by their surnames (in constructing the data set, I did not employ this method of establishing ethnic backgrounds, although it provides sufficient evidence to offer educated guesses), appear to have been underrepresented in Chicago homicide-suicides. For the relationship between ethnicity and suicide, see Kushner, American Suicide, 88; Cavan, Suicide, 34, 80.
37. Germans comprised 4.4 percent of all killers in the city between 1875 and 1910 and 11.2 percent of all killers whose ethnic backgrounds could be identified. Moreover, these immigrants comprised 22.6 percent of all homicide-suicide killers and 37 percent of the homicide-suicide killers whose ethnic backgrounds could be identified.
38. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the violence involved unmarried lovers.
39. See Kushner, American Suicide, 88; Durkheim, Suicide, 50.
40. See Kushner, American Suicide, 88; Durkheim, Suicide, 50.
41. For suicide among German immigrants, see Cavan, Suicide, 34; Kushner, American Suicide, 154-6; Lane, Violent Death in the City, 27. For German immigrants in Chicago, see "Crowner's Quest, 1876" in Three Annual Reports of Emil Dietzsch [second annual report of the Cook County Coroner] (Chicago, 1878), 27; Cavan, Suicide, 80.
42. For suicide among German immigrants, see Cavan, Suicide, 34; Kushner, American Suicide, 154-6; Lane, Violent Death in the City, 27. For German immigrants in Chicago, see "Crowner's Quest, 1876" in Three Annual Reports of Emil Dietzsch [second annual report of the Cook County Coroner] (Chicago, 1878), 27; Cavan, Suicide, 80.
43. For suicide among German immigrants, see Cavan, Suicide, 34; Kushner, American Suicide, 154-6; Lane, Violent Death in the City, 27. For German immigrants in Chicago, see "Crowner's Quest, 1876" in Three Annual Reports of Emil Dietzsch [second annual report of the Cook County Coroner] (Chicago, 1878), 27; Cavan, Suicide, 80.
44. For suicide among German immigrants, see Cavan, Suicide, 34; Kushner, American Suicide, 154-6; Lane, Violent Death in the City, 27. For German immigrants in Chicago, see "Crowner's Quest, 1876" in Three Annual Reports of Emil Dietzsch [second annual report of the Cook County Coroner] (Chicago, 1878), 27; Cavan, Suicide, 80.
45. For suicide among German immigrants, see Cavan, Suicide, 34; Kushner, American Suicide, 154-6; Lane, Violent Death in the City, 27. For German immigrants in Chicago, see "Crowner's Quest, 1876" in Three Annual Reports of Emil Dietzsch [second annual report of the Cook County Coroner] (Chicago, 1878), 27; Cavan, Suicide, 80.
46. Cook County Coroner's Quadrennial Report for the Years 1908-1911 (Chicago, 1912), 26-7.
47. For homicide rates in Germany, see Eric A. Johnson, Urbanization and Crime (New York, 1995), 127-32. For German immigrants, see Lane, Violent Death in the City, 103.
48. For homicide rates in Germany, see Eric A. Johnson, Urbanization and Crime (New York, 1995), 127-32. For German immigrants, see Lane, Violent Death in the City, 103.
49. When men killed women, the assailants tended to be slightly older than the victims. The average age of wives murdered by their husbands in homicide-suicides was 33.
50. For Chicago data for 1915 to 1924, see Cavan, Suicide, 78-9. For national-level data, see Paul G. Holinger, Violent Deaths in the United States (New York, 1987), 44.
51. For Chicago data for 1915 to 1924, see Cavan, Suicide, 78-9. For national-level data, see Paul G. Holinger, Violent Deaths in the United States (New York, 1987), 44.
52. The data on suicide cover the period from 1907 to 1910. See Cook County Coroner's Quadrennial Report for the Years 1908-1911, 26-8.
53. Whereas 21.3 percent of homicide-suicide killers engaged in skilled work, only 11 percent of all Chicago murderers held such positions. Similarly, 12.6 percent of homicide-suicide killers held low white-collar jobs, compared to 6 percent of all murderers.
54. Chicago Times-Herald, April 15, 1896.
55. For the "crime center of the world" quotation, see Grant Eugene Stevens, Wicked City (Chicago, 1906), 12.
56. Chicago Tribune, September 17, 1900.
57. Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1900.
58. Chicago Record, October 8, 1896.
59. Chicago Record-Herald, February 27, 1897.
60. Chicago Record, February 27, 1897.
61. Chicago Tribune, May 10, 1900.
62. Chicago Evening Post, July 14, 1903; Chicago Herald, July 15, 1903; Chicago Record-Herald, November 18, 1903.
63. Chicago Evening Post, July 14, 1903; Chicago Herald, July 15, 1903; Chicago Record-Herald, November 18, 1903.
64. Chicago Evening Post, July 14, 1903; Chicago Herald, July 15, 1903; Chicago Record-Herald, November 18, 1903.
65. Chicago Tribune, September 8, 1904.
66. Chicago Herald, July 1, 1891.
67. Chicago Record, February 27, 1897.
68. Chicago Record-Herald, February 27, 1905; Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1900.
69. Chicago Record-Herald, February 27, 1905; Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1900.
70. See Chicago Times, April 16, 1883; Chicago Daily Inter Ocean, October 21, 1900;
71. See Chicago Times, April 16, 1883; Chicago Daily Inter Ocean, October 21, 1900;
72. Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1901; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
73. Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1901; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
74. Chicago Tribune, April 23, 1909.
75. Chicago Record, January 14, 1896.
76. Chicago Times-Herald, April 15, 1896.
77. Chicago Record, October 8, 1896.
78. Chicago Record-Herald, August 16, 1909.
79. Chicago Times-Herald, April 15, 1896.
80. Chicago Times-Herald, May 25, 1895; Chicago Tribune, August 27, 1907.
81. Chicago Times-Herald, May 25, 1895; Chicago Tribune, August 27, 1907.
82. Chicago Evening Post, October 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, October 26, 1904.
83. Chicago Evening Post, October 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, October 26, 1904.
84. Chicago Tribune, April 22, 1902.
85. Chicago Record-Herald, December 21, 1903; Chicago Record-Herald, January 12, 1905.
86. Chicago Record-Herald, December 21, 1903; Chicago Record-Herald, January 12, 1905.
87. Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1902; Chicago Record, January 14, 1896.
88. Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1902; Chicago Record, January 14, 1896.
89. Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1900.
90. For example, see Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1900; Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1907. Scholars studying modern homicide-suicide have found the same pattern. See Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 439; T. L. Dorpat, "Suicide in Murderers," in Marvin E. Wolfgang, ed., Studies in Homicide (New York, 1967), 197.
91. For example, see Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1900; Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1907. Scholars studying modern homicide-suicide have found the same pattern. See Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 439; T. L. Dorpat, "Suicide in Murderers," in Marvin E. Wolfgang, ed., Studies in Homicide (New York, 1967), 197.
92. For example, see Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1900; Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1907. Scholars studying modern homicide-suicide have found the same pattern. See Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 439; T. L. Dorpat, "Suicide in Murderers," in Marvin E. Wolfgang, ed., Studies in Homicide (New York, 1967), 197.
93. For example, see Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1900; Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1907. Scholars studying modern homicide-suicide have found the same pattern. See Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 439; T. L. Dorpat, "Suicide in Murderers," in Marvin E. Wolfgang, ed., Studies in Homicide (New York, 1967), 197.
94. For example, see Chicago Tribune, July 24, 1904; Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1900; Chicago Tribune, October 3, 1907. Scholars studying modern homicide-suicide have found the same pattern. See Stack, "Homicide Followed by Suicide," 439; T. L. Dorpat, "Suicide in Murderers," in Marvin E. Wolfgang, ed., Studies in Homicide (New York, 1967), 197.
95. Chicago Tribune, August 27, 1901.
96. For example, see Chicago Times, April 9, 1885; Chicago Record, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, May 5, 1908; Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1909.
97. For example, see Chicago Times, April 9, 1885; Chicago Record, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, May 5, 1908; Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1909.
98. For example, see Chicago Times, April 9, 1885; Chicago Record, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, May 5, 1908; Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1909.
99. For example, see Chicago Times, April 9, 1885; Chicago Record, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, May 5, 1908; Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1909.
100. Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908; Chicago Tribune, October 8, 1908.
101. Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908; Chicago Tribune, October 8, 1908.
102. Chicago Tribune, October 8, 1896.
103. See Linda Gordon, Heroes of Their Own Lives (New York, 1988), 90-2.
104. Chicago Times-Herald, September 4, 1899.
105. See Carroll D. Wright, Marriage and Divorce in the United States, 1867 to 1886 (Washington, DC, 1897), 152; Glenda Riley, Divorce (New York, 1991), 90.
106. See Carroll D. Wright, Marriage and Divorce in the United States, 1867 to 1886 (Washington, DC, 1897), 152; Glenda Riley, Divorce (New York, 1991), 90.
107. See Elaine Tyler May, Great Expectations (Chicago, 1980); Robert Griswold, Family and Divorce in California, 1850-1890 (Albany, 1982); Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart (New York, 1989); Jeffrey S. Adler, "'My Mother-in-Law is to Blame, But I'll Walk on Her Neck Yet': Homicide in Late Nineteenth-Century Chicago," Journal of Social History 31 (Winter 1997): 266-8.
108. See Elaine Tyler May, Great Expectations (Chicago, 1980); Robert Griswold, Family and Divorce in California, 1850-1890 (Albany, 1982); Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart (New York, 1989); Jeffrey S. Adler, "'My Mother-in-Law is to Blame, But I'll Walk on Her Neck Yet': Homicide in Late Nineteenth-Century Chicago," Journal of Social History 31 (Winter 1997): 266-8.
109. See Elaine Tyler May, Great Expectations (Chicago, 1980); Robert Griswold, Family and Divorce in California, 1850-1890 (Albany, 1982); Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart (New York, 1989); Jeffrey S. Adler, "'My Mother-in-Law is to Blame, But I'll Walk on Her Neck Yet': Homicide in Late Nineteenth-Century Chicago," Journal of Social History 31 (Winter 1997): 266-8.
110. See Elaine Tyler May, Great Expectations (Chicago, 1980); Robert Griswold, Family and Divorce in California, 1850-1890 (Albany, 1982); Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart (New York, 1989); Jeffrey S. Adler, "'My Mother-in-Law is to Blame, But I'll Walk on Her Neck Yet': Homicide in Late Nineteenth-Century Chicago," Journal of Social History 31 (Winter 1997): 266-8.
111. Chicago Times-Herald, February 5, 1899; Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1899. For works that examine related themes, see Pamela Haag, "The 'Ill-Use of a Wife': Patterns of Working-Class Violence in Domestic and Public New York City, 1860-1880," Journal of Social History 25 (Spring 1992): 447-77; David Peterson del Mar, What Trouble I Have Seen: A History of Violence against Wives (Cambridge, MA, 1996).
112. Chicago Times-Herald, February 5, 1899; Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1899. For works that examine related themes, see Pamela Haag, "The 'Ill-Use of a Wife': Patterns of Working-Class Violence in Domestic and Public New York City, 1860-1880," Journal of Social History 25 (Spring 1992): 447-77; David Peterson del Mar, What Trouble I Have Seen: A History of Violence against Wives (Cambridge, MA, 1996).
113. Chicago Times-Herald, February 5, 1899; Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1899. For works that examine related themes, see Pamela Haag, "The 'Ill-Use of a Wife': Patterns of Working-Class Violence in Domestic and Public New York City, 1860-1880," Journal of Social History 25 (Spring 1992): 447-77; David Peterson del Mar, What Trouble I Have Seen: A History of Violence against Wives (Cambridge, MA, 1996).
114. Chicago Times-Herald, February 5, 1899; Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1899. For works that examine related themes, see Pamela Haag, "The 'Ill-Use of a Wife': Patterns of Working-Class Violence in Domestic and Public New York City, 1860-1880," Journal of Social History 25 (Spring 1992): 447-77; David Peterson del Mar, What Trouble I Have Seen: A History of Violence against Wives (Cambridge, MA, 1996).
115. Chicago Tribune, September 8, 1904. For similar cases, see Chicago Record, April 23, 1896; Chicago Times-Herald, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
116. Chicago Tribune, September 8, 1904. For similar cases, see Chicago Record, April 23, 1896; Chicago Times-Herald, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
117. Chicago Tribune, September 8, 1904. For similar cases, see Chicago Record, April 23, 1896; Chicago Times-Herald, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
118. Chicago Tribune, September 8, 1904. For similar cases, see Chicago Record, April 23, 1896; Chicago Times-Herald, December 21, 1897; Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
119. Chicago Tribune, October 2, 1906.
120. Chicago Tribune, February 5, 1899.
121. Chicago Record-Herald, September 11, 1902; Chicago Times, April 17, 1883.
122. Chicago Record-Herald, September 11, 1902; Chicago Times, April 17, 1883.
123. Chicago Record-Herald, October 8, 1908.
124. Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1901; Chicago Times, April 9, 1885.
125. Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1901; Chicago Times, April 9, 1885.
126. See Chicago Tribune, August 2, 1909; Chicago Times-Herald, May 25, 1895.
127. See Chicago Tribune, August 2, 1909; Chicago Times-Herald, May 25, 1895.
128. Stuart M. Blumin, The Emergence of the Middle Class (New York, 1989). Also see Clyde and Sally Griffen, Natives and Newcomers (Cambridge, MA, 1978).
129. Stuart M. Blumin, The Emergence of the Middle Class (New York, 1989). Also see Clyde and Sally Griffen, Natives and Newcomers (Cambridge, MA, 1978).
130. James R. Barrett, "Immigrant Workers in Early Mass Production," in Hartmut Keil and John B. Jentz, eds., German Workers in Industrial Chicago, 1850-1910 (DeKalb, 1983), 106; James R. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle (Urbana, 1987), 38-44.
131. James R. Barrett, "Immigrant Workers in Early Mass Production," in Hartmut Keil and John B. Jentz, eds., German Workers in Industrial Chicago, 1850-1910 (DeKalb, 1983), 106; James R. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle (Urbana, 1987), 38-44.
132. German immigrants comprised 17.7 percent of the population of Chicago in 1870, 15.9 percent in 1880, 14.6 percent in 1890, 10.1 percent in 1900, and 8.3 percent in 1910.
133. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle, 38-9; Eric L. Hirsch, Urban Revolt (Berkeley, 1990), 150-1.
134. Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle, 38-9; Eric L. Hirsch, Urban Revolt (Berkeley, 1990), 150-1.
135. These comparisons are based largely on data from the 1905-1910 period. See Cook County Coroner's Quadrennial Report for the Years 1908-1911, 26-31.
136. The evidence concerning religion is impressionistic. Irish, Italian, and Polish Chicagoans rarely committed homicide-suicide, while Germans and natives had higher rates of such behavior. The sources, however, fail to identify the religious affiliations of those involved.
137. Report of the Handbook for the Department of Health of the City of Chicago for the Years 1911 to 1918, Inclusive (Chicago, 1919), 1459; Report of the Department of Health of the City of Chicago for the Years 1926 through 1930, Inclusive (Chicago, 1931), 1138-9.
138. Report of the Handbook for the Department of Health of the City of Chicago for the Years 1911 to 1918, Inclusive (Chicago, 1919), 1459; Report of the Department of Health of the City of Chicago for the Years 1926 through 1930, Inclusive (Chicago, 1931), 1138-9.