
“Ray L. Lyon, son of Mrs. MC Lyon, the proprietor of the Corning Times and also the Valley House, of that place, shot himself through the heart at 10:30 Tuesday evening, in Frank Hacquard’s gun store1 on Front street.”
“The circumstances, which are somewhat peculiar, are in brief as follows:”
“About half past nine o’clock, a stranger, young and of neat apparel and pleasant countenance, entered Mr. Hacquard’s store. He seemed to come in more through idle curiosity than anything else, and taking a seat by the stove he engaged the proprietor in conversation on a variety of topics, but transfusing through all a cheerfulness and flippancy that had not the most remote suggestion of his awful determination.”
“At last he said that his intention in coming in was to price some revolvers. He wanted a good strong weapon, and one of 38 calibre.”
“Mr. Hacquard went back to the case where the revolvers were kept and brought back two of the kind known as ‘bull dog,’ one of British and the other of American make, and told him the price of the first was $3.50 and the other $3.00”

“The young man examined the weapons with the tranquil abstraction of an expert and discussed their powers of projection with the shop-keeper. He finally concluded to take the one of American make, and the other was returned to the case.”
“‘Now, I suppose a box of cartridges goes with this purchase; I believe that is usual, is it not?’ said the purchaser, with the good humoured and shrewd smile of a careful buyer, who is intent on driving a close bargain.”
“‘Yes, certainly,’ said Mr. Hacquard, and the cartridges were produced.”

“At that moment JM King2 and William Bushon, of Otway, Ohio, entered the store and Mr. Hacquard was called to the front to wait on them. He had hardly turned his back, when the clamorous report of a pistol rang out, ,and the young stranger fell forward from his chair.”
“Mr. Hacquard was paralyzed with consternation and the two customers at the front promptly took to their heels. The report, however, quickly brough Mrs. Hacquard from the living apartments in the rear, and with a woman’s quick instinct and bravery, she ran to the bleeding, dying boy and raised him to her bosom, where he expired almost instantly. His closing, where the muzzle of the pistol had been places, was on fire Mrs. Hacquard arrested the flames with her hand. Had she not come timely to the rescue, doubtless the horror of partial incineration would have been added.”
“In the meantime some of the members of the family had gone out after a surgeon, and the first to arrive was Dr. Titus. By this time the body was laid out and a sheet thrown over the quickly rigid form and features. When the doctor drew back the sheet, the emotions that filled his breast must have been peculiar; for before him he recognized the features of a young man who but an hour or two before he had seen bright with animated intelligence and under circumstances which this tragic outcome rendered strange and gruesome.”

“That afternoon a young man giving his name as Ray Roy had entered the doctor’s office with a quick step and bright smile, and at once began rehearsing the substance of an argument which he said he had had with a friend, in which the exact location of the heart was in dispute.”
“‘I feel considerable curiosity about this matter, doctor,’ said the young man, ‘and as I want it settled for my own satisfaction, will you kindly inform me?'”
“The cheerful and ingenuous manner of the boy totally disarmed the shrewd doctor of any suspicions he might otherwise have entertained, and he at once proceeded to minutely locate the exact position of the heart in the body by reference to one of his anatomical charts.”

“The abstract illustrations didn’t entirely satisfy his questioner, who displayed a thirst for knowledge of this sort which would please the most exacting professor in anatomy, and throwing back his best he had the doctor trace with his finger the spot immediately over the apex of the heart.”
“‘Here,’ said the physician smilingly, ‘is the fatal spot. If a man wants to kill himself, just let him send a knife blade or a bullet in here, and it will reach home.'”
“The young man thanked him pleasantly and departed. When the doctor next saw him he knew how well he had learned his lesson in anatomy, and what deep and morbid meaning lurked beneath that calm and pleasant exterior, and behind that fanciful dispute about the location of the heart.”
“The muzzle had been placed on the exact spot which the doctor had indicated just as surely as if he had traced the deadly circle with charcoal.”

“The circumstances anterior to the act, and the young man’s actions and conduct are learned from many sources. It seems that he came to this city from Huntington, where he had been in search of work, on Friday of last week. His last employment was in Charleston, West Virginia, where he had worked in the American house. As soon as he arrived here he at once visited the priests of the two Catholic parishes and got letters from them. These he present to Fred Rider, of the Arlington, where he stopped during the entire time. Between Friday and Tuesday night when he killed himself, he had made several ineffectual attempts to obtain work. Among the people applied to were Landlords Taylor and Grimes, of the Biggs house and the Hotel Portsmouth, and the captain of the steamer Louise.”
“On Tuesday morning he called at the office of the Times, and for the first time made his presence in the city known to Mr. Barker, who is a first cousin of his father.”

“He came in, as he said, to get a copy of the Athens Messenger. He sat but a short time and chatted pleasantly. Said he was on his way to Louisville, where his brother Frank was employed on the Courier-Journal, and that he expected to leave for that point in the evening. In the afternoon he again called, and this time asked for a copy of his mother’s paper, the Corning Times, which was furnished him. At neither of these times did he by word or action indicate that he was distressed in any way, or that he was desirous of obtaining employment. In fact he even omitted to state that he had been in the city for any length of time, and left the impression that he had merely stopped a day in this city in transit to Louisville.”
“His stay on the second call was very short, and he left with a farewell of more than ordinary warmth, clinging onto Mr. Barker’s hand and assuring him of his love and best wishes in many expression of almost feminine endearment. His mind was bent up to the terrible deed, and he knew this was a final parting.”

“it is learned from Father McGuirk, of the Holy Redeemer, that the unfortunate boy came to him as soon as he arrived in the city, and spoke to him about his desire to obtain employment. The kind priest immediately interested himself in the youth, whom he had known at his former charge in Athens, and gave him an order to the Arlington for his board covering two or three days. He also went with him to the Drew-Selby shoe factory and spoke to Mr. Drew about work, receiving an encouraging reply. Father McGuirk was then called away to Columbus, and in the meantime he became discouraged, and his mind gave way under the strain upon it.”

“The coroner’s inquest, which was held immediately after the killing, showed that the ball had entered squarely into the apex of the heart, and dead was instantaneous. On his person were found several letters to various members of the family, one letter dated at Louisville, Kentucky, January 1st, from his brother, and a book of prayer, entitled ‘The Pious Companion for Young Catholics.'”
“The letters written to the members of his family contain matter of the utmost pathos, and show that he had been contemplating his rash act for some time. They were dated January 6th, and written on the Arlington stationery. Each letter had been separately sealed and directed, and then the end of the envelope torn open. Upon each separate sheet was drawn the representation of a heart, transfixed by an arrow, showing that he had fully determined upon the manner of his death. Running through them all is a grim humor, mixed with the most pathetic appeals to the love and forgiveness of his family and friends.

“In one letter he says: ‘Beware of death. You know not what it is.’ And again: ‘I am sorry to leave you in the prime of my youth, but I AM YOUR LESSON.’ In another place he says: ‘I want to be buried in a plain coffin with a cross at my side, with a white shirt and collar, black tie and black gown, with my hair brushed up in front.’ And he ends his last written appeal with: ‘I am very sorry to take you all by surprise, but I can’t help it-you know, you know! With love to all on earth, I am your young friend, Ray Lyon.'”

“Ray Leo Lyon was probably about twenty years of age at the time of his death. He was the fourth son of Lewis A. and Maria C. Lyon. A bright boy from his early youth, he was yet looked upon as ‘queer,’ and at one time his mental condition became so emphasized that he was committed to the Athens Asylum. The rash deed was due, no doubt, to the overthrow of an already unbalanced mind by a pressure of circumstances that to a healthy intellect would appear trivial. He went trustingly to his long home, and has, it is hoped, found healing for all his ills.”

“By the directions of Mr. Barker the body was cared for decently by Mr. Daehler, the undertaker, and in accordance with instructions from the boy’s mother, the interment took place Thursday afternoon in consecrated Catholic ground in Greenlawn, the boy’s undoubted mental unsoundness making this possible under the rules of the church. At two o’clock services were held at the church of the Holy Redeemer by the Reverend Father McGuirk, and thence the body was conveyed to its last rest. Besides the Reverend Father McGuirk and Mr. Barker, the body was attended to the grave by Dan M. Ryan, James Quirk and John Kelley.”3
- Edward Franklin Hacquard was a plumber, however, his father Eugene Isidore Hacquard was a gunsmith.
- James Monroe King
- Despondent. (1891, January 10). Portsmouth Times, p. 1.