John Wycoff A Suicide

Ended His Life At New Brunswick With A Bullet

He Recently Moved From Red Bank, Where He Had Lived For the Past Twelve Years-Was Treasurer of a New Brunswick Trust Company

John Wycoff, who moved from Red Bank to New Brunswick five weeks ago, committed suicide on Friday by shooting himself. He went to New Brunswick to accept the treasurership (sic) of a trust company. For several years previously he had been cashier of the First national bank at South Amboy. Mr. Wycoff had made his home in Red Bank for the past twelve years. He was well and favorably known in the town and his tragic death was a great shock to his friends. A short time before he moved away he sold his house and lot on Leroy place to Mrs. Bloomfield Drummond. The house was originally owned by Mrs. Sarah Valdez.

It is not known what led him to kill himself. His home life was a happy one and there were no discrepancies either in his accounts at the South Amboy bank or in the trust company’s business. Those at New Brunswick who knew him best say that he was never inclined to look on the bright side of things. After he left the bank at South Amboy to go to new Brunswick he was idle for several weeks. During this time his friends say he may have worried lest he had made a mistake in making the business change.

That the suicide was not planned until Friday was evidenced by the fact that while out walking with his wife on Thursday afternoon he was in excellent spirits and talked with Mrs. Wycoff about a trip to New York over Sunday. The Monday before he had sent a messenger to New York to buy tickets for the theater on Saturday. He had also arranged with a South Amboy priest to have seats reserved in a New York church to hear the Easter music. He looked forward to this trip with considerable pleasure.

On Friday morning a director of the trust company went to the banking house with two revolvers which he had bought for the use of the watchman and officers. Only one of the revolvers was loaded. Just before noon Mr. Wycoff took the loaded revolver and going into the toilet room of a gas company’s office next door shot himself. The secretary of the gas company is Mr. Wycoff’s brother, who heard the pistol shot. Running back into the room he found Mr. Wycoff bleeding from a bullet wound in his temple. There were powder marks on the skin, showing that the revolver had been held close to the man’s head when the weapon was fired. He died about two hours later.

Mr. Wycoff belonged to the Royal Arcanum of Red Bank and was also a trustee of the Presbyterian church, although not a member of the church. He leaves no children. The funeral was held on Monday, the service being conducted by Rev. S. H. Thompson of Red Bank.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, Apr 2, 1902

Some additional excellent resources for your research are:

• New Jersey Census, 1772-1890 - Ancestry.com

• Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1760 - Ancestry.com

• Interment.net - NJ ~ New Jersey Cemetery Transcriptions on the net.

  ---