
After Dessie's death, 1912
Tom Hamilton's Despair and Suicide
Tom Hamilton, Samuel's son, is consumed by guilt after his sister Dessie dies from a misdiagnosed illness. He blames himself for giving her salts, which he believes caused her death. Unable to bear the guilt, he writes farewell letters, stages his death as a horse-riding accident, and shoots himself. His suicide devastates the Hamilton family.