Burnet Bulletin, 22 Dec 1904

Young Lady Commits Suicide at Bertram. Drank 3 ounces of Carbolic Acid and Died in Few Minutes.

Miss Minnie Rawlings, the pretty 19-year old daughter of Rev. and Mrs. J. M. Rawlings, who live two miles east of Bertram, committed suicide in Bertram last Friday afternoon by drinking three ounces of carbolic acid.

In a case of this kind it is always a difficult matter to get at the facts, and some times facts are best not told, but in this case the causes for the suicide were so trivial that the truth is best revealed, when the public will certainly conclude that for the time being at least the young lady was irresponsible.

Miss Rawlings had been going to parties against the will of her parents, and her father being a minister, this objection was very natural. On the day of her tragic death, he remonstrated with her on the course she was pursuing, but the daughter did not receive the advice in the manner intentioned and locked herself in her room. The members of the family went about their usual duties, attaching little importance to the young lady, thinking, no doubt, she would soon regain her accustomed composure. While they were thus engaged, the unfortunate young lady had climbed through a window, in order to keep her mission secret, and gone to Bertram.

[more details on the events of the suicide are in the article]