Charles Henry Pilkington (1887-1916) worked for the signal maintenance division of the Long Island Railroad who took his own life in 1916. (b. February 04, 1887; Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York, USA - d. September 26, 1916; Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York, USA )
Parents[]
Henry Pilkington and Phebe Powell.
Birth[]
Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York.
Sibling[]
He had a brother, William Pilkington.
Marriage[]
Charles married Jennie Alice Lattin (1888-1958) on February 28, 1905 in Farmingdale, Nassau County, Long Island, New York.
Suicide[]
Charles Pilkington a Suicide. Separation from Wife Followed by Loss of $150 at the Mineola Fair Thought to Be Cause. Farmingdale, New York; September 29, 1916. Charles Pilkington, 29, committed suicide Tuesday night at his home on Conklin street, by inhaling gas. He had returned from the Mineola Fair saying he had lost or been robbed of $150, obtained from the sale of an automobile. This, with domestic troubles which resulted in his living apart from his wife for several weeks, is thought to have led him to suicide. He had received a letter from his wife, saying she would not live with him again. His son, Jarvis, 10, discovered his father's body. A letter is said to have been found explaining the suicide. Pilkington is survived by his widow formerly Miss Alice Lattin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis Lattin, of Isle of Pines, Cuba, and formerly of Farmingdale; two sons, Lester, 6, and Jarvis, and a brother, William. He was nephew of the late Mrs. John Allen and was brought up by her, with his brother. Funeral services will be held Saturday from the home, the Rev. Veddo Van Dyck officiating. Interment will be in Amityville Cemetery. Pilkington had worked in the signal maintenance division of the L.I.R.R. for the last five years, and was a member of the Protective Order of Signalmen of America, who sent a handsome floral offering.
Burial[]
Charles was buried in Amityville Cemetery.
Memories of Charles Henry Pilkington[]
- Lorraine Agnes Pilkington (1929- ) said on March 15, 1999: "He was asphyxiated by gas from the stove. I think that [Jennie Alice Lattin] murdered him and she made it look like a suicide."
- Sheila Pannitti (1953-2006) wrote: "[There are] lots of family stories [that I heard] about Jennie Alice Lattin divorced/widow/murdering her husband Charles Pilkington. I have not been able to confirm anything whatsoever on what happened, where they are buried, or whether or not they actually divorced at some point, etc. Jennie 'Alice' is found in 1920 and 1930 census in Philadelphia as a 'widow'. Then there is a photo of her at the wedding of her brother in Long Island in 1929, allegedly Charles Pilkington is in it as well. If anyone can help shed some light on the final burial place of either Jennie Alice Lattin (rumor was that she married a second time to Joseph Carpitello, though absolutely no information to confirm this individual's existence at all." Note: Harold Lawrence McPheeters made the identification of the 1929 photo.
- There is some confusion in the family about his death. He was identified in family photos taken in 1929 by Harold Lawrence McPheeters and I believe that he told me that he died in 1956, which may have been a typo in his notes. Lorraine Agnes Pilkington (1929- ) told me that he had been murdered, which is understandable to assume when there is a suicide. On July 26, 2019 I found an article on his suicide in 1916. I am assuming the article is correct. Now we have to correct the photo identification. There are two possibilities, he was misidentified and the photo is another family member or he was correctly identified by Harold Lawrence McPheeters and the photograph was incorrectly dated and is from 1915 and not 1929. The photo has three men in tuxedos: Theodore Roosevelt Lattin (1901-1980) in the front row and Anton Julius Winblad II (1886-1975) and Otto Perry Winblad (1902-1977). Anton married on April 17, 1910 and Otto on June 5, 1933 . So the date of the photo must be correct and Charles Henry Pilkington was misidentified by Harold Lawrence McPheeters. (Source: Richard Arthur Norton on July 26, 2019)
- Carol Susan Peckham Poulos (1954- ) writes in 2018: "It is fine to enter rumors about people into one's own records, however, unless they can be verified as true, they do not belong online. In the case of Jennie Alice Lattin, publishing hearsay testimony on the web is a slander against a woman who is not around to defend herself. It is also a false story. Such fallacies are copied over and over again by others in the belief that they are the truth. Note: Spoken defamation about a person is slander and written defamation is libel and both only apply to living people. Carol is calling a well documented anecdote as "hearsay testimony", again misusing a legal term.
Research[]
Researched and written by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) for Findagrave starting on February 14, 2004. Updated on July 26, 2019 with the text of the news article on his suicide.
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