MOTHER SLAYS THREE CHILDREN AND KILLS SELF
Mrs. Chamberlain and her three children were found dead in a Los Angeles house she had rented days before, after she put the children to bed with sleeping powder and turned on the gas. She left farewell messages, including one to her husband, attorney John Chamberlain, saying she could not let the children live in a world for which she had failed to prepare them, and authorities announced there would be no inquest.
The deaths of an attorney's wife and her three children in a house she had rented in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18. - The grim threat of Mrs. Ada Chamberlain to take the lives of her three children and herself had been fulfilled today.
"I couldn't let the children live in a world so full of temptation and for which I failed to prepare them.' wrote the mother before she died.
The bodies of Mrs. Chamberlain and her youngsters Edwina, 9; Delamya, 7, and John, 4, were found Sunday, in a house rented by the mother Friday as a setting for the tragedy.
The woman disappeared Friday, taking the children with her. On Saturday night she treated them to a movie, a western thriller, and after the show, she put the youngsters to bed with sleeping powder, turned on the gas, and snuffed out their lives.
Then, after penning three philosophical farewell messages - to her husband, John Chamberlain, prominent attorney; "to whom it may concern," and to "the newspapers" - the mother entered the gas filled room and died with her children.
In her final message to her husband, written while her children were breathing their last and just before her own suffocation, Mrs. Chamberlain said:
"This is all horrible, most horrible, but I couldn't let the children for whom I am responsible live in a world for which I had failed to prepare them. I am ready for mine now. I hope it is some comfort to you, John, to know they went easily.
Authorities announced there would be no inquest.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
November 3, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Douglas Daily Dispatch, Evening Star, The Indianapolis Times, Seward Daily Gateway, The Bismarck Tribune, Brownsville Herald, The Daily Worker, Spirit Of Jefferson, Daily Kennebec Journal, and Smyrna Times.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
November 4, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Askov American, The Wrangell Sentinel, The Indianapolis Times, New Britain Herald, Seward Daily Gateway, Evening Star, Fitzgerald Leader Enterprise And Press, and Daily Kennebec Journal.
You do.
MOTHER SLAYS THREE CHILDREN AND KILLS SELF
Mrs. Chamberlain and her three children were found dead in a Los Angeles house she had rented days before, after she put the children to bed with sleeping powder and turned on the gas. She left farewell messages, including one to her husband, attorney John Chamberlain, saying she could not let the children live in a world for which she had failed to prepare them, and authorities announced there would be no inquest.
The deaths of an attorney's wife and her three children in a house she had rented in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18. - The grim threat of Mrs. Ada Chamberlain to take the lives of her three children and herself had been fulfilled today.
"I couldn't let the children live in a world so full of temptation and for which I failed to prepare them.' wrote the mother before she died.
The bodies of Mrs. Chamberlain and her youngsters Edwina, 9; Delamya, 7, and John, 4, were found Sunday, in a house rented by the mother Friday as a setting for the tragedy.
The woman disappeared Friday, taking the children with her. On Saturday night she treated them to a movie, a western thriller, and after the show, she put the youngsters to bed with sleeping powder, turned on the gas, and snuffed out their lives.
Then, after penning three philosophical farewell messages - to her husband, John Chamberlain, prominent attorney; "to whom it may concern," and to "the newspapers" - the mother entered the gas filled room and died with her children.
In her final message to her husband, written while her children were breathing their last and just before her own suffocation, Mrs. Chamberlain said:
"This is all horrible, most horrible, but I couldn't let the children for whom I am responsible live in a world for which I had failed to prepare them. I am ready for mine now. I hope it is some comfort to you, John, to know they went easily.
Authorities announced there would be no inquest.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
November 3, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Douglas Daily Dispatch, Evening Star, The Indianapolis Times, Seward Daily Gateway, The Bismarck Tribune, Brownsville Herald, The Daily Worker, Spirit Of Jefferson, Daily Kennebec Journal, and Smyrna Times.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
November 4, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Askov American, The Wrangell Sentinel, The Indianapolis Times, New Britain Herald, Seward Daily Gateway, Evening Star, Fitzgerald Leader Enterprise And Press, and Daily Kennebec Journal.
You do.
MOTHER SLAYS THREE CHILDREN AND KILLS SELF
Mrs. Chamberlain and her three children were found dead in a Los Angeles house she had rented days before, after she put the children to bed with sleeping powder and turned on the gas. She left farewell messages, including one to her husband, attorney John Chamberlain, saying she could not let the children live in a world for which she had failed to prepare them, and authorities announced there would be no inquest.
The deaths of an attorney's wife and her three children in a house she had rented in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18. - The grim threat of Mrs. Ada Chamberlain to take the lives of her three children and herself had been fulfilled today.
"I couldn't let the children live in a world so full of temptation and for which I failed to prepare them.' wrote the mother before she died.
The bodies of Mrs. Chamberlain and her youngsters Edwina, 9; Delamya, 7, and John, 4, were found Sunday, in a house rented by the mother Friday as a setting for the tragedy.
The woman disappeared Friday, taking the children with her. On Saturday night she treated them to a movie, a western thriller, and after the show, she put the youngsters to bed with sleeping powder, turned on the gas, and snuffed out their lives.
Then, after penning three philosophical farewell messages - to her husband, John Chamberlain, prominent attorney; "to whom it may concern," and to "the newspapers" - the mother entered the gas filled room and died with her children.
In her final message to her husband, written while her children were breathing their last and just before her own suffocation, Mrs. Chamberlain said:
"This is all horrible, most horrible, but I couldn't let the children for whom I am responsible live in a world for which I had failed to prepare them. I am ready for mine now. I hope it is some comfort to you, John, to know they went easily.
Authorities announced there would be no inquest.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
November 3, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Douglas Daily Dispatch, Evening Star, The Indianapolis Times, Seward Daily Gateway, The Bismarck Tribune, Brownsville Herald, The Daily Worker, Spirit Of Jefferson, Daily Kennebec Journal, and Smyrna Times.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
November 4, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Askov American, The Wrangell Sentinel, The Indianapolis Times, New Britain Herald, Seward Daily Gateway, Evening Star, Fitzgerald Leader Enterprise And Press, and Daily Kennebec Journal.
You do.
MOTHER SLAYS THREE CHILDREN AND KILLS SELF
Mrs. Chamberlain and her three children were found dead in a Los Angeles house she had rented days before, after she put the children to bed with sleeping powder and turned on the gas. She left farewell messages, including one to her husband, attorney John Chamberlain, saying she could not let the children live in a world for which she had failed to prepare them, and authorities announced there would be no inquest.
The deaths of an attorney's wife and her three children in a house she had rented in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18. - The grim threat of Mrs. Ada Chamberlain to take the lives of her three children and herself had been fulfilled today.
"I couldn't let the children live in a world so full of temptation and for which I failed to prepare them.' wrote the mother before she died.
The bodies of Mrs. Chamberlain and her youngsters Edwina, 9; Delamya, 7, and John, 4, were found Sunday, in a house rented by the mother Friday as a setting for the tragedy.
The woman disappeared Friday, taking the children with her. On Saturday night she treated them to a movie, a western thriller, and after the show, she put the youngsters to bed with sleeping powder, turned on the gas, and snuffed out their lives.
Then, after penning three philosophical farewell messages - to her husband, John Chamberlain, prominent attorney; "to whom it may concern," and to "the newspapers" - the mother entered the gas filled room and died with her children.
In her final message to her husband, written while her children were breathing their last and just before her own suffocation, Mrs. Chamberlain said:
"This is all horrible, most horrible, but I couldn't let the children for whom I am responsible live in a world for which I had failed to prepare them. I am ready for mine now. I hope it is some comfort to you, John, to know they went easily.
Authorities announced there would be no inquest.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
November 3, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Douglas Daily Dispatch, Evening Star, The Indianapolis Times, Seward Daily Gateway, The Bismarck Tribune, Brownsville Herald, The Daily Worker, Spirit Of Jefferson, Daily Kennebec Journal, and Smyrna Times.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
November 4, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Askov American, The Wrangell Sentinel, The Indianapolis Times, New Britain Herald, Seward Daily Gateway, Evening Star, Fitzgerald Leader Enterprise And Press, and Daily Kennebec Journal.
You do.
MOTHER SLAYS THREE CHILDREN AND KILLS SELF
Mrs. Chamberlain and her three children were found dead in a Los Angeles house she had rented days before, after she put the children to bed with sleeping powder and turned on the gas. She left farewell messages, including one to her husband, attorney John Chamberlain, saying she could not let the children live in a world for which she had failed to prepare them, and authorities announced there would be no inquest.
The deaths of an attorney's wife and her three children in a house she had rented in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18. - The grim threat of Mrs. Ada Chamberlain to take the lives of her three children and herself had been fulfilled today.
"I couldn't let the children live in a world so full of temptation and for which I failed to prepare them.' wrote the mother before she died.
The bodies of Mrs. Chamberlain and her youngsters Edwina, 9; Delamya, 7, and John, 4, were found Sunday, in a house rented by the mother Friday as a setting for the tragedy.
The woman disappeared Friday, taking the children with her. On Saturday night she treated them to a movie, a western thriller, and after the show, she put the youngsters to bed with sleeping powder, turned on the gas, and snuffed out their lives.
Then, after penning three philosophical farewell messages - to her husband, John Chamberlain, prominent attorney; "to whom it may concern," and to "the newspapers" - the mother entered the gas filled room and died with her children.
In her final message to her husband, written while her children were breathing their last and just before her own suffocation, Mrs. Chamberlain said:
"This is all horrible, most horrible, but I couldn't let the children for whom I am responsible live in a world for which I had failed to prepare them. I am ready for mine now. I hope it is some comfort to you, John, to know they went easily.
Authorities announced there would be no inquest.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Reproduced unchanged from Imperial Valley Press, October 18, 1926, page 1.
This text reflects the language, attitudes and errors of its time. A Century Late publishes it as a historical document.
Text: read from the Library of Congress scan by A Century Late, within the article boundaries of American Stories (Dell et al., 2023), DOI 10.57967/hf/0757.
Yesterday's paper
November 3, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Douglas Daily Dispatch, Evening Star, The Indianapolis Times, Seward Daily Gateway, The Bismarck Tribune, Brownsville Herald, The Daily Worker, Spirit Of Jefferson, Daily Kennebec Journal, and Smyrna Times.
Receive the original news from the press of 100 years ago, daily, weekly or monthly. Subscribe by December 1, 2026 and get
20% off for life!
Today's paper
November 4, 1926. The original articles, with the text exactly as it appeared and scans of the original newspaper pages, from that day’s editions of the following publications:Imperial Valley Press, Askov American, The Wrangell Sentinel, The Indianapolis Times, New Britain Herald, Seward Daily Gateway, Evening Star, Fitzgerald Leader Enterprise And Press, and Daily Kennebec Journal.