Beneath the Apple Trees: Asa Farnham’s Final Hours
On Wednesday, September 29, 1880, 63-year-old Asa Giles Farnham of Tolland, Massachusetts, traveled to Westfield, Massachusetts, where he sold a load of potatoes and cranberries. As evening fell, he returned to his farm.
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Earlier that year, on March 11, Asa had experienced a family loss: one of his brothers, David Frost Farnham, had died of cirrhosis of the liver. Months later, an ordinary autumn evening would turn tragic.
When Farnham arrived home, he found that supper was not yet ready, and a disagreement arose between him and his wife, Lucy. The argument became heated. Moments later, Asa left the house carrying a length of clothesline. He walked out to his apple orchard and hanged himself from one of the trees.
— A story preserved by the Southwick Time Machine
