Lillian Lulu (Lula) Davis

           Lillian Lulu (Lula) Davis was born in Cromwell in March 1887, the daughter of John Wesley (Wes) Davis and Mary J. Schrader.  Lulu married Amos Ransom about 1903 and they lived in Cromwell on Old Hartford Road.  Amos was from Indiana and was born 14 June 1877.  Their son, Earnest Woodrow Ransom, was born 31 May 1908.  The 1910 census also says they had lost one child and I think that child was named Otto R. Ransom, who was born 28 Feb 1904.  The 1910 census also says Amos was a “tie hack” which means he made cross-ties for the railroad. 

          Their neighbors were John & Mary Combs; John M. & Elizabeth Leach; Richard & Mollie Davis; and Oscar & Annie Davis.  Most of their neighbors were farmers.

          In the spring of 1915 Lulu was pregnant again, and again she lost the baby.  Apparently the loss of the second child was more than she could bear and, at age 26, on 27 June 1915, she committed suicide.  Lulu is buried in Shields cemetery in Cromwell.

          The following is a short article from the Hartford Republican dated 2 July 1915 and a copy of her death certificate. You will see in the article that Lulu took laudanum, which was an alcohol solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and was used as a pain killer.  An article on the internet says that doctors would give laudanum to babies for teething.  It was sold without a prescription and was used in many patent medicines.