Dr. A. J Vance Jr.

PHYSICIAN COMMITS SUICIDS [sic].

     Checotah, I.T. Aug 8 - Dr A J Vance Jr, committed suicide here at 2 o'clock last night by shooting himself in the head with a 45 Colts revolver. During the day he had appeared in unusually good sprits and no cause is known for his rash act. He had just come home from his drug store a few minutes before the deed was committed, and had gone into the back yard. Mrs. Vance dozed off to sleep and was awakened by the report of the revolver. Rushing into the kitchen she found her husband lying on the floor with his head in a pool of blood. He was already unconscious and breathing cased in a few minutes.
     Vance was a young physician here and proprietor of a drug store. He had a profitable business and doing well. It is not known that he had trouble with his family or anyone else. There is absolutely no cause assignable, except that he was a man of very extreme temperament, and might have suffered from a fit of insanity. Tulsa Indian Republican newspaper, 15 Aug 1902, pg 7, col 2

Muskogee I.T., Aug 16 - A new light has been thrown on the mysterious suicide of Dr Vance, a young physician at Checotah, last Sunday, by development of a fact that he was under a bond to appear for trial at the September term of court on a charge of violating internal revenue laws. He was indicted by the grand jury last spring, but the case had never gone to trial. Tulsa Indian Republican newspaper, 22 Aug 1902, pg 6, col 2, "A Theory for the Dr. Vance Suicide"