The Missouri Governor Who Committed Suicide

In 1844, a mental health breakdown killed the young Missouri Governor

47-year-old Missouri Governor Thomas Reynolds had a distinguished career in law and politics, but struggles with mental health took their toll as he committed suicide on February 9, 1844. Governor Reynolds had served in the Illinois House of Representatives and on the Illinois Supreme Court before moving to Fayette, Missouri.

A Rising Star in Missouri

The young lawyer was seen as a rising star in Missouri when he arrived in his mid-30s in 1829. He set up a legal practice in newly developed town of Fayette near the town square where the Howard County courthouse would eventually be built.

Reynolds even worked as the editor of the newspaper, the Boonslick Democrat. That success led to being elected to the Missouri legislature in 1832, then rising to be speaker of the house. He only stayed in that role for a few years before Governor Lilburn Boggs named him to be a circuit judge, all by his 41st birthday.

Reynolds Becomes Governor

The judgeship was also short-lived because he was elected as Missouri’s seventh governor in 1840. This was a time of rapid growth in the Show Me State as people were coming here either to live, or as a stopping point for the Oregon Trail. In fact, during his time in office, 15 new counties were established. In addition, the first classes was held at the University of Missouri-Columbia. It was also an exciting time in Jefferson City. The second State Capitol in Jefferson City had just been completed and opened in 1840.

Depression Takes Hold

These were exciting times in Missouri. But even in the 1800’s, politics was rough business as he faced significant criticism along with arguments with fellow lawmakers about the future for Missouri. Depression was taking its toll, which people then often called melancholia.

On the morning of February 9th, 1844, the governor gathered for breakfast and asked for one of the people for a blessing. He then went to his office in the Governor’s Mansion and committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.

Suicide Shock

The news shocked people across the state, especially once word spread of how it happened. Reynolds was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (Woodland-Old City Cemetery), blocks away from the State Capitol in Jefferson City. He left behind a note that detailed “verbal abuse and slanders” he felt he had received in office. The next governor, Meredith Marmaduke, was instrumental in expanded care for mentally ill people in Missouri. Marmaduke made note of the suicide in his inaugural address:

“We must treat these miserable beings…
as fit subjects for our compassion
and not objects of punishment.”

-Missouri Governor Miles Meredith Marmaduke

Governor Reynolds’ Legacy

The tone of the words was not as harsh as they might seem in today’s vernacular. The death actually hit the new governor hard. Marmaduke had been Lieutenant Governor during the tenure of Governor Reynolds, so they knew each other quite well. Governor Marmaduke’s efforts, along with others so impacted by the death of Reynolds, led to the authorization of the “State Lunatic Asylum” in 1847. It later became known as the Fulton State Hospital, which opened in 1851.

Reynolds County was named after Governor Thomas Reynolds in 1845. The beautiful area is home to Lead Belt in Missouri and Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.