James Hamilton the junior member of the firm of King & Hamilton, merchants, in 1813, was a suitor for the hand of Miss Lydia Evans, but his ardent love was not reciprocated. He was rejected by the fair Lydia. This rejection made him desperate, and he committed suicide, by shooting himself with a pistol. This was the first suicide that occurred in the town of Danville, and it was long remembered with horror. These sad occurrances[sic] have not been frequent in this place. Perhaps young folks do not love as desperately as they did in the olden time, of the fair maidens of to-day are less cruel than they were in early times. We have no record of any subsequent suicide in Danville, for a similar cause; as those who are rejected, instead of blowing out their brains, gracefully retreat and then seek a more congenial spirit.

Danville, Montour County, Pennsylvania: A Collection of Historical & Biographical Sketches, 1884