Madness Monday: Insanity a quick 'answer' for the unknown

In the April 6th, 1883 Perry Chief, from Perry, Dallas County, Iowa, two death notices stood out, only because they so casually dismissed the deaths as the acts of  'insane' people.

Perry Chief, The | Perry, Iowa | Friday, April 06, 1883 | Page 6

"William Jepson, aged 53, cut his throat a few days ago at Ashton and died in a few hours.  No cause is known, but he is believed to have been insane.  He was unmarried."
and
"Mrs. Jessie Balcombe, wife of a respectable farmer near Creston, committed suicide March 26th, by hanging herself in the cellar.  She is supposed to have been insane."