, 1873-11-29
Tho Harlin-Walkcr CaGc-~~A Capt.
ialisl Who Led n DOubl0 Life.
A millionaire Bachelor Down Town: An
Obscure Benedict Up Town.
Was lie Really Married 9..-A Million
Dollars Depending Upon 4 judi.
cial Answer 10 This Ques.
ton.


estate Is now tho subject Of litigation In the
sutrosa.oB Court III this city. Ills caroor shows
how man ean live In a great city for two1ty-
five years, under two dincrent naaacs without
arousing tllo shadow Of suspicion In tho minds
Of anv of his most intimate frionds-part ot
whom knew him by ono name nnd part by an
other-of tho double ohatacIor TO was playing.
oEonaE HARDIN
vas born, in tho early part Of the present con-
tury near BELFAST, in tho north Of ireland. Ills
pareutB yero &llors Of the soil, and, among thef
simple, uuprctontioua uoighburs, had tho reputa.
ton Of being opulcnt, mud wero looked up to aa
superior to tho common hord By whom they were
surrounded. At leaat, IL is certain that thoy
wore iu oasy circumstances. As boy. Hard'l'
vns prooocious, md, when worry young, exhibited
nntKou pcculiaritios protorring scdontary atnuso'
monts to tho rude, noisy games III which his
boistorous sohoolfellows delighted. Flo received
Buch an education Us was afforded by the
common parish-schools Of his tin,o, and was
reorcil i'll tue teuets Of the Protestant religion,
ls father aud mother being doyout professors
of that fa,th. Whom in his 2lst yoar, young
Hardin .....-.- --.5
CAME 10 THE UNITED STATES.
soon aftor ho established himself in thia city,
With money which came to him through his
uaronts, as an importer of Irish linens. and sub
seauout1y became The American agent OF noted
DclluHt firm which dealt in this class OF goods.
His plnce Of business was alternately in William,
Pine Broad, aud Liberty streets. Elo was OK
tremoly retcont, retiring, and frugal, ana in his
business -transactions, exhibited q love OF gain
that bordercd on mBcrlinoss. III his financial
operations ho was invariably successful, and
rapidly grow rich. After tho lapso OF
few years he retired from tho import
Ing business, but continued to add to
his already vast property by buying COM
mereiai paper and making Investments IN SAFE,
conduct q large importing business IN thc
Metropolis, he hal q very .extenslvo circle Of
Observation-Disclosures, md WAS Also on to1ms
Of intimacy with tho leadlng IRISH reslaents
hQre, all OF wum ueiloyel hitn to be
n1ou OLD BACHELOR,
living we'll, nobody knew, nnd few took !, th9 9
trouble to Inquire, where. The many who had
busiueBs-dea!.lEd With linn kne" nothing
his closen companions in social lifo
had uu knowledge OF Ills buainosa-rclatione, the
former class mover for q moment suspected that
he was not what lo pretended to them to be-a
bachelor. Yot, during tho wlo!e OF the 1nat
twenty-five yearh OF h,a lie, lie lived as
A MARRIED MAN,
under m assumed name, III All obscure street In
thia city. ...,
Early in tho year 1s4s, ? gentleman apparont-
ly 80 years OF age, md q lady about twonty years
his juuior, leased the house No. "a Cornella
street. It was a pain, unpretendlng, rwo-story-
aud-nttic dwelling, such as were built Of that
time by woll-to-do mechanics and trado8mon.
To their landlord mud n few neghbors thoy
announced themselves Us D1r. and hlrs. Walker.
Soon after taking tho house, Walker sub-lot tho
second floor to 4 young man named seaflor,
whose family consisted Of wife and two yo'!ng
children. At the expiration Of year, having
prosperod iu the world, A1r. searlcr took moro
conlnolious apartments; but the warm friend,
ehip which tal grown up bet'Yoon bis family anu
Mr.. and Mrs. Walker Was mover allowed TO cool.
The Walkers exchanged social courtoslcs with q
limited number Of tuoir Ghbors,-anong tbenl
with ono Mrs. Dunn, who lived opposite thom,
The number OF those who were regular callers at
their house Was extremely small, auu they thon'
soiyos mado fow calls. Whenever, in conycrsn-
ton, any reference was made to their past bis.
tory, they quickly changed the subject, and, II
any attempt was made to pursue it, they at once
exhibited signs Of -
GREAT p1spLEAsunE,
and positively declined to Say anything about
their former history. 10 all of this circle Of
friouda they were known by the name Of Walker,
and in tho City Directory the name of tho oceu-
pant Of tue house NJ e Co1nela street wa1 reg g
purchased tllia house, aud there ho continued to
live, with his companlou, until his doath.
On tbs morning Of March 7, 1879, Bone Of the
noighbo,s of Georgo Walker, read in the nows-
pdpQTdt tD tuoT BEdAb hohuAAoAA1AtAbs ~ t44-
nouucement Of the
DEATH or GEORGE HARDIN,
at lis residence, No. ~ Co4nslia street.
Soon after tho funeral, tho woman who
hsd lived With walksr-oF F aa, rataer Hardin Mns
Hardin, together with man named Trowbridgo.
gor lotter of administration on the estate of
George Hardin, which, papers IN tho Surrogate'H 4
Office showed, consisted almost wholly Of R Per
Bonal securities, amounting noarly to $2,ooo.-
o00. In applying Tor letters Of administration,
it il necessary that the administrators nhRll give
bonds in double tho amount Of the personal o.
tato. Thin wan found to bo impractlcable, ant
Surrogate uutchioga drected that tho moueyab bt
placed III the care Of tho United Statos Irus
Company, and then granted the letters OF ad
minlstrat1on.
At thls juucture, -
Six NEpnEws or Mn. HARDIN,
residing In Belfast Ireland, appeasel upon tn
scoue, aud claimed that, whlle MIR. ua.lin wa
not Mr. Walker, tho woman calling haEsolf MIR
Haldiu unQuostiouably was Mrs. Walker ths
the relations between tho two were simply thos
Of man aud mistress. The caso was furthe
complicated by tie fact that h1r. Hardin had IL
no wll!; for, dying intostate, oue-hatf Q man
eHtate ii by law accorded to hls widow, II sue
there be, These nephowH contest the eBtate, tai
Ing tho ground TINT no legal marriage eyor o:
IBted botMeon Hardin and tae woman heretofo
known as Mrs. Walker. Tnore have boon sewer
Hittings Of the 6urrogato's Court In this Gas
and, until last Saturday, nearly all the tcstlmol
taken was in support Of the existence Of
4 LE0L MARRIAGE.
The principal witness was Dr.. Moses D. "
Pelt who for twenty-four years WAS Alr. Hardsl
plya.clun. In 1B40 uardtl llnl requested llu1
call at his house iu Cornelia street aud prcscri
for his wife, Ho went, aud WIS there introduce
to q lady as Mrs. Hardin. Of whom Hardin inv
r1aby Hpoko OF III he wife, showing the wasne
attachment for ber. The lady, IN her tur
acomed devoted to Mr.. Hardin. 1u 1868, VII
on professional, visit to lor. ho found HI
Hardin in stlto OF great nervous oxciteinct
Ho at onco concluded TINT aomo secret "
preyng upon her mind: that hcr q
mont was mental, aud not physical. !
told her TINT, such being the CASE, no romed
TINT could be prescribed could help her, and Il
there waH no otanee OF her recovery unless i
became moro quiet, and suggested, VI the inou
which would ba must likely to promote that Oh
that rho uuburleu her mind to some friend
tile secret which preyed upon it. She aoAno
edged the truth Of his con jootureB, and recou
gu to hlm tho following
STORY OF HER LIFE,
and the troubo which agitateu 4or.
NV n,ulen name Wis Elizabeth steel, and I,
boTli tu G!xyGow, Scotland. ran away from lo